Thanksgiving Week came to more than just many of the standard parts of the week. The food and visiting with family were always part of the week, and the start of the Christmas shopping season after Thanksgiving remained a big thing. However, the week also saw one of the concluding acts of a saga that didn't initially even relate to Animalia. That had begun with a wealthy Texan having the genius idea to smuggle a few Marco Polo Sheep, a threatened subspecies of the Argali in Central Asia. He had somehow managed to gain the compliance of governmental officials to essentially help remove a pair of the sheep from the wild.
However, the plot seemed to fall when passengers on the plane reported hearing the bleating of the sheep while the plane was in flight. Thankfully, the cargo area they were in was pressurized as there were also noted pets on board the flight as well, but that didn't mean that a threatened animal in the wild was supposed to be coming into the US. And when the plane landed at San Antonio, passengers reported hearing the bleating of the sheep to the people manning the counters at the disembarking desk. This led to calls to the crew unloading the plane and killed the whole scheme. For it ultimately appeared that the rich hunter had initially marked these sheep as animals legally harvested in the country of origin. And so long as the sheep were thought dead, the papers the hunter had would work, the fact that the sheep woke up and were alert in their traveling container changed things and required compliance in San Antonio as well.
There were a few members of the unloading crew that were ultimately helping with the smuggling operation, but their mission also required on the sheep being quiet in order to get them onto a cargo truck that would take them away from the airport. Between the passengers alerting crew of the bleating during the flight and then other, non-corrupt, workers noting the bleating of the sheep as they were taken out of the plane, customs officers soon swarmed the plane and arrested the unloading crew. They then turned over the hunter that had begun the entire operation. He was arrested and confessed to having the scheme, but didn't reveal how the scheme worked or how he'd managed to get the sort of contacts that he had. From there, that only lead to the request that the two live Marco Polo Sheep be uplifted in the hope that they would have overheard more, as had happened with other cases of animals being smuggled.
This ended up leading to a trailer being brought up Horizon with the two Marco Polo Sheep in it and with Doctor Stein waiting quietly for it. The two law enforcement agents that came up to him wore crisp suits and he guessed they were FBI, though the Horizon scientist had to admit that he didn't always know the difference between all of them. He did just know that their mission was important.
"You're certain that this uplifting could gain more information for us?" the first asked to Doctor Stein as opened the back door and ushered them in, so that the trailer could be backed up so that the only avenue for the Marco Polo Sheep was into the building.
"I'm certain that they can help provide you with the things they remember," Doctor Stein commented, feeling that people never seemed to fully catch on to how much mundane animals absorbed by being near Humans and thus providing Animalians then suddenly understanding nearly everything they may have overheard or seen while they were mundane animals and only just recognizing these things after becoming Animalians. It was all something that had already been proven in a few cases with regard to animals that were involved in smuggling schemes. "Whether or not the man you arrested talked out his plans with his partners outside the US... or with the agents that helped him smuggle the sheep out of central Asia in front of them is an unknown. Though, they would have surely seen some faces and thus could provide a base description. That'd help for a composite sketch that would be needed."
"How well that would work might be difficult, depending on how they would accept images for who they're looking for," the law enforcement agent commented, "as these two aren't from the US, as I'm sure you know."
"Yes," Doctor Stein nodded, "and the question you can wonder on is what they know, exactly. And that we won't know until they're uplifted."
"How do you want us to move them?" one of the men by the trailer asked, "as we can open the gate, but they'll come straight out."
"We have some volunteers that will hold up some barriers and essentially leave the only open route for them being to the larger lab that we have," Doctor Stein commented.
"These guys can be pretty strong," the second man by the trailer warned, "a person wouldn't mean much if they felt they had no other option but to charge."
"Trust me, they wouldn't charge a Dinotopian," Doctor Stein answered, "it'll be a case of wanting to avoid something bigger than them."
"How quick will the uplifting be?" the law enforcement agent asked and then looked over a shoulder to see the Styracosaur Dinotopian, Brett Horne, holding a large and long metal table Rex stood nearby holding another table, and together the two of them blocked off one of the wider hallways that went deeper into the building from the main delivery unloading area. Behind them was Tyra who was looking forward likely shifting her feet. The law enforcement agent didn't figure that the two wild sheep would charge that.
"The actual transformation will be quick," Doctor Stein replied, "the real question is how quickly will they take to drinking from the tubs we've placed the Animalia Virus in... And that I'm afraid we can't answer. Sometimes it could be very quick and sometimes they may not take interest in it for a while."
"Can your muscle make sure they go through the door to this lab?" the law enforcement agent asked as he and Doctor Stein moved to head toward the large lab and the last of Dinotopians that were manning hallway near door to that lab. He recognized Heather and Jeremy as they approached.
"Yes," Doctor Stein answered, "and they have been instructed on how to assure that the two sheep are herded in. All that will remain is then assuring that they leave the trailer. And IT shouldn't move until an all clear can be given."
There was a nod of agreement and the two then made their way past Jeremy and Heather. Both Dinotopians benefitted a bit from the fact that this hallway was narrower and that only one large metal table was needed as a shield. As they approached Jeremy moved forward and Heather moved back, pivoting the grey metal table they carried. It let Doctor Stein lead the law enforcement agent past them and making sure that they gave both Heather and Jeremy plenty of room to retake their position where they would be blocking off the hallway. For while the tail of their specific Dinotopian species was relatively flexible, it wasn't like something that would curve like a piece of rope and could also be reasonably stiff for a sense of balance.
"You ready?" Jeremy asked as he and Heather resumed their blocking position and held up the table.
"Yes," Doctor Stein nodded.
The law enforcement agent then lifted a walkie talkie from inside his coat pocket and spoke into it, "You may release the sheep."
A series of metal clangs were heard and there were pair of bleating calls. It was then followed by the hard click of the hooves impacting the tile floor that Horizon had. Not too long after, the two sheep appeared and at first headed toward where Brett, Tyra, and Rex were manning the first blocking point. They then came back. One actually went back toward the trailer for a moment but soon followed the first of the two Marco Polo Sheep. That first one came toward where Jeremy and Heather were manning their table, though it stopped to sniff and look at the few doors that it passed. It wasn't quite investigation as it was looking for a way to move away and not wanting to go back the way it came. Once the second one joined it, Doctor Stein could soon see Brett and Rex move their tables in a pivoting motion to keep the sheep penned in and with Heather moving behind them. It was only at this time that Doctor Stein heard the metal clangs again, which was likely the men who had been outside and managing the trailer. Though, that didn't appear to matter as the sheep did find their way to the lab they were to be herded to and Jeremy was quick to then lean over the table and shut the door, assuring that the two sheep would remain in the lab until they were uplifted.