Relative Strangers (Book 2) No Man Is An Island

5. What To Do

"I still don't understand how this story ends with you being tortured and shot" admitted Lester.
"I'm getting there. Look, I've been trying to stop MacNamera for ages now. I've been spying on him and freeing creatures for the past few months, ever since I left Matt's flat. Unfortunately MacNamera and his men managed to capture me while I was freeing a triceratops" explained E.
"Really? Him? A simple human soldier, was able to capture someone as extraordinary as you" mocked Becker.
E glared at him, "Well, noormally I have the option to run from losers like him, and jump through an anomaly. But not this time, because I couldn't just leave those creatures at the mercy of soldiers like him. Besides, there are dozens of them and only one of me, so eventually my luck was going to run out, even if I am a hundred times better than all them".

"Why did he torture you, if he wasn't interested in the anomalies?" Asked Connor, trying to change the subject slightly, to avoid E and Becker getting into an argument.
"I didn't say he wasn't interested in them, just that he is more focused on the creatures. He is still a little curious of the strange glowing lights that spit out anomalies. He sent several teams through them to bring back creatures, but stopped when he decided that the death toll was too high.
He tortured me, because I know about the anomalies and the creatures. He also wanted to know where I came from, and how I managed to find the island" answered E.
"How long were you their prisoner for?" Questioned Matt.
"A week or two" replied E.

"And did they manage to get any information out of you?" Quizzed Lester.
"No. I may have slipped up and allowed myself to get captured, but I don't break that easily" admitted E.
"I still can't believe they tortured you. I mean, it's not like you're a fully grown man or anything" said Connor.
"Thanks" mumbled E.
"You know what I mean. I would've thought they'd have found it hard to torture a child"
"I am not a child, but I know what you mean. And some of the soldiers were a little uncomfortable torturing me. But not MacNamera, nothing stops him from getting what he wants... The worst thing was that I don't technically exist. You won't find me on any public records. The only database I'm on, is the one here at the ARC, and he isn't smart enough to hack into those systems. Which is why he tortured me so heavily, he wanted to find out who I was".

"If he's as bad as you say, I'm surprised you managed to escape" admitted Becker.
"Clearly I'm better than you think I am. When they opened my door one afternoon, I managed to knock out the soldier bringing me food, and take out the guards outside my cell. I took their guns and made my way through the building, until I found my belongings. Unlike you guys, they had been smart enough to strip me off all my tech, including my necklace, stopping me from escaping. So I had to get my bag and my equipment back. They hadn't been able to learn what any of it did of course, so I simply swiped my stuff from the table and legged it. Unfortunately as I was choosing my location on the anomaly device, MacNamera arrived and began shooting at me, which is how I recieved a bullet to the shoulder".

"And you want to go back to these monsters who hurt you?" Questioned Matt.
"I don't have a choice, it's not just about the creatures being exploited for profit. Can you imagine what would happen if Harold Wolf's dinosaur island became public knowledge? Anomalies would no longer be a secret, the whole would know about them. Which is why he has to be stopped" replied E.
"Well, when you put it like that, we'd better get to work" admitted Lester.
"You'll help?" Asked E.
"Of course we will, I thought we'd already made that quite clear".

"This isn't going to be easy Lester. It's not as simple as going in there all guns blazing, and killing all the soldiers. If this Harold Wolf is already going through the offical channels, to buy this island, then it may already be too late, because he as brought the island to the attention of those in government" admitted Matt.
"Which is why I am going to phone the Minister. Hopefully betwen us we can figure out what this man is up to legally, and stop him" replied Lester.
"What do you want us to do?"
"Right now, nothing. Like you said, you can't just charge in without a plan. Let me handle this for the time being".

"I can't just sit here and do nothing. I need to get back there" insisted E.
"Why did I know you were going to have a problem with my plan" sighed Lester.
"Because it's a stupid plan. Look, you stay here and sort things out officially if you want, while me and the team head to the island" replied E.
"You are not in charge here. And if you want our help, then you have to play by our rules. Besides, just look at yourself, you're not exactly in the best physical condition right now. You're covered head to toe in injuries, and your arm is in a sling, because of the bullet wound in your shoulder. You cannot go back there until you've healed"
"You can't keep me here against my will!"
"No, I learned that a long time ago. But you won't stop anyone, looking like that. If you return to that place today, you won't come back alive".

"He's right E. You need to rest and recover before going back there. And when you are ready to return, we will have your back" promised Matt.
"But I need to get back there now" insisted E.
"I'm sure nothing will change too much in the next week or so, while you heal. And we won't just be doing nothing while we wait, we will be planning what we are going to do. You will have to tell us everything you know about this island; where its defenses are, how many men we are likely to encounter, and how many anomalies and creatures there are".
E sighed, "Fine, I won't leave while my arm is still in a sling. But once my arm is working properly again, I'll be off".
"That's fine with me" replied  Matt.