"Damn it, " said Evelyn.
"Fair is fair, honey, " said Adam, as he gave her a quick peck on the head. "Don't worry. I'll still be around if you need help."
"I know, " she said with a sigh. She grabbed a tranquilizer gun, and one of the special larger darts. Mary Lou's thick skin was difficult to pierce with average darts. She grabbed the large scrub brush, a pail, some gloves and two of the indigo shampoo bottles, and headed to Mary Lou's enclosure.
Evelyn scanned the large enclosure, trying to locate Mary Lou. Mary Lou's enclosure was large to match her size, with lush vegetation and a large water pond. Despite her large size, she was very good at hiding, and had often surprised the unwary vet tech.
"There she is, " said her Adam, pointing to the large shape at the edge of the pond. Her immense upper body was ashore, but the lower half of her body including her massive tail was submerged under the water. Looking at her face, it was impossible to tell if she was awake or asleep - it seemed like her black eyes were always open, even when resting.
"Of course she would be as far away as possible, " said Evelyn angrily. Using her badge, she opened the gate to the enclosure, and entered.
"What are you doing?, " stammered her Adam.
"Well, I can't hit her from here, and I want to get this over with, " said Evelyn angrily, walking toward the unmoving reptile.
"We need to attract her closer with meat, or lower the water temperature until she's asleep, " said Adam.
"That will take forever. I got this, " she said as she shouldered the rifle and fired. The dart struck Mary Lou's side, and she appeared to jump. She slowly raised her head, and stared at Evelyn with malice. Then slowly lowered her head and closed her eyes.
"See, easy as pie, "said Evelyn with smile. Maybe this won't be as hard as I thought, thought Evelyn. " Now, give me a hand moving her out of the water to so I can scrub her down."