Alien Hunter by Strieber Whitley

Author:Strieber, Whitley [Strieber, Whitley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Novel, Aliens
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2013-01-12T02:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

The lion habitat was immediately beside the security area, and it took them only a few moments to reach it with their latest minder, a young guy called Josh who apparently thought they were celebrity guests looking for an insider’s tour.

He nattered away about the facility’s history and its considerable prowess as one of the most popular exhibits in Las Vegas.

The walls and floors were clear glass, so it was easy to see the lions, but not entirely. There was a small area where they could stay out of view.

There was a crowd in front of the habitat, and a line full of kids formed up along the wall. It was a happy situation, calm and orderly. No problems here. There were cubs in the habitat, and the children were eager to have their pictures taken with them. Farther down the corridor, more people were filing into Studio 54. The casino was humming, too, and a show was letting out of the Cirque de Soleil’s KÀ Theater.

This was a chess game with no board and more than one expert opponent. Or perhaps it was better to say it another way: a chess game with the perp and some other kind of game with the tiger, played by tiger rules, whatever they were.

He asked Scott, “Did you check the whole habitat?” He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from the man who had done the work.

“What’s there to check? Six lions, two cubs, glass floors, end of story.”

Obviously, Scott was not aware of how the habitat was laid out. Flynn went to the door. “I need to enter the space,” he told their minder.

The man blinked. His expression of surprise said that it wasn’t a frequent request. Finally he said, “No.”

“It’s okay, Ricky,” Scott said.

“Don’t we need a release or something?”

“I need to do this right now.”

Scott spoke into his radio, then listened. Willard, no doubt. Flynn waited. At a nod from Scott, Rickie unlocked the heavy door and stepped aside.

“Hey,” the trainer who was handling the animals said, “You know what you’re doing?”

“I need to see into the enclosed area.”

“There’s nobody in there. We’re all out here.”

This guy was tight with his lions, which was good. It meant that he could control them. Flynn was fast enough to deal with one lion, but six would be a definite problem, and lions weren’t like tigers, they worked in packs.

The public was now aware of his presence in the enclosure and was watching him. He moved through the visible space, then took a few steps up into the hidden area.

It was exactly as he expected. He called out to the trainer, “There’s another animal in here.”

The trainer’s head turned. “What?”

“Back in here. And I don’t think it’s a lion.”

The man came to Flynn. “That’s empty. It has to be.”

Flynn moved a little deeper into the dimness. “Get security over here.”

“This is impossible!”

“Look for yourself,” Flynn said. “Carefully.”

“Jesus, you’re right. What is that?”

“We need somebody who’s able to work with tigers.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.