Dark clouds blanketed the starry sky, leaving the ocean in absolute darkness.
Carlo crouched within the hold, tucking his head beneath the deck to shelter from the biting sea spray. It wasn't that he was delicate; it was just that staring at the horizon for too long made him… a little seasick.
Blue and Echo had found a spot sheltered from the wind, curling up together to conserve their energy. As for Delta… where had that one run off to?
Sniff.
Carlo caught a faint trace of Delta's scent, realizing she seemed to be heading toward the captain's quarters. He didn't pay it much mind. As long as she didn't get swept overboard, she was fine.
Darkness enveloped everything. Carlo could only hear the churning of the waves and the rhythmic slapping of the sea against the hull… it was eerily haunting.
While dinosaurs possessed a degree of night vision, Carlo felt the images he saw in the dark were far more terrifying. Did Kafka see this stuff every night? Or was her night vision even sharper than his?
Whoosh—
The waves seemed to grow larger. The freighter tilted upward by thirty degrees, then plunged downward with a violent jolt, sending spray showering over the deck.
Tap, tap…
Delta's sickle-shaped claws clicked twice against the deck. That was too close; she'd nearly slipped. She couldn't have survived a plane crash without a fracture only to break a leg sitting on a boat, right?
Delta's eyes glowed with a faint luminescence in the night. Though the outlines of objects were blurred, she could clearly identify her target.
Tap… tap…
She navigated the stairs up to the second level. The iron staircase, likely rusted with age, gave a slight metallic groan, a sound that, amidst the roar of the ocean, felt strangely melodic.
The second floor, the bridge, or perhaps the captain's cabin, had been nearly torn away by Carlo, though some heavy iron doors and frames still stood upright. Being a Velociraptor, Delta faced the open-air bridge, surrounded by walls less than three meters high, but she didn't choose to jump. Instead, she looked at the cabin door with surprising politeness.
Well, truth be told, she just felt that jumping right now was a bit too risky.
Hissing breath.
There was a small circular window near the top center of the bridge door, likely for the captain to check on visitors. Delta's hot breath hit the glass, clouding it with a layer of white mist.
A moment later, the mist dissipated. Delta's large eyes lined up with the glass, peering into the bridge.
Hmm… didn't seem to be anything interesting in here.
Click… clack… squeak—
The door wasn't locked, or perhaps the lock was broken. After trying a few times, Delta successfully pried the bridge door open.
There were historical records of Velociraptors opening doors as far back as the Jurassic Park era, but this Delta… her self-taught speed was undeniably impressive.
Tap, tap…
Her claws clicked against the floor, crisp and sharp. There were still plenty of glass shards scattered around, likely leftovers from when Carlo had ripped the place apart. Delta paced leisurely toward the console, eyeing the array of buttons and the glowing radar display.
Hmm… she couldn't read any of it. Did this place not have any little gadgets?
Carlo had nearly become a "video-game-addicted dino" while watching the Mr. DNA videos provided by Dr. Wu, and Delta… she probably became a "radio-addicted dino" just from listening to those two radios. Though she only liked the music segments; she couldn't understand a word of the human speech.
"Aok?"
Delta focused on a grid-like object on the console. Didn't the radio have one of those, too?
Filled with anticipation, Delta bumped the grid with her head, but got no reaction.
Hmm… maybe, like the radio, it just needed a good tap?
She shifted her body and, with a bit of force, slapped her slender tail against the grid.
SHREEEECH!
The next moment, the sound of microphone feedback blared throughout the entire ship, startling every dinosaur on board.
"Aok!"
Delta jumped back in surprise, colliding with a wall panel covered in buttons. Instantly, the bow, the deck, and the cabins all lit up, flooding the dark ocean with light!
Carlo lifted his massive head from the hold and looked back toward the bridge.
Bush, buddy, are you seriously good at this?
Carlo was happy Delta had turned the lights on, but the fact that she knew how to fiddle with the console made him deeply uneasy. He hadn't forgotten that this ship's ability to move relied on the "Bearded Human's" help, and there was some sort of navigation system involved, wasn't there? He couldn't let Delta mess that up. Maybe it was time to put up a "No Entry" sign.
Hmm… a dinosaur-version, of course.
Carlo slowly rose from the hold. Because the waves were still rough, he turned carefully, facing the bridge. He approached the torn-open structure and took in the scene from above. Nothing much had changed, except Delta looked like she had scared herself.
"Aok?"
Seeming to realize something, Delta looked up and locked eyes with a pair of brilliant yellow pupils framed by the darkness.
Uh… actually, it was already like this when I got here.
Carlo lowered his head, peering into the bridge. Delta tried to bolt, but Carlo snatched her by the tail, hoisting her into the air.
"Aoook—Aoook!"
Her miserable screams echoed across the night sky.
…
[Wanted: Rainn Delacourt]
The iPad screen displayed the poacher leader's file. Franklin held it out for Owen and Claire to see.
"Is that him?"
"That's him."
Compared to a few years ago, Franklin looked much more mature, at least he didn't look like he would burst into high-pitched screams anymore. After the dinosaur rescue missions, he had joined the CIA. While he still engaged in some underground dinosaur rescue work on the side, Claire was effectively a suspect to his employers; talking to her could cost him his job.
"He's a real piece of work. So, what did he take?"
He had still chosen to help Owen and Claire; after all, they had both saved him once.
"Something we care about very much."
Claire didn't explicitly say he had taken Maisie, but Franklin understood exactly what she meant by "something" in an instant.
"Damn it, I knew it. You people just can't let anyone disappear quietly."
"We had no choice."
"But that's illegal."
"That guy doesn't care about the law. How do we find her?"
Franklin couldn't argue with the two of them, who were so perfectly in sync. He took a deep breath, deciding to risk his career to help them.
"Where are you calling me from?"
Claire handed over a flip phone. Franklin took it, performed a few quick operations, and connected it to an internal platform. His top-tier technical skills remained sharp as he handed the phone back, explaining:
"We have an undercover agent on the inside. We've confirmed they have a shipment sale happening in Malta within the week."
"Is she with them?"
Owen was far more concerned about Maisie's whereabouts than the bad guy.
"No mention of her. We've already arranged for an interception team… one of them you know."
Franklin shook his head, swiped through the files of [Lowery] and [Vivian] on the iPad, and displayed [Barry's] profile to them. This was the man who had trained Velociraptors alongside Owen.
"I have to talk to him."
"You can't call him directly; he's still undercover… Once the arrest operation in Malta concludes, we'll force Scott to reveal her location."
Franklin felt a wave of helplessness. How were these two still this reckless after all these years? He emphasized it again:
"It's our people, not yours."
Having said that, he realized neither Owen nor Claire was likely to take half a word of it to heart, so he switched tactics:
"Promise me you won't just charge in and ruin everything."
"Why would I ever do that?" Owen, the man who ran around islands with Velociraptors, released Indoraptor to brawl with it, and wrestled Parasaurolophus, asked in genuine confusion.
Franklin's expression reached a state of squared helplessness. He turned his head to the side, trying to calm himself.
"You're both insane… but maybe you're good parents. She's lucky to have you."
"Anyway, whatever you're planning, don't get yourselves killed, okay?"
———————
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