Yeti Unleashed Read online

Radner studied the man for a moment without commenting.

  “In short, I believe Dr. Olson must go,” Wickingham continued.

  Radner’s pulse quickened and a pain shot through his temple. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. He remembered meeting the new faculty member at a social function at the beginning of the academic year and recognized him as a climber, an opportunist. “You propose that you and I waltz into the president’s office and demand that he fire Harry?”

  “I wouldn’t put it quite that way, sir,” Wickingham said.

  “How else would you put it, Doctor? You just said the man had to go.”

  “Well--”

  “You underestimate Dr. Olson’s new-found status since finding and bringing the Yeti to Cal Pacific’s facility. He is the new golden boy and, as such, has raised a lot of money for the university. Reginald Pauling won’t hear of it. What you ask is a nonstarter. And I suggest you allow the university president to deal with this crisis as he sees fit.”

  “Well, Dr. Radner,” Wickingham said, “I had hoped for your assistance but, if it will not be forthcoming, I will try a different approach. I’m sorry if I have wasted your time.”

  “Dr. Wickingham, I’ll have you know that the other day I offered Dr. Olson my resignation. He refused to accept it. I admit that before this crisis I didn’t necessarily care for the man, but he has risen a lot in my estimation. I will not participate in this subterfuge and, again, I suggest, if you value your career, that you put it aside. You are quite new to the university faculty, young man. And if memory serves me, Harry hired you. Surely, you are not so ambitious as to betray him.”

  Wickingham stood. “I’ll be off, Dr. Radner. I appreciate your time. I do hope this all ends in the university’s favor. Good day, sir.”

  Radner watched the man leave his office. What an unmitigated fool. If he thought Reginald Pauling would dismiss Harry before this thing was resolved, he was skidding himself. Pauling was no naive newcomer to university politics or press management and, as such, was capable of dealing with the crisis without Wickingham’s interference. The man recruited Julius Kesler and other notable scientists and academicians to the university and paid them well. As a novice to Cal Pacific’s faculty, the young man had a lot to learn regarding tenure and promotions. As a tenured professor, Harry could not be terminated without cause and this crisis, precipitated by an unfortunate accident, did not rise to that level.

  When Harry married Dixie, his former graduate student, Radner was heartbroken. He was a junior faculty member at the time and one of Dixie’s professors--taught a field techniques class. She was the rising star of the crop of graduate students, and he soon became infatuated with her easy charm and quick mind. But it was obvious Harry had caught her eye, and after he chose her for the Mongolia expedition, Radner went into a depression that lasted until well after their marriage.

  So, when the position of Director of the Primate Research Facility was open, due to the previous director’s moving, Radner happily applied. When he was accepted, he said goodbye to San Francisco, moved to the Nevada desert facility, and threw himself into his work with renewed strength. Jimmy Winkleman caused him some grief but overall he enjoyed being the director.

  ***

  Johnson and Falco labored over the desk in Johnson’s apartment. Johnson’s contact provided five pounds of C-4 explosive and Falco had purchased a number of model rocket ignitors form a local hobby shop.

  “Think this will do the job?” Falco said. He watched with intent interest as Johnson wired the necessary connections.

  “Five pounds? I should think so. It’ll blow that gate to kingdom come.”

  “I can’t wait to see it.”

  “Hopefully, we’ll be far away when it goes,” Johnson said, working with pliers on the two wires.

  “But we’ll hear it, right?”

  “Without a doubt, my friend. It’s gonna make a very loud bang.”

  “The Treadwell lady hopes there are no injuries.”

  “I told her what she wanted to hear, Falco. But the truth is there are no guarantees. Anything can happen.”

  “She any good in bed?” Falco’s eyes widened at the question.

  “She’s all right. She’s got money, that’s her main attraction. And it may work in our favor.” Finished with the wiring, Johnson put the device in a shoebox, set it aside. He looked at Falco. “How about a toke?” he said.

