Here he was. Caught between helping his imprisoned friend, who was being controlled by his worst enemy, and an 'acquaintance' that might be friendly, but that would probably turn on him in a heart beat for personal gain. Brian was having trouble deciding what to do, who to help... He didn't want Kildor to die right now, and definitely not Jo either. After a brief hesitation, Brian committed to a full-power, 1480 psi wolf bite on Jo's right front leg. He let go almost immediately and darted for the Dracon. He hoped that he wouldn't be able to fire it by carrying it in his mouth. Or if so, he hoped he could aim.
Rrrrrrrrring.... Rrrrrrrrrrring. "Hawthorne residence."
Sean blinked. It was Kristen's parents who'd answered. He, well, hadn't expected that. "Um, yeah... Hi. This is Sean Black." ...How was he going to tell them he'd met Kristen? He obviously couldn't tell them about the port scene. And he didn't want her parents worrying about why some older guy was calling their daughter. After a pause, the man on the other end of the phone said "...and may I help you?" Sean continued. "Yes. I met your daughter, Kristen, on the high-school cruise. I held on to her camera for her at one point, and forgot to give it back. So I was just calling her to let her know that I still had it."
"Oh, so you were one of the chaperons?"
"Yes, I - "
"... but Kristen doesn't have a camera..."
Oops. Sean thought. "Erm, well, it was one of those disposable ones that you buy for trips like this one. I think she got it at the ship's souvenir shop. Either way, I have the camera she gave me."
"Alright. I'll tell her when she gets home. She's still at the zoo right now, but she'll be home shortly. I'll have her... wait a minute. Can I ask why you have our number?"
Oh crud... "I uh, got it from my son, Chad. He met Kristen on the trip, and they hung out a little bit." After that, it was mostly idle chitchat about the trip, and Sean gave Mr. Hawthorne his phone number to give to Kristen. He figured he shouldn't tell her father that she already had his. "Well that was unsuccessful..."
Tarry was still following, and was now relatively near the barn. He perched on a branch to catch his breath, considering he wouldn't be much help indoors, ...Curse this bird body!... but he was ready to swoop down and fly in if needed. He'd heard Ultor's threat. He was able to see the action inside the barn. More specifically, he saw that Brian had the Dracon. These humans weren't complete fools after all. <Good strategy Brian. Now you need to get to somewhere you can demorph safely and do so, quickly. Once you have hands, you can use the Dracon to convince the Yeerk in Jo to demorph.>
Kristen rode home on her bike. She didn't live far from the zoo, which was oh-so-convenient for her. She'd wanted to stay and acquire some more, - she pretty much intended to acquire everything - but that would be foolish, especially tonight. After her friends had caused such a scene at the zoo the night before, she couldn't be there after closing much longer than normal. She wished she could have been there when they had been... she could have made sure there weren't any problems. Kristen was mildly angry as she rode. Not because Chad, Brian, and the others had caused an uproar, but because here she was wishing to be breaking into the zoo instead of having been with her grandmother. The anger gave a way to a somewhat depressing feeling. What have I gotten myself into?
