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fredbassettTitle : Within These Walls, Chapter 14 of 30
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 18
Characters : Lester, Ryan, Nick, Stephen, Connor
Disclaimer : Not mine (except the OCs), no money made, don’t sue.
Word Count : 59,000 words in 29 chapters of approx. 1,500 – 2,500 words each
Spoilers : None
Summary : Ending up in Dartmoor prison for refusing to recant their belief in evolution is only the start of the problems facing Nick, Stephen and Connor. And Sir James Lester soon ends up with other problems on his hands than just an over-crowded prison population.
A/N : For acknowledgements etc, please see Part 1.
Lester already looked like a man with a bad headache and Ryan knew perfectly well that the report he’d just delivered hadn’t done anything to improve the governor’s day.
“Hooves?” The note of incredulity in Lester’s voice reminded Ryan of Lady Bracknell’s utterance on the subject of handbags. Ryan’s grandmother had done a very passable impression of Dame Edith Evans in that role and Lester could probably have run her a close second.
“Hooves,” Ryan agreed. “Miss Maitland was quite adamant about that and so was Professor Cutter.”
“There’s a killer pony on the loose? The press must be loving that idea.”
Ryan failed to suppress a grin. “That’s near enough what Finn said, sir, except he blamed it on mutant sheep.”
The comparison with Finn made Lester look even more pained. “What sort of animal leaves tracks like that, Ryan? There has to be a rational explanation for what’s happened and I really don’t believe it involves killer sheep or murderous ponies.”
“They’ve got the wrong sort of teeth anyway,” Ryan said, unable to resist pushing his luck just a little bit further. “Jackson wasn’t disembowelled by a herbivore.”
To his surprise, a flash of amusement danced in Lester’s sharp eyes. “And I’m given to understand that sheep have no gag reflex, but I very much doubt that is of any relevance either.”
“We’d have to ask Finn about that,” Ryan commented. “He knows a thing or two about sheep.”
“And apparently so does our Professor Cutter, if what you tell me is to be believed,” Lester said, placing ironic emphasis on the word Professor. “I think it’s time I had another word with our recalcitrant academic.” He pressed a button on the intercom on his desk. “Lorraine, please arrange for Nicholas Cutter to be brought to my office. I imagine he is to be found in the shower block.”
“Worth bringing the lad in as well, sir,” Ryan suggested.
“Have Connor Temple brought up here with him,” Lester added, demonstrating the eidetic memory for prisoner’s names that never failed to impress Ryan. “In fact, let’s throw a party and invite Stephen Hart as well.”
Ryan had mentioned Cutter’s comments on the subject of Hart’s tracking abilities, but he hadn’t expected Lester to evince any interest in that.
“I gather Hart has worked closely with Cutter for a number of years,” Lester commented. “Cutter either has a taste for pretty boys or the man is academically sound as well as decorative. Such a shame they chose to cling to heretical beliefs,” he added, his eyes flicking up to Ryan’s face to gauge his reaction.
Ryan nodded. He had a strong suspicion that Lester was no more religious than he was, but he had no intention of putting himself at risk by admitting that. The jails were already overcrowded with people who wouldn’t recant their belief in evolution and Ryan had no wish to swell the ranks of those he’d been charged with keeping in order.
It took ten minutes for Lester’s secretary to round up the three prisoners and have them brought up to the governor’s office. During that time Lester received a telephone call from Ditzy at the hospital telling him that Jackson had died in the operating theatre. Ryan hadn’t liked the man but he knew that the dead guard had a wife and three children. After that call, silence settled over them like a shroud.
The sound of footsteps in the corridor alerted Ryan to the approach of the prisoners and their guard. At a nod from Lester, he opened the door. Nodding to the guard, Ryan said, “I’ll make sure they get back to their cell afterward.”
The three men were dressed in identical orange boiler suits and from the white, pinched look on Connor Temple’s face, the lad hadn’t warmed up much. Cutter’s hair stood up in damp spikes and Ryan caught the sharp smell of prison soap. A lukewarm shower obviously hadn’t done much to rid either of the men of the chill of the moor.
Stephen Hart, who had been escorted in by a guard at the same time as the others, looked wary, obviously wondering why he’d been dragged out of his cell for a meeting in the governor’s office. Ryan gave the man what he hoped was a reassuring look. It was met by a bland stare from two of the bluest eyes he’d ever seen.
Lester looked up from the papers on his desk and said, “I hear you have some interesting theories about the creature, Cutter. Do enlighten me. I gather we have a cross between a whale and a sheep rampaging around the moor.”
