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“We cannot leave the cave lion out there,” Kelvin continued.

“What do you mean?” Martina snapped. “That animal took ages to create! It is far too valuable to be just wiped out!”

“A man has lost his life!” Steph snapped back.

“A stupid man who did not take enough care of himself and who knew the risks anyway; he signed the papers. He knew!”

“Enough,” said Kelvin, barely raising his voice. “We move the cave lion to the nursery facility before the police come. As for Fergus… any animal could have got him. In this case, I think it was a bear.”

There was silence. Martina allowed her shoulders to sag slightly as she sat back. Her scowl eased.

“You can’t do that!” Steph said. She was looking around at the others. They appeared impassive. “It’s not right! The lion killed Fergus. It can’t be trusted!”

“Correct,” Kelvin said, taking Steph by surprise once more in his agreement. “Then again, it could never be trusted. It is a hybrid between a top predator of our age and one from the past. To assume it could ever be trusted would be folly and Fergus knew this. It was explained to him when he signed the paperwork, which he was happy to sign for the arranged financial compensation for him committing to a given time period. Martina is correct on this front.”

Steph looked at Kelvin. For once she really didn’t know what to say. He looked at her almost pityingly. Like a parent would at a child who just doesn’t understand due to overwhelmingnaivety.

“Look,” he continued. “Killing the lion will not bring Fergus back. In fact, it would deny us the opportunity to study it to prevent something like this from ever happening again. If one of the bears takes the heat, then so be it.”

“Surely,” Steph whispered, “The cave lion is a failed experiment? You can’t keep going with it knowing what it will do?”

“Ah, but is it a failed experiment, or are its environmental factors failing it? You said it yourself: things are out of balance out there!”

“But it will kill again!”

“Do you crush a car when it has accidentally run someone over because there is the risk it could do it again? Do you, knowing there are road accidents all the time, refuse to drive?”

Steph folded her arms. Was she wrong to think the way she did? No. Surely not. In any other walk of life, the animal in question would be put down to prevent the loss of other human life.

Human life? Something about her own line of thought didn’t sit comfortably with her. She was putting human life above animal, and in her line of work it felt wrong. Yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was the right thing to do.

“I can’t say I agree with it,” Steph said.

“Noted,” dismissed Martina, flicking her hand. “So what’s the plan?”

TWENTY-FOUR

The plan sounded simple enough. Get the cave lion. Sedate the cave lion. Transport the cave lion to the nursey further north until the police were satisfied that it was not the lion who had killed Fergus. Michael was keen to take the lead in transporting the animal. There was a discussion on whether the cave bear should also be transported away; there was a concern over whether it could catch the eye and draw attention away from speculation. In the end, it was decided that it stayed.

Martina had, at the last minute, suggested not reporting Fergus’s death at all. This was instantly dismissed by Kelvin, who thought that would only lead to bigger problems down the line – money could only protect you so much. Steph didn’t pretend to like the reasoning but was at least satisfied with the result.

The problem with the plan, however, was that it was to be carried out at night. Kelvin wanted it all done and dusted during darkness, with the police to be called in the morning. Kelvin would take control from the monitoring room, letting the other teams know where the cave lion was based on its chip. Unfortunately, the chip was only accurate to within a couple of hundred square metres. This was why it was decided that a couple of teams were needed.

Davey and Michael had initially assumed they would go by themselves, but Steph refused to be left at the house. She felt she might learn more by staying behind, but her instinct said more important matters lay elsewhere. Besides, she needed to make sure she was in the right place to do the right thing when it was needed. If and when it was needed. So she partnered with Davey.

Michael was happy to go alone in another buggy, only to have his plans scuppered by Daniel. Steph had told him of the plan,and he had limped from his room to insist he joined. He could barely walk and looked pale. Kelvin insisted he stay behind but Daniel seemed adamant. He was then backed up by Martina who claimed that Daniel would have the animals’ best interests at heart, as he knew of the hard work that had gone into their creation. Kelvin had then relented, much to Michael’s disgust.

Martina needlessly pointed out that Daniel could barely walk so he could hardly get in Michael’s way.

Concerned by his lack of colour, Steph tried to suggest that he gave it a miss, but still, Daniel remained unbending in his determination not to miss out.

Everyone having eaten and prepared what they needed, they set out. Davey and Michael had stocked up on the equipment necessary for the night with Davey handing Steph some night-vision goggles.

“Do I not get a tranquillizer gun?” Steph asked as the gates to the compound opened and the two buggies drove through.

Davey shook his head. “You’re going to sight for me, and I’ll take the shot… or Michael will.”

“I would feel better if I had something,” Steph replied, looking around at the darkness that was swallowing them as the lights of the house faded behind the trees.