EXTINCTION WARRIOR

Chapter 16

We divided the animal chores. Tuk makes the lab food for Sleuth, Buzzie, and Hogman, and together every night, we make sure Sleuth's, Hogman's and Buzzie's rooms get cleaned. That means bringing them one by one into the hall, while Tootega activates the water nozzles in the ceiling so all the biodegradable bedding gets dissolved. Everything melts, including the poop, before Tootega adds fresh bedding. Since Hogman was Tuk's idea, he gets to feed him. I feed Sleuth, Buzzie, Antoadia and Mig, of course. Slimendiggers? They've got their rotting banana leaves.

Eating berries at the galley table, I watch Antoadia watching the Slimendiggers gunge their way around the banana leaves. Tuk's downstairs feeding Hogman. I helped him unwrap Marilyn's legs first thing , and fed Sleuth after that, who's getting really restless and hardly limping. Buzzie's stronger too, and hopped off the perch when I threw her a piece of lab meat.

Tuk appears in the hall outside the galley. "I just picked up a news bulletin about the Red Dragons."

My eyes go wide. Instantly my heart starts to pound in my ears.

"Tootega, pull up a map of Southeast Asia." He says.

The galley lightscreen glows with a country bordered by China, Thailand and Bangladesh.

"You see Myanmar here?" He stands, and points his finger in the light.

"Burma?"

"Myanmar is Burma,yes. This nation had a brief period of democracy early in the century. But has been extremely unstable since then, which has allowed all manner of nefarious individuals to find refuge there."

"That's terrible." I'm watching Antoadia hunt her breakfast cricket.

"Asian WEAPPs orchestrated a sting operation to catch as many of the gang as possible."

My mind flashes on Mom and Dad in their blue uniforms in my bedroom doorway on that horrible Saturday that feels like a hundred years ago. My eyes brim with tears, and a lump comes to my throat.

"Yeah?"I reply, my voice choked. I can't eat another berry.

"Zoom in only to Myanmar, Tootega." Tuk asks.

"The country has a massive coastline." He says, pointing. "Even with sea level rise, it still has nine seaports where international cargo ships deliver goods of every kind. Tootega, indicate ports."

Nine lights blink along the coast.

"The Red Dragons were caught smuggling the very last pangolins on earth, worth hundreds of millions of dollars."

"Pangolins?" I mutter, "...pangolins....Pangolins!" I exclaim, a tear running down my cheek. "That had to be the first endangered on the list when Mom and Dad called. Mom must've said pangolins. We only heard the 'lins part!" I gasp, and wipe the tear with the back of my hand.

Tuk slides onto the chair across from me. "These pangolins were captured in the Philippines,and were going to be smuggled through Myanmar to China. No doubt to be sold to the highest bidder, destined to become dinner for the world's elite."

"That is so horribly sad." I pout.

"However,"Tuk continues holding up two fingers, "two members evaded capture,"even more enthusiastically, he turns to face me; "White Wolf and his android henchman have the largest shipment of pangolins. They were not caught....yet." He smiles. "They are somewhere in international waters aboard White Wolf's super yacht."

"Tootega,display an image of the Yanbu." Tuk says, and turns his back to me to face the lightscreen.

Asleek, white ship with huge oval windows appears.