The Endangereds by Philippe Cousteau & Austin Aslan

Author:Philippe Cousteau & Austin Aslan [Cousteau, Philippe & Aslan, Austin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, Childrens
ISBN: 9780062894168
Goodreads: 50211999
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2020-09-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

Wangari

(Phataginus tetradactyla)

“Come in, Big Top,” Wangari said. She used a claw to adjust her headset. “I’m in position. How’s the feed look?”

“Vid’s coming through nice and crisp,” Murdock responded.

The pangolin grinned. After she’d found the radio at the wildlife management station and stripped it for parts last night, she’d gotten the circuitry to work on her head cam without much difficulty.

Her growing knowledge of how to create small electronics filled her mind with possibilities. Insect drones, tracker beacons, digital picklocks, LCD filters and enhancements for her brass goggles, and so much more . . . her utility belt would be bursting at the seams before the next mission. Combined with Murdock’s natural talents for coding and programming—and developing smartphone apps that could be paired with Wan’s inventions—there was no limit to the spy tools they could create as time went on.

“I routed the feed onto the Big Top displays,” said Murdock. “Looks gorgeous out there today, over.”

“All quiet on the southwestern front,” Wan told them. She was crouched on a low juniper branch on the hillside overlooking a meadow of sagebrush, bunch grasses, and other junipers. Her tail was wrapped around the alligator bark of the branch for added support. “Perfect Gunnison’s prairie dog territory,” she commented, turning her head in a wide arc to show those in the Galápagos the full landscape. “Which means—”

“Ideal ferret habitat,” answered Arief in her ear. He still sounded skeptical, but maybe the orange guru’s concern for their friends was softening.

Using binoculars she’d also swiped from the wildlife management office, Wangari scanned a cage resting on a low wooden table, spying the silhouettes of Hobbs and Jill behind the steel bars. She had shared an emotional farewell with them early this morning, knowing it was possible they’d never be together again. Wan would miss the ferrets. But she was happy and excited for them too.

Personally, she couldn’t imagine leaving the Endangereds behind. But she understood why Jill and Hobbs were choosing to move on and start their family here.

Wangari panned over and focused on the lone human, a wildlife management ranger with a name badge reading, “Officer J. Nez.” Nez looked relaxed, fiddling with a camera and a tripod.

Wan glanced up at the sun, shielding her eyes. High noon would arrive anytime now.

“Reminds me of a gallows,” Murdock intoned. “Where prisoners used to hang, back in the Old West.”

Wan made small adjustments to the head cam’s fit on her head, remembering that she was serving as the remote eyes and ears for the team back in the Galápagos. “Shush, now. That’s not a good omen,” she warned.

A jeep came over the nearby hill and parked next to the wildlife management truck. Both vehicles were positioned between Wan and the ferrets, which wasn’t a bad thing: the pangolin now had a bit of cover if she needed to approach.

Dr. Fellows hopped out of the jeep, partially blocked from view, and strode toward the wildlife ranger. She shook Nez’s hand. They huddled around the camera, making final arrangements.

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