When the large containment door to Heather's cell opened, she expected to see Jeremy. She was eager to play with him again. The last game had been fun. She enjoyed seeing him squirm. But she was surprised when a stranger walked into the room.
He was nothing like Jeremy. He was tall, well-dressed in a brand of three-piece suit she couldn't identify and dark sunglasses. He strode across the room with an air of confidence, like he wasn't in the room with a ferocious beast but with just another peon not worth his time. He sat down in a chair that had been set up for him in front of Heather, close to her, but just out of the reach of her chains. His face was expressionless, like it was made of stone. And he looked deadly serious.
"I hope you realize the seriousness of what you have done, " said the man as he leaned down and rested his elbows on the small table that sat between them.
Heather said nothing. She just studied the strange man before her.
"You managed to bring back to life something that was extinct for 65 million years, something that the Virus was supposedly incapable of," said the man.
"Thank you, " said Heather, a smile stretching across her face.
The man's expression remained impassive.
"I wasn't congratulating you. Perhaps I would be if that had been all you had done. The whole world probably would have celebrated your achievement, lauding you with praise and showering you with awards. Fame, fortune... it could have all been yours. But you just had to screw it all up with petty revenge. On children, " the man paused, just long enough to clean the lenses of his dark glasses. The action was so quick, methodical and efficient Heather never got a chance to see the color of his eyes.
"You are going away for a long time. They have added murder to your list of charges, " said the man.
"Oh? Did the boy die?" asked Heather.
"No, he will live, despite your best efforts to kill him, " said the man. Heather raised one of her scaly eyebrows and the man realized he had made a mistake. He had accidentally given her information she was not supposed to know. For just a second Heather could see an emotion on his face, a brief flash of anger at his temporary indiscretion. Then his calm, cold, professional demeanor returned. "No, I am talking about what happened in Costa Rica. That and the attempted murder charge should be enough to put you away for a very long time."
"I have no idea what you are talking about. Murder? I have never killed anyone. And attempted murder? Well, that was just a schoolyard scuffle that got out of control. I was simply asking for directions and that girl attacked me. If you ask me, she is the one who should be facing charges. And after her boyfriend attacked me .... well, what was I supposed to do? It was self-defense. At least, that is what I will say in court. After all, it's just her word against mine," said Heather.
The man cracked smile.
"You really think anyone will buy that? We may not have audio, but the Sky drones recorded video of your 'little scuffle'. The footage alone will bury you," said the man.
"Maybe. Maybe not. I guess we will have to wait and see," said Heather.
"There is an easy way out, " said the man, showing absolute mastery of the 'poker face'. "Help Horizon figure out how you accomplished your transformation, aid them in Project Thylacine, and work off your debt to society in Animalia."
"Or what?" asked Heather smugly.
"The only other option is a nationally televised federal trial, " said the man.
"Really? I'd be on television? Sounds like fun. I do hope they get my best side," said Heather, tilting her head and holding a clawed hand to her chin.
"Funny. I wonder if Effie will find it so amusing, " said the man.
Heather's gleeful expression turned grim.
"Poor old Effie. How old is she now? 90? 92? I wonder if her weak heart could take it, the shame of seeing her beloved grandchild labeled a murderer. She is the one who raised you, right? After your parents abandoned you and ran off? The only one who ever really cared about you? Boy, I can't imagine the pain it would cause her to see what has become of the little girl she loved so much. Day after day, over and over. These trials seem to take forever and the media can be merciless, " said the man.
Heather grimaced, turning away. She fought hard to hold back her tears - and the urge to tear this man apart. But she was tougher and smarter than the man thought. She shook her head and smiled again.
"Yes, that might be bad .... if I was this Heather person. From what I hear, she disappeared on her way to jail in Costa Rica, presumed dead due to a terrible car accident. They never did find any bodies - hers, Zepeta's, even the policemen. Those jungle predators will eat just about everything on a dead body, sometimes even gobble up the whole thing at once, " said Heather. "Yes, you can learn a lot just by being quiet and listening. Although they don't like to talk to me, the nurses and technicians who examine me do like to talk. Jabber, jabber, jabber, nonstop while they work. No, Heather Wilcox died in Costa Rica. I am someone else."
"Don't play games with me! I know you are Heather Wilcox," said the man, slamming his fist down on the table.
