“And so it happened,” Pick said, “that all this was preserved for us to discover, to see, to contemplate, and, at last, to understand. For this is nothing but confirmation of the ultimate victory that is love. We weep for this creature as we must weep for ourselves. She and her mate have taught us lessons that we as a civilization should already know. There is no greater gift than to lay down your life for those you love. The family is holy and eternal. Nature, God, the Great Being, or Event that created life on Earth put those truths inside even this most fearsome creature. When we reveal it to an anxious world, I think there may well be a revolution of spirit everywhere.”
It was a pretty speech but I couldn’t help but feel that perhaps Pick was making way too much of it. By their expressions, Tanya, Amelia, Ray, and the Marsh brothers were enchanted by all this. I looked over at Jeanette. She was frowning and I think a little embarrassed by what Pick had said. Edith just looked perplexed. Laura’s expression was one of doubt. Well, I guess philosophers, or even slightly nutty paleontologists, expound truths and we either accept them or not. All I knew was, at that moment, my heart went out to that Tyrannosaur family and I felt like they were right there, still alive.
31
The next morning, while we were eating breakfast and preparing for another long day with the mama T, Cade Morgan arrived in his Mercedes followed by the black limo. Cade got out his car and four men got out of the limo. The men were dressed in loose slacks, Hawaiian print shirts, and wingtip shoes. Their heads were shaved. Across their shirts were leather straps holding holsters with the butts of pistols protruding. They were, in other words, armed Russian bully boys, almost certainly soldiers of the Wolves. My backpack with my Glock was sitting on the ground beside me. I knelt and removed the pistol, then tucked it under my belt in the small of my back.
Cade was all smiles. “Hallooo,” he called. “This is quite the complex. And all those big white things. Are those the bones? Pick, where are you?”
The Russians lined up behind him as Jeanette came out of the supply tent. She was holding a mug of coffee. “What are you doing on my property, Cade Morgan?” she demanded.
“Well, hello, Jeanette,” Cade answered in a cheerful voice. “This may be your land, but those are my property.” He nodded toward the jacketed bones.
“What are you talking about, you fool?” Before I could stop her, Jeanette walked up to Cade. “What the hell is this?”
I glanced at my tent where my rifle was and judged it too far away. Then I saw Ray coming around the cook tent with his pistol in his hand. I caught his eye, gesturing with my chin for him to get back out of sight. As he did, I caught a glimpse of Amelia behind him. Laura, Tanya, Brian, and Philip came out, attracted by the raised voices. Cade looked past Jeanette to the others. “I don’t see Pick. Didn’t I ask for him? I’m sure I did.”
Jeanette jabbed her finger in Cade’s chest. “Leave, you idiot! Now!”
Cade frowned. “Aw, Jeanette, you always make things so hard. By the way, we shot your dog as we came in. He didn’t like us on your ranch for some reason.”
“You killed Soup?” Jeanette yelled and reared back and threw a punch at Cade.
Cade dodged and laughed. “Well, we shot him. I don’t know if we killed him or not. We didn’t have time to check.” He nodded toward Tanya. “The Russian girl,” he said and one of the men walked over and grabbed Tanya by her arm. He had taken his pistol out of its holster.
I drew my Glock and pointed it at the Russian. “Leave her alone.”
The Russian, a huge brute who had to weigh three hundred pounds, looked at me and laughed. Then, faster than I could react, he jammed his pistol into Tanya’s hair and pulled the trigger.
The way I remember that moment is like this. It was as if the very plane of life had turned into one of those curved mirrors that reflect reality in a distorted way. Tanya’s face expanded grotesquely as the bullet traveled into her skull and out the other side. Before she fell, I fired for the Russian’s heart and my bullet sped straight and true. He staggered, then fell on his back, his short, thick legs flung up, one of his wingtip shoes flying off. He was wearing white socks. It’s odd what you remember when you shoot a man in the heart.
Before I could turn toward Cade and the other Russians to shoot them, I was bowled over. Two Russians piled on top of me and one of them wrenched the Glock out of my hand, then jerked me to my feet. To my everlasting disappointment, the Russian I’d shot was sitting up. He was also laughing; his teeth ugly, broken, and yellow. He unbuttoned his shirt and pointed at the body armor covering his chest. He found his shoe, put it on, then stood up and walked over to me and punched his huge fist into my stomach. I doubled over, fell, and he kicked me in the back. I expected a bullet next but it didn’t come. They simply walked away. I rolled into a sitting position as Pick made his appearance, looking wide-eyed and scared. He saw Tanya lying in the dirt, the blood leaking from her horrible wound. His reaction was to gasp, his mouth falling open in shock.