Ripper: An Indoraptor Story ✓

Before The Storm

 "....Sir?"

"..."

"Sir!"

"Yes?"

"Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm here. Go ahead Alpha squadron. I hope you have some good news for me."

"We're almost at the target," The male grunted back, staring at his friend with a nod as he cocked his large firearm, "About 4 miles Eastbound near Route 80. We should reach the indoraptor by tonight at around 0100 and have it by 0600 if things go accordingly."

"Good work," Wu spoke back through the static as the bearded man began to pace around, passing near Albriener, the same man who had studied the dead coyotes from a few weeks ago, "Have your men ready for extraction. I don't want any setbacks."

"Yes, sir."

"And remember to kill on sight," Wu growled, making the bearded man pause, "I want you to make sure its heart stops beating. No more losses this time."

"Pardon me Sir, but...," The bearded man began to ask, allowing his brown eyes to surveil the large group of 20 soldiers, "...but is there anything we should be aware of?"

Henry's voice immediately silenced through the radio, and it would seem most likely that he had lost connection from their location. But within seconds thereafter a weak shudder from both listeners, the dinosaur scientist snorted back a response:

"Aware?"

"I would rather be ready than not prepared...s-sir. I'm not saying that I am afraid of your 'pet', but I want to know its limits."

"Well, it's the most dangerous creature to ever walk the Earth," Albriener called, snapping his last knife into the sheath of his book pocket before standing upright, "That's what we should be aware of. You said it yourself-"

"That statement was for merchandise," Wu spoke calmly from the other side, "When I planned to display him. Merchants sometimes need to twist the words to get a product's interest rate high. They'll take risks, no matter the wrongful possibilities. Men would fear and trust a false truth rather than the extent of reality, even if the lie is unbelievable. It's the fear of my design and its so-called 'purpose' that made them cower when their eyes laid upon his skull."

"So...it's not dangerous?" Albriener whispered with wide eyes before the scientist could continue.

"You can manipulate anything so long as you give it a reason," Wu responded back, "It's confused. It believes that it alone is the strongest and smartest thing on this planet when in truth we are. You put an electric trigger inside a gullible raptor's head and he'll trust anything."

Dr. Wu paused for a moment to take a breath of air, before continuing yet again as the two captains listened on:

"It is no longer the most dangerous creature to ever walk the earth. And because of this, we have the power to end it. It's nothing but a price over our heads, worth billions either dead or alive. That's a price I promise I can pay you boys if you get the job done. Promise me when you encounter it tonight, show no fear and no mercy."

The men glanced at each other for a moment, frozen in utter shock before dipping their head with a soft inhale.

"Understood, Sir." They croaked in unison, and the line went dead.

The bearded man and Albriener stared at each other as the line went silent and blinked. Each soldier stared into each other's eyes, breaths futile and synced as they each shared a common thought. Taking lives was a thing of the past, a choice they were forced to make when at war in Iraq and Syria. But taking a dinosaur's life seemed strange or somewhat disrespectful. Wu was so obsessed with his own creations that he never acknowledged that they're even breathing.