“That’s not what I said,” Cutter said, his voice and expression equally truculent. “I said they were related to whales.”
“And what is a relation of whales doing in the middle of Dartmoor killing my guards?”
Ryan watched as a flicker of emotion crossed Stephen Hart’s usually impassive face. He very much doubted Hart would shed any tears over the man who had been next in line for a piece of his arse.
“Your guess is as good as mine on that score,” Cutter said.
Lester frowned but took a different tack. “Captain Ryan said you made some wild claims as to what the animal might be. Would you care to enlighten me?”
“Not if it means I have to spend any longer in this place,” Cutter countered.
Lester rolled his eyes. “All right. Point taken. You may speak freely without fear of the consequences. It’ll be our little secret.”
“Andrewsarchus,” Cutter said. “Discovered in 1923 in the Gobi Desert and named after Roy Chapman Andrews. There’s some argument about its exact classification but basically, it’s a middle Eocene carnivore. That means it lived somewhere between 55 and 37 million years ago.” Cutter stopped and stared challengingly at Lester as though he expected the man to argue with him. It was no doubt the same attitude that had ended up with Cutter taking an extended holiday at Her Majesty’s expense.
Lester waved one hand airily. “Yes, Professor. We’ll gloss over your outrageous claims about the antiquity of God’s green earth for the moment, shall we? Do continue with your flight of fantasy…”
“It was quite probably the largest mammalian land carnivore that ever lived,” Connor Temple broke in excitedly. “Its skull was nearly a metre long and two-thirds of a metre wide.” Cutter’s student made some wild gestures with his hands, reminding Ryan of a fisherman describing the size of the one that got away. When Lester raised an eyebrow, Connor added, “That’s almost twice the size of a grizzly bear.”
“No wonder they didn’t want two of them on the Ark,” Lester commented dryly. “So, you believe we have an antediluvian predator running around Dartmoor?”
“Yes,” Cutter said. “I can’t think of anything else that size with hooves.”
“Ah yes, I was forgetting the hooves. And how do you explain its survival over the past…” Lester hesitated pointedly then ended with the words, “Six thousand years.”
Cutter rolled his eyes in a gesture almost identical to the one Lester had treated him to a few minutes ago. “Can we just cut the crap for the moment?”
Lester sighed. “Cutter, you really have no idea how to play the game, have you? I’m looking for an explanation, so help me out here, otherwise you can kick your heels in the cell again for all I care.”
At Cutter’s side, Connor shivered and thrust his hands deeper into his pockets.
“It’s warmer in here than in your cell,” Ryan pointed out.
“That’s not bloody difficult,” Cutter muttered. “As I told Captain Ryan in the quarry, I have absolutely no idea how something known only from a single fossil found in Mongolia has ended up alive and well and causing a headache for you and the Dartmoor Tourist Board. We might know more when that wee lassie from the zoo has had a chance to get some DNA tests done on the hairs that she took away with her.”
“That might tell us what it is,” Lester said. “But not how it ended up here and now. I really can’t believe that a predator of that sort of size has gone unnoticed. I grant you that the area isn’t exactly Hyde Park, but even I know it’s not big enough to support a pack of predators for that long unnoticed.”
“There’s still a possibility that mammoths have survived in Siberia,” Connor said, enthusiasm getting the better of him again. “And then there’s the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot…”
“Spare me that sort of idiocy,” Lester snapped. “What are the chances of some maniac doing genetic experiments?”
“What, you mean like in Jurassic Park?” Connor grinned, totally unabashed by Lester’s irritation. “There’s only one skull. I doubt anyone has managed to get viable DNA from that.”
“You’re still not providing me with an explanation I can sell to my superiors, gentlemen.”
“How very remiss of us,” Cutter said. “Do you mean we’re not going to get time off for good behaviour?”
“Not at this rate,” Lester retorted. He switched his gaze to Stephen Hart. “I’m told you have some skill as a tracker.”
Hart nodded but said nothing.
“In that case you can get some healthy outdoor exercise. Ryan, I want you to accompany Hart onto the moor. We can’t have that wretched thing running around ripping people to shreds. I want it found and I want it found before it does any more damage. Do I make myself clear?”
It was Ryan’s turn to nod.
“And we’ll have no talk outside this room about what the wretched creature might or might not be. Understood?” Lester swept his eyes across the three men lined up in front if his desk. When no one acknowledged his words, the governor brought his hand down sharply on the mahogany desk the noise echoing sharply around the room. “If I hear one word being spoken out of turn, you’ll all find yourselves with new cell mates. I imagine Gordie Fraser would be quite happy to make Mr Temple’s acquaintance.” Lester waved his hand in the direction of the door. “Dismissed. Ryan, I shall expect significant progress on this matter in the very near future. I appreciate that it is now too late in the day for Hart to emulate the Last of the Mohicans but I shall expect him out on the moor at first light tomorrow. Until then, all outside work parties are suspended and make sure no one gets near those tracks before Hart gets to see them.”
