Animal Kingdom Read Online Free PDF

from one of the men responsible for it made things all the more worse.
    The curator pushed open the door at the end of the corridor and stood aside whilst people filed into the room ahead. Randall listened to the erratic thudding, getting louder behind them, and was confused. Could lions really behave like this? Smashing through doors to get at people when they had devoured several bodies already? It can’t be hunger, he thought.
    The tattooed man beside Randall patted him on the back. “They best have a kettle in there, pal. I could kill a brew.”
    Randall took exception to being touched by the rough-looking man, and also to being called “pal”. He didn’t acknowledge his disapproval, however, because he was next in line to enter the staffroom ahead. Randall stepped through and entered a large blue-carpeted room that featured several sets of brand-new tables and chairs, several vending machines, two pool tables, and a modest kitchenette. The room was backed by a long, horizontal window that ran the entire length of the wall.
    Is this what my money paid for? Somewhere for staff to laze about? Maybe they should have spent the money on better security for the animal enclosures. Then I wouldn’t be suing them into bankruptcy.
    Randall found a seat and placed himself down while the rest of the group seated themselves. It felt good to take the weight off his feet, and gave him a chance to use his inhaler to get his asthma under control. It would not do to wait around idle for too long however. He had somewhere important to be. The head of one of the China’s biggest tire manufacturers would be waiting on him to discuss an investment in their UK strategy. It was just one more industry that the Chinks were planning to monopolise, and Randall decided it was better to get into bed with them than to resist. It could cost Randall millions if he missed the meeting. There was a long line of other investors eager to make the deal if he didn’t. Lions or no lions, Randall had to get out of there.
    I’ll spare ten more minutes, then enough is enough.
    The curator stepped into the room along with his giant blond accomplice that had been rude to Randall earlier. A young brunette girl and a small boy with a tatty backpack also accompanied them. He was pretty sure that the boy belonged to the blond man.
    The curator pushed closed the door, turned the lock, and faced the group. “This door is not especially heavy,” he said, “so I think it would be wise to slide one of the pool tables in front of it. Do I have any volunteers?”
    Yeah right! Randall scoffed. Don’t expect me to start lugging furniture around for you.
    There were a few volunteers but Randall paid them no mind. The only concern he had right now were the ticking hands on his Omega watch. Each second could be costing him money.
    Several minutes passed, the aimless fools just managing to push one of the pool tables up against the door. Unbelievably, they had started playing a game on the other one.
    What do they think this is? Break Time?
    “ Right!” The curator cleared his throat and addressed everyone again. “Now that we have secured our safety, I should introduce myself. My name is Mason and I work here at the zoo. Unfortunately, I have no more knowledge of the current events than anybody else. I will, however, be going upstairs shortly to use one of the office phones to try and contact somebody. Before that, might I ask if anyone has a cell phone?”
    The group looked around themselves, but no one answered. Randall could have said ‘yes’, but wasn’t about to offer up his possessions to anyone.
    Mason raised an eyebrow above his spectacles. “Really? No one has one? I thought the whole world had mobile phones these days?”
    “ Yeah,” added a Black man with grey sideburns who looked like Bill Cosby. He was holding up a piece of shattered plastic with various wires hanging out of it. “But mine got pretty bashed up during the attack, as you can see. I