1 - The liquidation
This time, it is finished, completely finished ! As Jurassic Park before it, Jurassic World is dead. John Hammond's dream does not exist anymore. The proof is made, from now on, that it is impossible to make tourists live with these giants of brute force. It's time to stop playing the sorcerer's apprentices like that was made so far. At no time, the man did not have the control of the events.
Today, on the ground, everything is back to normal again. The rubble was evacuated, the tyrannosaur got back to its enclosure.
A team of maintenance, commanded by Owen Grady, stayed on the spot to feed the huge mosasaure and take care of babies dinosaurs of the day-nursery.
Claire Dearing, too, stayed on the island, to welcome and show the site to the possible buyers, because the shareholders put him in liquidation.
It is the famous Rigby and Rigby cabinet, of Seattle, that is in charge of the file.
It is necessary to say that Jonathan Rigby, the father, moved heaven and earth so that he is confided to him, in memory of his friendship with John Hammond.
Both men met together at the university and, at the time, everything separated them.
Jonathan was of one cold and austere realism whereas John spent his time in perpetual dreams, to invent ceaselessly new projects. Among these, the one which held him most heart was to bring back to life the giants of the Jurassic.
- You will see, he often said, if, one day, I become rich, I will finance expeditions and searches and I shall make relive dinosaurs. I shall present them to the whole world in a gigantic park of attractions. "
- It is impossible, answered his friend every time, in a laconic way.
- You want me to tell you ? You have lead shoes. For me, nothing is impossible. And I shall prove it to the face of the world.
Then life separated them.
Jonathan found a job exactly made for him, in which he excelled.
And John really made a fortune and pursued his dream, until he gave it life.
Always, both friends kept in touch, each following the ascent of the other one and Jonathan was certainly one of the very first visitors of the Jurassic Park of John.
So he lived painfully the failure of his old fellow's project, then his death.
Jonathan missed the first operation of liquidation.
So he decided, in case there would be another one, that it would be for him.
That is why he followed very closely the emergence of Jurassic World, with the sincere hope to see resuscitating John's dream. But he also attended the new disaster.
He quickly positioned as soon as he learnt the project of transfer of the park and had no evil to obtain the mandate, considering his reputation.
Today, we are on Thursday evening and it is now 6 : 00 pm.
Nevertheless, Jonathan always seats in his office. Usually, he leaves punctually one
hour earlier.
It is necessary to say that tomorrow, at noon, takes place the deadline of
deposit of the offers for the resumption of the park with dinosaurs because, at 2 : 00 pm, he will have to present to the partners of Jurassic World the proposals which he will have received.
And it is a rather a grim perspective !
He looks at the right corner of his desk, always impeccably ordered.
Two files are piled there, only two !
And they do not correspond at all to what the liquidator had imagined to receive.
The first one was deposited approximately one month ago by a Russian billionaire.
Obviously, dinosaurs do not interest him.
Only the site arouses his interest.
Het indeed has for ambition to make a vast zone of leisure activities, discreet and isolated, for fortunate customers in lack of peace of mind. He intends to propose any sorts of activities, sports or not : walks, hikes, on horseback or mountain bike, escalation on cliffs, golf, beach, and, for the evenings, casino, shows, nightclubs, dance halls and many other things.
Naturally, all the available space will be secured and guards will guarantee the serenity and the respect for private life of the customers.
In such a context, the huge animals have obviously no more their place.
The project thus plans their elimination, total and definitive. All the carcasses will then be evacuated or destroyed.
This work, long and complicated, will have a real cost.
That is why the buyer proposes, for the purchase of the island, only 52 million dollars, while the assignors in demand 60.
But he so hopes to have a room to maneuver to negotiate the most just price and end in a satisfactory transaction.
The second proposal is clearly more recent. It emanates from a group of powerful German industrialists.
The site attracts them for the hunting.
To be able to meet discreetly their prospective customers, negotiate far from the crowd of important contracts or simply propose luxury weekends, by offering in parallel an activity of leisure with a guaranteed result, they need a quiet place, far from everything and easy to control.