“Yes, sir.” Ryan knew Lester well enough to be certain that his threats were only for show. For all his irascible manner, the governor was scrupulously fair in his treatment of the prisoners and he had been disgusted by what he had heard from Ryan of Hart’s rape. Evidence was being gathered on Gordie Fraser’s activities and the Glaswegian criminal would no doubt very shortly find himself on the receiving end of Lester’s discipline. As would several of the guards, but for the moment they were too under-staffed for any effective crackdown on the many abuses being uncovered by the soldiers.
And for now, they had rather more pressing matters to attend to.
Author : fredbassett
Fandom : Primeval
Rating : 18
Characters : Lester, Ryan, Nick, Stephen, Connor
Disclaimer : Not mine (except the OCs), no money made, don’t sue.
Word Count : 59,000 words in 29 chapters of approx. 1,500 – 2,500 words each
Spoilers : None
Summary : Ending up in Dartmoor prison for refusing to recant their belief in evolution is only the start of the problems facing Nick, Stephen and Connor. And Sir James Lester soon ends up with other problems on his hands than just an over-crowded prison population.
A/N : For acknowledgements etc, please see Part 1.
Lester already looked like a man with a bad headache and Ryan knew perfectly well that the report he’d just delivered hadn’t done anything to improve the governor’s day.
“Hooves?” The note of incredulity in Lester’s voice reminded Ryan of Lady Bracknell’s utterance on the subject of handbags. Ryan’s grandmother had done a very passable impression of Dame Edith Evans in that role and Lester could probably have run her a close second.
“Hooves,” Ryan agreed. “Miss Maitland was quite adamant about that and so was Professor Cutter.”
“There’s a killer pony on the loose? The press must be loving that idea.”
Ryan failed to suppress a grin. “That’s near enough what Finn said, sir, except he blamed it on mutant sheep.”
The comparison with Finn made Lester look even more pained. “What sort of animal leaves tracks like that, Ryan? There has to be a rational explanation for what’s happened and I really don’t believe it involves killer sheep or murderous ponies.”
“They’ve got the wrong sort of teeth anyway,” Ryan said, unable to resist pushing his luck just a little bit further. “Jackson wasn’t disembowelled by a herbivore.”
To his surprise, a flash of amusement danced in Lester’s sharp eyes. “And I’m given to understand that sheep have no gag reflex, but I very much doubt that is of any relevance either.”
“We’d have to ask Finn about that,” Ryan commented. “He knows a thing or two about sheep.”
“And apparently so does our Professor Cutter, if what you tell me is to be believed,” Lester said, placing ironic emphasis on the word Professor. “I think it’s time I had another word with our recalcitrant academic.” He pressed a button on the intercom on his desk. “Lorraine, please arrange for Nicholas Cutter to be brought to my office. I imagine he is to be found in the shower block.”
“Worth bringing the lad in as well, sir,” Ryan suggested.
“Have Connor Temple brought up here with him,” Lester added, demonstrating the eidetic memory for prisoner’s names that never failed to impress Ryan. “In fact, let’s throw a party and invite Stephen Hart as well.”
Ryan had mentioned Cutter’s comments on the subject of Hart’s tracking abilities, but he hadn’t expected Lester to evince any interest in that.
“I gather Hart has worked closely with Cutter for a number of years,” Lester commented. “Cutter either has a taste for pretty boys or the man is academically sound as well as decorative. Such a shame they chose to cling to heretical beliefs,” he added, his eyes flicking up to Ryan’s face to gauge his reaction.
Ryan nodded. He had a strong suspicion that Lester was no more religious than he was, but he had no intention of putting himself at risk by admitting that. The jails were already overcrowded with people who wouldn’t recant their belief in evolution and Ryan had no wish to swell the ranks of those he’d been charged with keeping in order.
It took ten minutes for Lester’s secretary to round up the three prisoners and have them brought up to the governor’s office. During that time Lester received a telephone call from Ditzy at the hospital telling him that Jackson had died in the operating theatre. Ryan hadn’t liked the man but he knew that the dead guard had a wife and three children. After that call, silence settled over them like a shroud.
The sound of footsteps in the corridor alerted Ryan to the approach of the prisoners and their guard. At a nod from Lester, he opened the door. Nodding to the guard, Ryan said, “I’ll make sure they get back to their cell afterward.”