  ***

  Drayton pulled the horse trailer into the desert in an ever-enlarging circle surrounding Grant. Not knowing the direction the Yeti went after leaving the town put them at a disadvantage, so driving in circles was their only option. Soon, however, they would run out of road, necessitating a journey on horseback. Harry sat in the front passenger seat and scanned the passing landscape with binoculars. In the rear were Dixie and Siscom with Millie in the far rear seat. The sun was up, a scorching heat well underway, while small puffs of cumulus clouds hung in the air. The dirt on the road was still packed from the rain days earlier.

  They were skirting the edge of the Black Rock Desert area. A huge area of water once covered this part of the state, but most of its former area was now just a series of dry, alkaline flats, of which the Black Rock Desert was the largest example. The most level and uniform section was the Black Rock Playa, which stretched for thirty-five miles--a region completely dry much of the year, though partially flooded and frozen during winter. After the last major ice age some fifteen thousand years ago, the great inland Lake Lahontan, sprawling across northern Nevada for thousands of years, finally began to dry up, leaving vast alkaline silt basins known as playa. The hills and mountains around the area revealed the shorelines etched into their sides more than five hundred feet higher than the basin floor. The bones of wooly mammoth, camel and saber-tooth tigers were found all around this locale. Man ventured into the area as evidenced from cave markings, and the Northern Paiute took up residence some two thousand years ago.

  At a small pond, Drayton stopped to water the horses. While Siscom unloaded the animals one by one, Drayton filled a water bucket and allowed the horses to drink their fill. Harry got out and paced around the jeep with Dixie.

  “I’m worried, honey,” she said. “We have driven at least several hundred miles and haven’t seen them or even seen any signs. No tracks or anything.”

  “It’s as if they just up and disappeared,” Harry said, who took a drink of water from a bottle and passed it to Dixie.

  “Not a good sign, I’m sure. In this heat, they can’t last long, can they?”

  “I wouldn’t think so, Dixie. But we’re not giving up till we find them. One way or the other.”

  Back on the road they continued to skirt the Black Rock Desert.

  ***

  Lowell and Yarak crawled into their campsite, aching, thirsty, and hungry. Dawn was a faint magenta glow, the air cool and dry. Lowell pulled himself into a camp chair while Yarak stirred the ashes of the cold campfire until a flame flickered. Once he had a fire going, he collapsed into a chair next to his boss.

  He handed a water bottle to Lowell. “Mr. Lowell, as soon as we have some coffee and water, we need to take the jeep down to the main road. We both need medical care.”

  “I’m feeling somewhat better, Nash. I think I can make it.” He took several huge gulps of the water and returned the bottle to Yarak.

  Yarak made coffee and they drank the steaming liquid in large mugs. Lowell massaged his aching neck. “How are you doing, my friend?” he said. “That arm doesn’t look so good.”

  “Broken, I think,” Yarak said. “I don’t know about my leg. They both hurt like hell.”

  “What was that back there in the mine, Nash?” I’ve never seen anything like those animals.”

  “Beasts from hell, I’d say. They weren’t bears, that much I know.”

  “Their eyes,” Lowell said. “Their eyes. I’ll never forget those eyes. They burned right through me.”

  “Nothing on this earth can be that big
,” Yarak said. “And their jaws were massive.”

  “I’m ready to get back home, Nash. We can stop by an emergency room along the way.”

  Before leaving, Lowell cut strips from a blanket and used them to wrap Yarak’s arm, constructing a splint of sorts. Not as good as a wooden one but he said it might keep the bones somewhat aligned. Then he fashioned a sling, gingerly placing Yarak’s arm in it.

  Lowell helped Yarak into the jeep and together they rumbled along the edge of the stream, rolling over rocks and small logs. Bouncing down the side of the gorge shot waves of pain and nausea through his already throbbing body. With each bump, Yarak grunted in obvious pain. Lowell veered around boulders, dipping the wheels into deep ruts that rocked the jeep from side to side. They followed the stream as it descended in convoluted fashion, following the contour of the mountainside. When it reached the level plain, it slowed, running as a placid river.

