Thick as Thieves 2: Under Your Command

Chapter 30

Lucas watched the vehicles roll through the Portal Terminus, fully stacked with fresh weapons and supplies. The remote had been an easy fix. A simple change of the damaged battery had got it working again. Hooper probably could have figured that out if he actually had a brain. Luckily there had been some stashed away at the Sixer camp. Now Lucas sat on a nearby rock, letting Hooper's soldiers regroup as he used some newly acquired medical supplies to change his bandages. He winced. The wound was still tender, but healing well.Thanks to Skye. He pulled down his shirt, glancing over at the many containers that Hooper's men were piling up.

"What is all that stuff?" he asked curiously.

"Crap load of tranquiliser," one of the soldiers answered. "Gonna need it if we want to take that thing alive."

Lucas bit his tongue, thinking seriously about this plan of Hooper's. He wanted to be on the winning side, sure, but did he want to get torn apart by a rampaging dinosaur in the process? He was pretty certain of his answer.

"Hey, Genius!" Hooper's grating voice sounded from the terminus. Lucas looked over to see Hooper walking towards him. "We're back on track thanks to you. Food, medical supplies, reinforcements. Everything we need to win."

"Wouldn't get too cocky just yet," Lucas mumbled. "We were prepared last time and look where you ended up."

Hooper scowled at him. "That won't happen again, I'll make sure of it. Now come on, he wants to see you."

"Who?"

"The new Nichol. Or at least the guy representing him."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Why does he want to see me?"

"I guess he still thinks you're an asset," Hooper shrugged. He noted Lucas' scepticism. "Just go. Maybe he has a better offer than Nichol did. This could be your lucky day."

With a heavy sigh, Lucas got to his feet and dragged himself over to the portal.

In a few seconds, he was transported from the middle of the jungle to a very large hangar. He looked around, adjusting to the dim lighting and the artificial air. It looked very similar to Hope Plaza, with its own large terminus anchoring the fracture. The set up was a lot more sophisticated than Nichol's rushed attempt.

"Lucas Taylor," he heard an authoritative voice greet him. Lucas stepped forward to see a man in military uniform standing some distance ahead of him. "General Grant Mercer," he introduced himself, stepping closer. Lucas studied him. He was a tall man, stoic, confident. He had heavy brows, giving him a permanent look of anger.

"You're Philbrick's replacement," Lucas guessed. "You work for EdenCorp."

"Actually, I work for the government," Mercer replied. "I represent a politician."

"Of course," Lucas said cynically. "A rich politician trying to make himself richer."

Mercer's dark eyes watched him. Lucas felt like he was being examined. He narrowed his gaze at him, wondering what exactly this was leading to.

"I've made Hooper's instructions very clear in terms of this unique dinosaur," Mercer continued. "My employer is very interested in it."

"And Terra Nova?" Lucas interrupted him. That's what he was interested in.

Mercer smirked slightly. "He wants the colony stabilised. He has big plans for it."

Lucas nodded, expecting this. "Control the past, control the future," he said bitterly, quoting Nichol's favourite phrase from long ago.