The three men were dressed in identical orange boiler suits and from the white, pinched look on Connor Temple’s face, the lad hadn’t warmed up much. Cutter’s hair stood up in damp spikes and Ryan caught the sharp smell of prison soap. A lukewarm shower obviously hadn’t done much to rid either of the men of the chill of the moor.
Stephen Hart, who had been escorted in by a guard at the same time as the others, looked wary, obviously wondering why he’d been dragged out of his cell for a meeting in the governor’s office. Ryan gave the man what he hoped was a reassuring look. It was met by a bland stare from two of the bluest eyes he’d ever seen.
Lester looked up from the papers on his desk and said, “I hear you have some interesting theories about the creature, Cutter. Do enlighten me. I gather we have a cross between a whale and a sheep rampaging around the moor.”
“That’s not what I said,” Cutter said, his voice and expression equally truculent. “I said they were related to whales.”
“And what is a relation of whales doing in the middle of Dartmoor killing my guards?”
Ryan watched as a flicker of emotion crossed Stephen Hart’s usually impassive face. He very much doubted Hart would shed any tears over the man who had been next in line for a piece of his arse.
“Your guess is as good as mine on that score,” Cutter said.
Lester frowned but took a different tack. “Captain Ryan said you made some wild claims as to what the animal might be. Would you care to enlighten me?”
“Not if it means I have to spend any longer in this place,” Cutter countered.
Lester rolled his eyes. “All right. Point taken. You may speak freely without fear of the consequences. It’ll be our little secret.”
“Andrewsarchus,” Cutter said. “Discovered in 1923 in the Gobi Desert and named after Roy Chapman Andrews. There’s some argument about its exact classification but basically, it’s a middle Eocene carnivore. That means it lived somewhere between 55 and 37 million years ago.” Cutter stopped and stared challengingly at Lester as though he expected the man to argue with him. It was no doubt the same attitude that had ended up with Cutter taking an extended holiday at Her Majesty’s expense.
Lester waved one hand airily. “Yes, Professor. We’ll gloss over your outrageous claims about the antiquity of God’s green earth for the moment, shall we? Do continue with your flight of fantasy…”
“It was quite probably the largest mammalian land carnivore that ever lived,” Connor Temple broke in excitedly. “Its skull was nearly a metre long and two-thirds of a metre wide.” Cutter’s student made some wild gestures with his hands, reminding Ryan of a fisherman describing the size of the one that got away. When Lester raised an eyebrow, Connor added, “That’s almost twice the size of a grizzly bear.”
“No wonder they didn’t want two of them on the Ark,” Lester commented dryly. “So, you believe we have an antediluvian predator running around Dartmoor?”
“Yes,” Cutter said. “I can’t think of anything else that size with hooves.”
“Ah yes, I was forgetting the hooves. And how do you explain its survival over the past…” Lester hesitated pointedly then ended with the words, “Six thousand years.”
Cutter rolled his eyes in a gesture almost identical to the one Lester had treated him to a few minutes ago. “Can we just cut the crap for the moment?”
Lester sighed. “Cutter, you really have no idea how to play the game, have you? I’m looking for an explanation, so help me out here, otherwise you can kick your heels in the cell again for all I care.”
At Cutter’s side, Connor shivered and thrust his hands deeper into his pockets.
“It’s warmer in here than in your cell,” Ryan pointed out.
“That’s not bloody difficult,” Cutter muttered. “As I told Captain Ryan in the quarry, I have absolutely no idea how something known only from a single fossil found in Mongolia has ended up alive and well and causing a headache for you and the Dartmoor Tourist Board. We might know more when that wee lassie from the zoo has had a chance to get some DNA tests done on the hairs that she took away with her.”
“That might tell us what it is,” Lester said. “But not how it ended up here and now. I really can’t believe that a predator of that sort of size has gone unnoticed. I grant you that the area isn’t exactly Hyde Park, but even I know it’s not big enough to support a pack of predators for that long unnoticed.”
“There’s still a possibility that mammoths have survived in Siberia,” Connor said, enthusiasm getting the better of him again. “And then there’s the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot…”
“Spare me that sort of idiocy,” Lester snapped. “What are the chances of some maniac doing genetic experiments?”
“What, you mean like in Jurassic Park?” Connor grinned, totally unabashed by Lester’s irritation. “There’s only one skull. I doubt anyone has managed to get viable DNA from that.”
“You’re still not providing me with an explanation I can sell to my superiors, gentlemen.”
