PANIC ROOM • KENJI KON

LXXXIX. The Return of Kenji

"You know, I tried to give you two a moment, but these three are nosey," Ben said.

Sammy giggled, nudging Yaz. "And you said there were no perfect moments."

Brooklynn lifted her tablet and snapped a photo.

"I had no idea!" Darius said, grinning from ear to ear, happy for his two friends.

Eva cupped her hands together around her mouth and shouted, "YASMMY FOR THE WIN!" She lowered her hands, still smiling. "Now, this is truly a historic moment," she said, pulling the two girls in for a hug. "I'm so excited for you guys!"

"Guys?" Brooklynn called. Eva frowned, letting her friends go. "It's the perimeter drone. They're here."

~~~

"What is that?"

Eva groaned.

Trucks rolled off the boat, their bodies were like shipping containers, and a million thoughts were running through Eva's head wondering what they carried. The most obvious, though, were dinosaurs.

"It's not the drone plane, that's for sure. Does anyone know how to drive a boat?"

"That was kinda Kenji's thing," Eva admitted.

"Look, they're not alone."

A man stood outside each of the shipping container trucks, and as the fourth truck parked next to the others, Kenji was revealed, approaching it.

Something bitter entered Eva's lips, looking down at her ex. How could he come back here acting like everything was fine, when it clearly wasn't?

The shipping container backs opened revealing a pterosaur, a baryonyx, Toro.

"They're really not alone." Sammy gasped. "Is that, Toro?"

"Yeah, and Kenji's controlling him," Darius said, disgusted.

He stood and walked away from the cliff's edge.

"I can't believe him. What do we do now?" Brooklynn's eyebrows knit together.

"We stop them," Darius said. "That hasn't changed."

"Y'all, where is Ben?" Eva asked, looking around for the jungle boy.

The campers crept back to the cliffside, watching as a familiar ankylosaurus left the confines of one of the trucks.

~~~

"Ben! Slow down! We won't get Bumpy back without a plan!" Darius panted.

The five were currently chasing down their six, who had taken off through the jungle without missing a beat.

Darius, Brooklynn and Eva finally caught up to Ben, who was ducked down next to some bushes.

"Find her?" Brooklynn asked.

Ben shook his head. "No, but I found Kenji and his new best friend."

Eva finally looked in the direction of the warehouse, seeing Kenji posted outside the door, with Big Bird by his side.

"Hawkes?" Darius ground his hands into fists. "Mr. Kon is exactly the type of guy who would work with a jerk like Hawkes."

"Yeah, but, who expected Kenji to be?" Eva said wistfully.

Sammy moved to her side, offering a comforting hand squeeze.

"Well, at least he'll be mad when he sees the control chips are gone," Brooklynn reasoned.

"And Brooklynn deleted the blueprints," Darius added, his hand going to B's back. "How's he gonna sell his tech to BioSyn now?"

Ben shushed them, then pointed at the door. Mr. Kon exited the building, looking alarmingly calm. "Why does his mad face look so calm?"