  On level ground, Lowell breathed a sigh of relief, steered onto the dirt road, and headed southeast. He shot a glance over at Yarak. The man had reclined his seat and his eyes were closed, no longer wincing with each little bump.

  Beasts from hell, that was Yarak’s description. It brought visions of hellhounds from his readings as a young boy. Cerberus was the terrifying hellhound that guarded the gates of Hades. Cerberus’s job was to ensure that no living person could enter the underworld, and likewise, no spirit escape. Cerberus was described in several ancient works of Homer and Hesiod, in the eighth century BC. Cerberus was uniformly described as immensely huge and fierce, and originally described as having fifty heads. Later texts described him as having three heads, the tail of a serpent, and manes of snakes.

  In every county throughout England, there were legends of the Phantom Black Dogs. There were, of course, regional variations, but most were described as being as large as a calf, red eyes a big as saucers, and a shaggy coat. They haunted ancient paths, crossroads, churchyards and old gallows sites--all places associated with bad luck, superstition, or unexplainable events. In other places throughout England, the black dogs were believed to be portents of death. It was believed that anyone who saw this creature would die shortly after.

  Then there were the beasts that were written in the Book of Revelation of Saint John. Three beasts were described. The first came from the oceans and had the body of a leopard with seven heads like a Hydra, and bear’s paws. On each head there were ten horns each with a crown. The second had a similar appearance as the first but it was born from the ground and had only one head. The third, also known as the Scarlet Beast looked the same as the first beast but was red in color.

  Finally, there was the Antichrist, the demonic being from Biblical scriptures that was said to be eighteen feet tall who would come on the Day of Judgment to bring terror to people. He was the enemy of God and Christ. The Antichrist was depicted in a dual form--the first was a monster, a chimera with seven dragonheads, the first half of a lion, and the last half of a ram. He was called the Beast from the Sea. It was also told that the Antichrist was indeed a human being, chosen by Satan himself to receive supernatural powers to enslave the whole world.

  Of course, what Lowell saw in the mineshaft wasn’t any of these monsters. What he had encountered and nearly killed him and Yarak was an animal--like nothing he had ever seen, to be sure. Now they were running loose somewhere in northern Nevada, possibly on a killing rampage. As soon as they had their wounds attended they would have to report the attack to the authorities.

  Chapter 24

  Dr. Bernard Wickingham waited to see Dr. Reginald Pauling in the president’s outer office. The blonde secretary pecked away on her keyboard and answered the phone while Wickingham fidgeted and gazed out the window. His stomach was in knots. On the way back from the primate facility and his meeting with Radner, Wickingham went over in his mind what he planned to say to Pauling and hoped it sounded professional. Now and then, the blonde looked up from her work and smiled. Wickingham noticed she had a gap in her front teeth. When she finally signaled that Pauling was ready for him, he nearly choked.

  Inside the president’s office, Pauling offered him a chair and took a seat behind his desk. He smiled and folded his hands in front of himself. “Well, Dr. Wickingham, what can I do for you? Everything going well with your class and research?”

  “Yes, everything in those areas is perfectly fine. It’s something else I wish to chat with you about.”

  “Yes, Bernard. What is it?”

  Pauling was dressed in a navy blue suit with a white shirt and dark striped tie. Wickingham noticed his immaculately manicured fingernails. He shifted in his seat, clasped his sweaty palms together, and began. “As you know, Dr. Pauling, the two Yeti have escaped from the university’s Primate Research Facility.”

  The president nodded but didn’t say anything.

  “The ultimate responsibility for that facility resides with Dr. Harry Olson, right?” Wickingham continued.

  “Actually, Bernard,” Pauling said, frowning, “the ultimate responsibility is mine.”

  Wickingham swallowed hard and smiled weakly. He felt his stomach churn. “Yes, sir. I meant below you, of course. Dr. Olson?”

  “Yes. Dr. Olson assumes overall responsibility of the primate facility while Dr. Radner is the day-to-day director. Is this line of questioning going somewhere, Doctor?”

