Beast Tamer's Rebirth National Treasure Edition novel Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Chapter 65

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In less than half an hour, the police at the highway checkpoint sent back word that they’d scored a major victory.

All thirty-plus drug manufacturers were captured, and five of them were gunned down on the spot while resisting or trying to escape.

The cops also seized over 6,000 pounds of illegal drugs and the latest drug-making equipment, wiping out a massive drug factory for good.

What awaited these criminals was the death penalty.

To thank the elephants and monkeys, the local police not only showered them with loads of fruit, but also proposed honoring the elephants by pinning little red ribbons on them as a special award.

Sierra really hadn’t seen that coming.

The local police chief said, “Ms. Sterling, you probably don’t get it. Our place is seriously poor, tucked away out in the mountains. The only thing we can brag about is the scenery.

“The bosses said if the animals are cool with it, we should take some pictures. Who knows, maybe it’ll attract some tourists, boost the local economy, and help folks here find jobs.”

Sierra honestly couldn’t figure out why the folks in charge thought wild animals would just play along, wear little red ribbons, and pose for photos.

But the bigwigs always had their own agenda, anyway.

After the chief kept pleading, Sierra finally passed on the message to the elephants and monkeys.

Most of the golden monkeys couldn’t care less about photos, but the little ones were bouncing with excitement. “I wanna go.”

Pip was so hyped that it was playing with its trunk and acting all cute with the mama elephant and the herd. “Red flowers, and we get to take pictures with the pretty humans. I wanna take pictures, too.”

Pip was just a few months old, and he was at that super mischievous stage.

The mama elephant and the rest of the herd were totally worn out by him, so in the end, they just gave in.

The next day, a vivid and adorable photo titled [Humans and Animals in Perfect Harmony] popped up on the local news front page.

Within an hour, the photo blew up

online.

The picture was snapped on a highway: eleven adult elephants lined up along the curb, each rocking a big red flower on their chest.

The smallest elephant was proudly raising its soft little trunk, while a blue-faced baby golden monkey

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Chapter 65

perched on its head, flashing a huge toothy grin.

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But the best part was that someone super familiar, Sierra, was right there in the middle of the photo,

[Why is Sierra standing there looking all radiant in the middle of the elephant herd?]

[Wait, isn’t this the same elephant herd that was blocking the road the other day? Didn’t they send in some expert to check it out? So Sierra’s the expert?]

[Isn’t Sierra a Sierra at WonderWild Zoo?]

[She probably also does wildlife rescue on the side. She’s got a degree in veterinary medicine, and she’s always hanging out with those top wildlife folks. She’s probably just tagging along to lend a hand.]

[Guys, stop just staring at the photo. Read the headline. The reason Sierra’s crew and these animals are getting all this praise is that they helped the police bust over a ton of drugs.]

[Damn, Sierra totally deserves a spot in the hall of fame for this.]

[Is that really the point, though? I mean, how did Sierra manage to get all those elephants and monkeys to line up and pose for the camera?]

Sierra was all over the internet again.

It had only been a few days since she quit the scene, but people just couldn’t stop talking about her.

Sierra wasn’t interested in the latest buzz online. After wrapping things up with the local police, she was ready to call it a day and head back home.

They’d saved Pip and even helped the cops bust a major crime ring. Ethan and the rest of the crew had been grinning from ear to ear ever since.

Now that they were heading back, they figured this was the perfect excuse to hit up the higher-ups for some extra funding.

The only one who wasn’t happy was Payton.

From the moment he landed, his face just dropped.

He’d thought Sierra was taking him along to join in on the action.

But as soon as they got to the airport, Sierra just called a ride and dropped him off at the police station, leaving him in the care of the local cops.

He was fuming.

Payton kept his grumpy dog face the whole time, acting all huffy and refusing to say a single word.

Sierra could totally tell Payton was throwing a tantrum, but she was helpless to do anything about it.

In the car, Payton lay there stiff as a board across Alex and Mark’s laps, like a boss who owned the place.

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Chapter 65

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Sierra gave a helpless shrug. “It’s not that I didn’t want to bring you along, Payton. It’s just you wouldn’t have been much help this time, you know?”

Payton immediately bristled, letting out a dramatic Awooo. “What do you mean, not much help? There are police dogs everywhere. Why can’t you just treat me like one of them?”

‘I’m big and strong. You really think I’m not as good as those badge-wearing mutts?’ he grumbled to himself. ‘No way I’m buying that.’

With that, Payton turned his head away, refusing to even look at Sierra.

If Sierra couldn’t come up with a good enough reason today, Payton was dead set on going on a hunger strike, just to show her he meant business.

Sierra saw right through him.

Payton was full of tricks. One could read half of his schemes in his eyes and the other half right on his face.

“So, can you swing through the trees like a little monkey, or are you huge and mighty like an elephant?” Sierra joked.

Payton’s sapphire eyes shifted nervously as he mulled it over. After a while, he realized he really didn’t stack up against them, and his ears flopped back in embarrassment, looking just like little airplane wings.

Sierra couldn’t help but laugh. “The undergrowth in the jungle is so thick, the grass alone is knee-high.

“If you dive in, we wouldn’t even see your ears sticking out. Forget about helping, we’d probably have to start putting up ‘missing dog’ flyers everywhere.”

She teased, “If we manage to find you, awesome. But if we can’t, I guess you’ll just have to go live with the wolves and try to become their alpha.”

Payton’s eyes went wide in shock.

After mulling it over, Payton had to admit Sierra had a point, and he was totally stumped.

While Payton was still lost in thought, they’d already arrived at the airport and were about to check in.

But just as they stepped out of the car, Sophie suddenly called out, “Wait.”

Everyone turned to look at her.

Sophie’s face was pale as she handed over her phone, her voice choked and heavy. “It looks like Pip was in a car accident.”

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