“How very remiss of us,” Cutter said. “Do you mean we’re not going to get time off for good behaviour?”
“Not at this rate,” Lester retorted. He switched his gaze to Stephen Hart. “I’m told you have some skill as a tracker.”
Hart nodded but said nothing.
“In that case you can get some healthy outdoor exercise. Ryan, I want you to accompany Hart onto the moor. We can’t have that wretched thing running around ripping people to shreds. I want it found and I want it found before it does any more damage. Do I make myself clear?”
It was Ryan’s turn to nod.
“And we’ll have no talk outside this room about what the wretched creature might or might not be. Understood?” Lester swept his eyes across the three men lined up in front if his desk. When no one acknowledged his words, the governor brought his hand down sharply on the mahogany desk the noise echoing sharply around the room. “If I hear one word being spoken out of turn, you’ll all find yourselves with new cell mates. I imagine Gordie Fraser would be quite happy to make Mr Temple’s acquaintance.” Lester waved his hand in the direction of the door. “Dismissed. Ryan, I shall expect significant progress on this matter in the very near future. I appreciate that it is now too late in the day for Hart to emulate the Last of the Mohicans but I shall expect him out on the moor at first light tomorrow. Until then, all outside work parties are suspended and make sure no one gets near those tracks before Hart gets to see them.”
“Yes, sir.” Ryan knew Lester well enough to be certain that his threats were only for show. For all his irascible manner, the governor was scrupulously fair in his treatment of the prisoners and he had been disgusted by what he had heard from Ryan of Hart’s rape. Evidence was being gathered on Gordie Fraser’s activities and the Glaswegian criminal would no doubt very shortly find himself on the receiving end of Lester’s discipline. As would several of the guards, but for the moment they were too under-staffed for any effective crackdown on the many abuses being uncovered by the soldiers.
And for now, they had rather more pressing matters to attend to.
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no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 03:31 pm (UTC)"I imagine Gordie Fraser would be quite happy to make Mr Temple’s acquaintance." **shivers** that should be more than ample threat for them to keep their pretty mouths shut.
Hooray for Stephen and Ryan getting out onto the moor to track the "mutant sheep/killer pony". Do you suppose they'll have to huddle together for warmth?
Love that no matter where he is, no one can keep Connor's enthusiasm at bay for long and loved Cutter's whole attitude and Lester's willingness to go beyond what's now considered proper.
**pokes around** is it Sunday yet?
no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 02:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 04:39 pm (UTC)*waits impatiently for the next chapter*
Brilliant AU. And how do you explain its survival over the past…” Lester hesitated pointedly then ended with the words, “Six thousand years.” says it all.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 02:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 05:13 pm (UTC)The note of incredulity in Lester’s voice reminded Ryan of Lady Bracknell’s utterance on the subject of handbags.
Giggle!
ROFL for the entire 'gag reflex' bit!
Interesting that Lester and Ryan are testing each other a bit on the 'heretical' beliefs.
It was met by a bland stare from two of the bluest eyes he’d ever seen.
Mmmmmmmm.
We’ll gloss over your outrageous claims about the antiquity of God’s green earth for the moment, shall we?
Could Lester be more subtly obvious?
Yay for Connor still being enthusiastic, Stephen getting to hear that Jackson is no more, and *incoherence* for the idea of Stephen and Ryan alone on the moors...
Evidence was being gathered on Gordie Fraser’s activities and the Glaswegian criminal would no doubt very shortly find himself on the receiving end of Lester’s discipline.
Good on Lester!
Is it Sunday, yet?????
no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 02:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-02 08:33 pm (UTC)Love Lester and Ryan checking out each other's believes, Lester's distaste at being compared to Finn ;), Lester's (empty) threats and Ryan and Stephen out on the moors. Also yay for Lester sorting out Fraser and the bad guards.
*purrs* Is it Sunday yet?
no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 02:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 05:27 am (UTC)The whole scenario of Cutter trying to keep a lid on his indignation was brilliant!
no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 10:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 02:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 03:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-03 04:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-05 02:45 pm (UTC)*hopes Fraser gets et fairly soon*
no subject
Date: 2014-05-05 02:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-05 03:18 pm (UTC)It's a brilliant chapter.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-05 04:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-05 10:14 pm (UTC)Lester is awesome in this (and any other) world. Love him fencing with Cutter - they understand each other perfectly.
YaY for geeky Connor (hopefully he'll warm up soon!).
And now Stephen and Ryan are heading off to the moors to be competent together. This can only be good.
no subject
Date: 2014-05-06 06:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-10 03:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-10 04:55 pm (UTC)