  “To be perfectly blunt, sir, it is my feeling that the Yeti’s escape proves Dr. Olson is not fit to be the chairman of our department and have the overall responsibility of the primate facility. I feel he should be demoted or dismissed for this egregious dereliction.”

  “I’m sorry, Bernard. I don’t quite follow you,” Pauling said.

  “He needs to be fired, sir. He screwed up.”

  “Am I actually hearing you say this, Dr. Wickingham? You, a relative newcomer to the university? A junior faculty member? Are you serious?”

  “Well...uh...er...”

  “You wish to bring formal charges against Dr. Olson?”

  Wickingham squirmed in his chair. “Like I said. The man screwed up big time. He should suffer the consequences.”

  “What evidence do you possess of his dereliction of duty, young man?”

  “Well, sir, the obvious. The fact that these Yeti have escaped and killed a number of people. Surely--”

  Pauling held up a hand stopping Wickingham in mid-sentence. He sat for a moment and stared at the young scientist. The air was full of electricity. Wickingham’s stomach was a jumble of knots.

  Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Pauling spoke. “Son, I think everyone involved agrees what has happened at the facility was a tragedy. Whose fault it was and where the responsibility lies has yet to be determined.”

  “Sir, with all due respect--”

  Pauling held up a hand again. “Son, let me give you a piece of simple advice--get out of here, now. And don’t grace my office again until you have won the Nobel Prize. Good day.”

  Stunned, Wickingham sulked out of Pauling’s office like a whipped pup. It was hard to believe the man had summarily dismissed him. He left Administration and sauntered to his small office in the Science Complex at the far western edge of campus. Alone in the dim room, he let his anger build until he developed a pounding headache. He replayed the discussion over in his mind. Had he been too direct? What had Pauling meant by him being a relative newcomer? In his eagerness to rise up the academic ladder, had he seized upon an issue whose roots ran deeper than he realized?

  He removed his tie and slouched in his chair, feet on the desk. Well, he thought, if he couldn’t get Olson fired through channels, he would try another way. There was always more than one way to skin a cat.

  ***

  Dixie bounced along in a relative haze, the landscape outside the jeep passing without her paying much attention. Her thoughts were elsewhere. She was worried--worried about what this Yeti crisis would do to the Primate Research Facility. When she saw Dr. Radner’s press conference replayed on television and li
stened to all the reporter’s questions, she realized the escape of these killers would have a profound impact on the facility’s future. Whether it was closed or merely allowed to remain open with a few chimps would be the result of public opinion and pressure. And that was unfortunate. The Yeti were one-of-a-kind specimens, a landmark opportunity to study mankind’s ancestry in the living flesh.

  But she feared it was not to be. Deep inside, she knew that this crisis was not going to end to everyone’s satisfaction. The strike force was intent on destroying her Yeti. Yes, they were her Yeti. Strange as it seemed, she had forged a personal attachment with the animals, borne in Mongolia when she had been carried off by one of them. Not one of these particular Yeti but still, having Bentu and Sasha at the facility where she could visit them, had deepened her feeling for the animals. If they turned out to be a distant human relative, how wonderful to have been a part of the scientific discovery.

  Dixie realized she was a worrier. She worried about a lot of things, mostly inconsequential fears that never materialized. If there weren’t anything to fret over, she would worry about that. In addition to her deep concern over the Yeti, her overarching concern was what the crisis might do to her husband’s career and reputation. Harry had burst onto the international stage and garnered worldwide acclaim with the discovery and later capture of the Yeti. His promotion to departmental chairman succeeding Dr. Kesler was, in large part, a result of this newfound recognition.

  She knew Harry and the Graduate Committee had screened the assistants with undue care to select the two that were ultimately chosen to spend a year or two at the primate facility. And Dixie knew both of them. Jimmy was a flaky but brilliant student while Millie had shown her promise by diligent work and intuitive thinking. Jimmy was the classic nerd, pocket protector and all, but had an arrogant streak she didn’t like.