Needle in a Drumheller

(From the active case files of the Palaeo Central Initiative. Personal log of Palaeo-Prime: Professor Alvar Paradigm.)


This has not been one of my better days.

Despite our successful capture of Case #132-09's poaching racket, my personal participation in the operation was less than ideal.

However today has been the first time I have ever been thwarted in hand to hand combat by two separate combatants!

My second altercation was quite an unexpected surprise however, especially in who I clashed with.


What the hell is Jaden [Spectre] doing here in Drumheller???

The logical conclusion is he was somehow involved in the poaching. That does not make sense though.

He has known about the Vivus egg layer in the Horseshoe Canyon as long as I have. More to the point he would never resort to employing anyone else to excavate for him. He is far to skilled and capable to need hired help. Not to mention his pride!


No, there must be something else behind his presence here, but I don't have time to figure it out now!

Jaden has abducted TMP 2003. 12. 7., known to most as "Traumador". Being taken by Jaden means the Tyrannosaur only has a few hours left, unless I can track them both down!

I think I know what Jaden is up to. Or so I hope. I have made a crucial call to the International Palaeontological Committee publishing house. I am going to need them to rush something through a peer review in the next hour if there is any hope of stopping Jaden.

Naturally Jaden was smart enough to not leave me anything resembling a useful trail. His tracks end at the Dinosaur Trail highway. Meaning he could be anywhere in the greater Drumheller area by now. He is not foolish enough to try and leave the area, as he or his captive might be found if I were to order a road closure.

It has been a long time since the two of us have played cat and mouse in Drum. Nine years, two months, and five days to be precise. His choice of hideouts in the area has altered a great deal in the past decade, and like always I don't have much time to figure out which!


I can immediately eliminate two of his classic haunts from the list. Both the old abandoned Prehistoric Park and Antler Museum sites have been thankfully demolished in the last few year, and thus he can't fall back on familiar ground or the previously installed defences.


At the same time there is no shortage of potential new sites for him to use around town. All Jaden needs is privacy and access to the barest basic utilities and he is fully operable.

[Photo courtest of David Lloyd]

I fear he may yet, one of these days, resort to using one of the several dozen old dilapidated farm buildings in the area. He has never done this in his exploits in Canada, but there is always a first time in this country. Which would prove disastrous, I do not have the time to check them all.

Based on our encounter earlier today though I am willing to gamble he will not be using this tactic today. He went out of his way to ensure I survived our battle, and I have fought him enough to know the difference. No, Jaden wants me to know exactly what he is doing to TMP 2003. 12. 7, and thus he will have chosen a hideout that will be obvious so I can find it.

[Photo courtesy of David Lloyd]

My first stop, Jaden's still standing second base in Drumheller. The Bleriot Ferry. In 1986 during his attempt to illegally break into the Tyrrell's type specimen collection, Jaden used the Ferry's mechanical shed as his base of operations.

However here in 2009 there is no sign that he has been here in the past twenty years.

When Jaden is pulling one of his more showy schemes, he likes to go as grandiose as he can on his venue. Having a flair of theatrical sense, Jaden tends to pick historic sites for these occasions.

You can not get much more historic or flashy then the Atlas 5 coal mine site.

I wagered it 40% likely I'd find Jaden and Traumador here at the mine, it turns out that my 60% reservations were correct.

Clearly Jaden wants to be found, but not too easily. If he is going to attempt what I think he is, then this makes sense. He can not afford me finding him too soon. I need to really get in Jaden's headspace right now if I am to save the Tyrannosaur!

Jaden is very fond of abandoned facilities, for the clear advantages they provide to someone with his agenda. His usual two the Prehistoric Park and Antler museum no longer exist, but as small cities and towns tend to do, Drumheller has produced a few new such places for him to choose from.

A fire last year, rendered the former high school completely useless. Making it perfect for Jaden's purposes, especially since it is right in the heart of the city and very close to electrical and water systems that can be tapped into.

If I gave the Atlas mine 40% likelihood, then the high school was 50%. The boarded up front was almost like Jaden's version of a welcoming mat.

Yet after an extensive search of the building I was astounded to find the high school had simply been abandoned.

Which did not bode well for me or the Tyrannosaur! Those were the only clear places I could think of, and Drumheller was a town I knew particularly well.

A last possible location occurred to me, though I did not bother to investigate it.

The new "museum" being constructed 5 minutes down North Dinosaur Trail from the Tyrrell.

The thought of this abomination of an institute feels me with intense rage. Despite the Tyrrell's, my own, and even the International Palaeontological Committee's efforts to block them, the Annex Corporation has been allowed to build this tourism branch in Alberta. I can not even properly express my disgust over this situation. If this is a sign of things to come, than my efforts to combat the company have been for nothing!

`

I digress though. Such a new facility only being partially complete, it would make an ideal temporary base for Jaden. Yet, I can thankfully dismiss the Annex Corp. museum without a second thought. Despite our disagreements in the past, Jaden and I still share an absolute disdain for the company. He would not ally himself with them under many circumstances, and getting back at me through the Tyrannosaur certainly would not be one of them!

`

No, Jaden has to have come up with a far cleverer hiding place then these. I just wish I could think of where the hell it is?!?

To be continued... In the last place anyone would think to look!