Their final idea, if their offer in 56 millions is accepted, is to propose at first trophies of dinosaurs at very high prices, to eliminate them gradually, then to acclimatize animals imported from reserves of Africa, preys and predators, which will take the relay.
A workshop of taxidermy and a tannery will allow the visitors to take trophies and skins, whereas a room of slaughter will allow to value the meat and to propose it in a luxurious restaurant.
Jonathan pushes a deep sigh.
They are not obviously the buyers about whom he had dreamed to perpetuate the work of his friend.
And this is why he remains in his office for more than one hour, maintaining to wait.
He put himself in the head, without reason none, that, at the last moment, his telephone is going to ring and that a providential customer is going to fall from the sky.
But time goes by and nothing occurs, regrettably. 6:15 pm, already!
A head appears in the door frame onto the corridor of the floor, left open by Emma's departure, its assistant, as she do it every evening.
From his office, the door of which is also opened, he can see her easy.
Here is Maria, one of the maids of the building.
- Good evening, Senor Rigby, she says with a big smile, you do not want to leave this evening ?
- Good evening, my good Maria ! You are right ! Time is getting on and I think that nothing more will happen now. Do not worry about me and make your work as usual ! "
- If you wish, I can begin by the office of the lawyers. It seems to me that they left. I shall come back to yours a little later. "
- Thank you, you are kind ! "
Without discussing more, the nice woman goes away by humming, towards the end of the corridor.
Jonathan looks a last time at his telephone, which remains stubbornly dumb, then grows a deep sigh.
- All is finished, he says to himself ! Sorry, John, I shall have tempted everything in this affair, raked as widely as possible to find prospects but, for a reason which I ignore, I did not succeed. What a waste! "
While whispering this, he gets up and goes slowly to the coat rack. He spends his scarf around the neck because it is cold outside. Then he puts on his overcoat, which he closes conscientiously, before ending with his hat, to protect an already well moved forward baldness.
When leaving the room, he has a last look in the direction of the telephone, always stubbornly dumb.
- What a waste, he repeats again ! "
Then he crosses Emma's office and goes out in the corridor. He pulls the door behind him, without locking it, however.
- Maria, he shouts then, I leave ! "
- Good evening, Senor, answers him the woman, from the office of which she does the cleaning. "
- Good evening to you too! I did not lock my door so that you can enter easily. "
Then he goes up his collar and goes away, with a heavy step, in the direction of the exit.
While he reaches the end of the corridor and the door which gives onto the landing of the elevators, he listens a bell of telephone.
Jonathan stands still, as statued. His heart seems to pause for a moment.
- Would it be …, does he say to himself ? No ! It would be so beautiful! "
But the answer reaches him immediately : the sound is too strong to result from his office. By tightening the ear, the old man notices that he arises from the office of the chartered accountants, clearly closer to him.
- it's a pity, he grumbles ! I would have so liked whether it is for me."
But, while he gets ready to resume his way, the bell stops, making way for another one, lower and masked up to there.
- And if this one came from my office, does he say to himself with hope ? Without waiting more, he turns back, running almost, and open hastily the door of his cabinet. That of his office remained open, as usual.
The sound is very strong from now on and it comes well and truly from his office
Jonathan rushes in the room and picks up …
Too late!
His correspondent has just hung up.
Fortunately, his son, annoyed by the "museum pieces" which his father uses, decided to install modern handsets, which one of the functions is to keep in memory the received calls.
Madly, taken by an exaltation which he has a great deal of difficulty in controlling, Jonathan hurries to display the last entering number.
It is the one of a mobile phone which is totally unknown to him. In any case, it is not the number of one of his customers.
- Never mind, he concludes, I have only to call back it. "
No sooner said than done!
Almost immediately, a voice answers him.
