the victors

despite the fact i'd beaten the pack of the primordial feather, it didn't feel like i'd won. sure i'd stolen the extremely evil crate 14 from them, but i couldn't have been celebrating less then i was at that moment!

partially my lack of enthusiasm about my success was due to a major delay in that success. the crate was due to be shipped to me in new zealand in just over a month, but of course that was lots of time for things to go wrong. especially since i figured it would be a safer for me to get out of calgary in a hurry. i had suspicions the pack might come after me, now that they knew i was in town.

killing any sense of this being a win was the contents of the crate though... i knew exactly why the pack had stolen them... but it was as though they'd tried to personally target me and everyone i'd known in my childhood... if only it were just that. the ramifications of the whole thing made me sick to my stomach.

as for the crate, carmen (the university collections manager) was very confident nothing would happen to it. she'd altered its paperwork to a level the pack couldn't hope to touch it (unless they managed to replace almost everyone in the WHOLE geology department!). not that it they'd get a chance.

carmen had done it all on the down low. unless the pack were extremely into getting tangled in red tape and reading a million of shipping vouchers, the pack wouldn't have been aware the crate was being shipped to me instead of them now. as far as they were concerned it would ship to their destination as they'd planned.

i couldn't stop taking my mind off the cargo in the crate though... which would soon be mine to safe guard (i had no clue what that was going to mean!?!).

fortunently my co-conspirators caleb and kirsten showed up at the rendevous as per the wrap up of our crate caper plan.

"why do you look so down?" kirsten asked with concern. "don't tell me we went through all that, not too get that stupid box in the end!?!"

kirsten was of course referring to her and caleb's valiant efforts at distracting the pack, so that me and carmen could sneak to the crate undetected.

"no we made it," i assured her miserably. my remorse turned to guilt (my tiny brain often shifts between similar emotions), as i was suddenly concerned for their safety during my stupid plan. "you guys okay?!?"

"we are fine," caleb smiled. "your hunch that the pack would not attack us, due to us being humans, turned out completely correct!"

"so why are you acting like it is someone's funeral?" kirsten demanded. you know she wasn't as far off as she could have been.

"i'm feeling helpless," i stated matter of fact. with that admition every single doubt and worry in my head came spilling out. "sure we've stolen the crate, but the pack will still win in the end. i can't keep the crate safe forever! eventually the pack will get it back, and knowing my luck i can't fix the contents before that point. meaning this was all for nothing!!!"

"what are you carrying on about?" kirsten came close to scolding me. "the tyrannosaur with a brain the size of peanut outsmarts an entire gang of theropods, not to mention two palaeontologists..."

"grad students," caleb factually corrected kirsten mid-sentence, causing her to glare at him for a moment before continuing.

"grad students," kirsten acknowledged caleb annoyed. "your plan accomplished everything you set out for with no real loses, and your think you lost?"

"hey," i realized. "you're right! i did outsmart all of you..."

my dread and depression was suddenly changed to the glory i should have been feeling (another of those trademark me emotion shifts). caleb and kirsten were right! i had some how out thought and schemed both them (in that they thought my plan won't work), and certainly the pack. who i'd just stuck it too... at least in a month...

i launched at my two grad student friends with a mega high 4 (i'd give the full 10, but i don't have enough fingers...).

"that's more like it!" kirsten said with a sigh.

caleb in his usual logical manner. "what was in the crate that had you so upset?"

some of my apprehension returned, but only a little bit. a nagging worry about the future. not to worry people of the innerweb, suddenly i felt like i could take on the whole pack single clawed. it was just going to require a lot of thought and effort...

how to tell caleb and kirsten? in many ways the crate concerned them too, as they'd been in drumheller in those key years...

before revealing the secret, i made both of them swear to keep the secret. of course they both did. "alright, well inside the crate we found..." i began, but was suddenly interupted by my cell-phone ringing!

what? that hasn't happened in a long time. i put my claw up in the air to ask for a moment. "hello?" i ventured to the person on the other end.

"traumador, baby, why haven't you been answering your phone?!?" came the familiar voice of my special talent agent peter bond.

"oh hi peter," i replied. how to put this delicately. "can i call you back? this isn't a good time."

"no i can't traum," peter said with some urgency. "it's an emergancy!"

what?!? i suddenly felt dread and fear again... something happened to lillian?!? i'd entrusted peter to look after the albertosaur of my dreams. why hadn't he done that?!?

"look we don't have a lot of time," peter stated, fairly cheerfully for an emergancy i have to say. "i've already booked you a flight here, but it leaves in an hour. so you need to get to the airport right away!"

what!!! it was all happening so quickly. "where am i going?" i demanded.

peter sounded surprised by my not knowing. "where else? vancouver!"

"why?" i again demaned to know.

"we can work that all out when you get here!" peter dismissed. "just make sure you don't miss that plane! it cost quite a bit of, your, money!"

with that peter hung up. leaving me with two very confused scientists. i started to rush towards the door. i explained i had an emergancy to attend too.

immediately i had to reassure them it was not a crate related emergancy, and that they should keep tabs with carmen to make sure it stayed that way! while they were at it, i told them to get the laydown on the crate's contents from carmen. she knew almost as much as me.

i on the other hand had to race to the airport to get to peter, and find out what he (and hopefully) lillian were doing in vancouver! they'd been in new york last i heard. what could possibly be in vancouver to get them to leave???

to be continued with the big start to 2010!!!