Heather smiled. She knew she was winning again. It had taken a little longer, this was a much harder nut to crack than Jeremy, but she was still winning.
"Really? Why? Because that child told you I was her? I think you are going to need more reliable evidence than that. Perhaps a photo line-up? Maybe fingerprints?" said Heather, wiggling her clawed fingers. "I know - you can match my DNA with one of her relatives. Oh wait, with all the dinosaur DNA mixed into my genome I doubt you will have much luck."
"You are Heather Wilcox. You know it! I know it! Everybody knows it!" said the man angrily.
Heather leaned close to him across the table.
"Then prove it," she said smugly.
The man stood up, angry and exhausted.
"Fine, have it your way. You'll get the trial you want. And a guilty verdict, I guarantee that. Then there will be a nice execution, a really gruesome but satisfying one," said the man.
"For attempted murder? Not likely," scoffed Heather.
The man smiled grimly.
"You really have no idea what you have done, do you? You have been so out of touch you don't know anything about Animalia. It is a wonderful place, an almost perfect utopia. Humans and Animalians alike love it. And you almost destroyed it. Your little stunt pushed Animalia society to the brink of social and political collapse! Now everyone out there is scared and angry.... people aren't at their best when they are scared and angry. They don't always make the most ethical or logical decisions. They just want justice. They want to kill the monster that threatened their peace and safety. They want its' head on a platter. You probably don't realize it because you have been locked away, but you are that monster. You are public enemy number one, the top of everyone's hit list. Hell, you will be lucky to make it to trial without being assassinated, " said the man as he turned and walked to the door. "But as you said, we'll see. Quite frankly, I am looking forward to the trial, too. It will be fun to watch you squirm."
"Wait!" said Heather as the man reached the door. He saw genuine fear on her face. He paused before leaving. "Listen, I didn't say I was against making a deal. Didn't you mention some kind of offer before, something about working off my debt to society?"
The man smiled.
"We might be able to arrange something. If you are genuinely remorseful. And your help is of some value," said the man.
"I just have a few requests," said Heather.
"Requests?" scoffed the man. "That's rich. You are in no position to make any demands!"
"It's nothing like that. I just want to meet with a lawyer. To make sure everything is nice and legal," said Heather.
"That's reasonable. I think we can work something like that out," said the man. "Anything else?"
"I will only work with one person. I don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of strangers, ogling and judging me. Bring them here and I will tell them everything," said Heather.
The man stared at her skeptically behind his dark glasses.
"Who?" he asked coldly.
He paled when he heard the name.
"You can't be serious?" he said grimly.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
After leaving the holding cell area, the man met with two Horizon scientists waiting just outside the room.
"Well?" they asked nervously.
"I think this might work. She's willing to work with us, if we are willing to make a few concessions," said the man.
The scientists sighed with relief. Heather's transformation was such a mystery. The hodgepodge collection of damaged DNA should not have been able to bond with the virus, much less transform Heather the way it had. Yet, here she was. They were anxious to get as much information from her as possible to speed up their own research.
"What about him?" asked a scientist, pointing at Jeremy.
Jeremy was sandwiched between two of the Rhino guard, sitting on a chair with his hands running through his wild hair as he stared at the ground.
"Lock him up," said the man coldly.
"What? But I was cooperating. I confessed, told you everything..." whined Jeremy.
"And we thank you for that. Maybe the judge will take that into consideration during sentencing," said the man.
"What's the charge?" asked a Rhino guard.
"Theft, smuggling, transportation of a dangerous substance, and aiding and abetting a known felon. I just wish I could think of more. He deserves it," said the man.
Jeremy wailed as he was dragged away to his own temporary holding cell in the Horizon Lab facility.
"I never would have thought one of my coworkers capable of that," said one scientist, amazed at what Jeremy had done.
"Well, he was always a bit of a maverick. Remember that thing with his sister," said the other scientist.
"What will happen to him?" asked the first scientist.
"Probably just a slap on the wrist. He's a good scientist and my guess is the bigwigs upstairs will want to put him back to work as soon as possible. But it is better to put some fear in him first. It will help make him a little more ......cooperative. And a lot less likely to make the same mistake again," said the man.
The man walked down the hallway towards the exit.
"Where are you going?" asked the first scientist.
The man sighed.
"You can read the details in my report. If your level of security clearance is high enough, " said the man as he left the building.