Before Ryan really knew what he was doing, he picked McIntire up and started pushing the other four away from the scene just as more shots rang out from the Russians, who were fast recovering from their shock after they had just witnessed their companion being eviscerated.
They heard another shot, then another as they ran for the jungle undergrowth, but the still-burning fires made their silhouettes stand out and Jason feared that made them excellent targets. Then to cement his opinion he felt the bullet fly just past his right ear and slam into a giant fern plant as they finally made it to the undergrowth.
Behind them the cat screamed and men died before silence once more filled the world.
Jack used the binoculars but the thickening ash made viewing the four miles difficult. He lowered them just as the sound of distant gunfire came to his ears. That distinctive sound made even Jenks stop his cursing over the power coupling’s loss — momentarily.
“Carl?” Charlie asked with hope lacing his question.
“No, that was more than one brand of weapon. I counted no less than three different calibers,” Jack said as he looked over at Henri for his opinion. The Frenchman just nodded his concurrence. Collins raised the glasses once more. “Master Chief, we were going to conserve the batteries on the two drones until we had the doorway up and running, but I think now is the time to get them in the air. We need eyes out there.”
“Well, I hate to be the stick in the damn mud here but we have another very serious concern,” Jenks said, drawing the attention of the others. “Unless we track that damn chicken-lizard down we’re going to be sending out change-of-address cards to the post office. Now what do you suppose we do about that?”
Jack shook his head as he looked over to the master chief. “Well, I guess we have to go and get it back, don’t we, you grumpy old bastard?”
“When was the last time you tracked one of those Velocipedes?”
“Actually it’s called a Velociraptor, there is a distinct—”
The look coming from all three of his companions shut Charlie up.
“This will be my first raptor hunt, Master Chief,” Jack said as he tossed Jenks the binoculars he had been using. He caught the glasses and then almost dropped them. “Now, do you think you and Charlie can get those two drones up and then arm the laser defense system and possibly keep those damn things from stealing any more of our toys?”
Jenks didn’t respond with anything other than a huff.
“Actually, I don’t think there was a devious attempt to thwart us,” Charlie said. “I mean they are smarter than any animal in the fossil records, even their direct ancestors, but they are still animals.”
“Come on, Doc, what in the hell are you saying?” Jack asked as he retrieved a field pack and then tossed it to Farbeaux, who was listening to Ellenshaw.
“I mean to say that I believe the raptor stole the coupling because it was shiny. The stainless-steel housing had to look awful tempting to the animal. They are after all part of the avian family, or so the theory goes anyway. So I think this one acted just like a raven, or crow, it likes bright shiny things.”
“So?” Henri asked as he changed out the magazine on his M-4.
“I am saying that if you are to track them, keep in mind that they will act like an animal at first, don’t give them time to think things out. It’s like telling Pete Golding a riddle, at first he will be stumped, but give him time to think and you’re had.”
Collins looked from Ellenshaw to Farbeaux. The poor doc hadn’t even realized that he had invoked Pete Golding’s name. It was as if Pete hadn’t died in Chato’s Crawl. Jack lowered his eyes as he concentrated on situating his own field pack.
“Just water, Henri, we’ll travel light.”
“That’s fine with me as I would rather eat bugs than that MRE disaster you Americans are so proud of.”
“Before this little foray is over you may be wishing for some of that crap. Ready?” Jack asked as he slung the M-4 over his shoulder and gathered his scopes and night vision equipment.
“Remind me again why you insisted on bringing me out of your president’s forced retirement of my services?”
“Because you’re expendable, and for the decidedly more important fact that you owe me, not the president. After all, you’re no longer a wanted man in the United States,” Jack said while producing his only smile of the day.
Farbeaux watched as Collins nodded his farewell to Jenks and Charlie as he left the center of the camp.
“In case you have failed to notice, my dear colonel, we’re not in the United States.”
Jack glanced back just before he stooped over and examined the tracks made by the thieving raptor. “Just think of it as Central Park after midnight, Henri.” Jack looked back at the raptor print and then started out.
With a last look at Jenks and Ellenshaw, Farbeaux followed the crazed colonel.
“You don’t suppose all of this is an adverse reactionary hallucination to all of those inoculations they gave us, do you?”
Master Chief Jenks looked at Charlie as if he had truly lost it.
“Exactly how many acid trips did you go on in the sixties, and how many resembled this prehistoric menagerie?”
“Well—”
“Never mind, Doc, your answer would probably scare the hell out of me.”
19
Jason and his wayward travelers finally broke out into the open. It looked like they had traveled south, but Ryan knew that was very misleading. In all directions in Antarctica you traveled north. No matter your position, and no matter what directions you thought you were traveling in, you were always headed north, there just simply was no other way to travel. All roads led north. He stopped running as his lungs cried for relief from the purified oxygen of the times. The ash cloud was now so heavy that he was fearful of breathing in some of the volcanic particulate that would eventually lead to his death.
“Get down!” Mendenhall screamed as he pushed Anya, Sarah, and Virginia to the thickly ash-covered ground.
The bird missed Ryan’s head by mere inches as it swooped out of the sky. Jason hit the dirt and then saw the shadow of the giant condor as it pumped its twenty-three-foot wingspan to regain altitude. Ryan had felt the tremendous rush of air as the five-hundred-pound bird nearly swept him up.
“Holy crap!” Will said as he hustled the women to their feet.
“Let’s take cover over by those rocks,” Ryan yelled, and made sure everyone was on the same thinking track as himself.
Once they were hunkering around the large boulders, they saw the enormous condor swoop low again some distance away. They then heard the sound of rapid gunfire once more, thankfully quite some distance away.
“I guess those Russian assholes have met Tweety bird,” Mendenhall said as he winked at a frightened Virginia.
“The ones that survived Sylvester the Cat, you mean?” Sarah said, not wanting to but smiling nonetheless.
“Exactly,” Will agreed. He looked at a shaken Jason Ryan. “What now, boss?”
“If the colonel and the others were close by, they had to have heard the gunfire. We have a choice here: hide, or go and find them.”