- Hello? "
- Good evening Sir, here Jonathan Rigby, from the cabinet Rigby and Rigby of Seattle. You have just tried to contact me. "
- Completely, answers the voice, and thank you to have called back on the phone to me so fast. I was afraid, seing the advanced hour, of having been lacking to you. I am Harvey Harper. I suppose that my name has to tell you something? »
- Of course, mister Harper, answers Jonathan ! I actually heard a lot about you. Can I know the reason of your call ? »
The brain of the old man is on the boil.
Who does not know, in the United States and even somewhere else, Harvey Harper, the Texan, one of the biggest fortunes of the planet ?
His ancestors built an immense empire of the cattle, as many people in Texas. Then they knew how to take advantage of the discovery of the oil to widen their activities. They got back considerable convenient surfaces, sometimes by questionable means.
But the domain of preference of the family was, and stayed, the agriculture. That is why, next to the cattle, the father of Harvey started producing seeds. His business acumen and its skills allowed him to absorb, over the years, most of his competitors.
In the continuity, Harvey started manufacturing agricultural machines. He possesses around thirty factories implanted in about twenty different countries today and employing 35 000 people.
- Mister Rigby, you are always there? "
The question returns brutally Jonathan to the reality.
- Yes, of course, mister Harper. No worries, I listen to you. "
- That is what brings me. With some friends, we decided to deposit an offer of resumption for Isla Nublar and all that it contains. "
- If I can afford, hurry ! The deadline is tomorrow, at noon. "
- I know perfectly well it ! And it is even the reason of my call. We would like to pass to your cabinet tomorrow morning at precise 9 : 00 am to deposit our proposition and explain you the content. You have to plan to spend an hour to an hour and a half.
- But, Jonathan stammers, I have already quite a lot of appointments ! "
- I imagine it easily but, nevertheless, I must insist. My friends come from far away, especially to meet you, and they will be in Seattle tomorrow morning, between two planes. They are people with very busy schedules. It is moreover what explains you our very late proposal. "
- I understand, says the liquidator. "
Mechanically, he runs his hand on his bald head, as he always makes it when he is worried, and notices on this occasion that he always has his hat on the head.
He quickly removes it and puts it on his desk, just in front of him.
- I am not certain, he pursues, to be able to join this evening my appointments of tomorrow morning. But I am going to try. If I do not remind to you, it is because I shall have succeeded in getting organized. "
- That suits me, answers Harper. I do not doubt that you reach there and I tell you right now : see you tomorrow, at 9 : 00 hours am. Do not disappoint me, Mister Rigby, because I am going to have to travel a great part of the night to be in time for our meeting, as my friends, moreover. "
Jonathan feels clearly, in these last words, accents of threat.
And Harper has a lot of influence and many relationships!
- Very well, see you tomorrow, mister Harper. "
- That is what I wanted to hear you saying ! Good evening, mister Rigby, answers the interested, who hangs up immediately! "
Jonathan leans against the back of his armchair.
What a thunderstruck ! But it does not displease him.
He did not dare to believe in it any more.
And nevertheless a third offer, apparently more serious for him than the others, should be deposited tomorrow morning.
Because Harvey Harper is not only a leading businessman.
He is also a big fan of the disappeared reptiles. Since his earliest childhood, he collects all the objects, relative to these animals, which pass in his reach. The media claims that he has filled three complete warehouses with them : from pins, toys or key rings to complete skeletons of the biggest specimens.
One do not count more the number of expeditions that he financed. He supplied with his discoveries any most famous natural history museums of the planet.
One also claims that his library on the subject is exceptional. The biggest paleontologists come to this place to consult his rare and precious documents.
Jonathan caresses automatically the summit of his bald head.
Finally, John was right. By strongly wanting something, you finally gives it life.
It is 6 : 45 pm and he has now to cancel three appointments.
If both first ones do not raise problems, his interlocutors being of good will, the third turns out clearly more delicate. It is necessary to say that his correspondent is far from being convenient. He rebels against this movement, and underlines what he considers as of the laxness and an obvious lack of professionalism.
Little by little, Jonathan gets upset.
- Listen closely to me, mister, he suddenly says, if you wish, I can direct you to one of my colleagues who will be, undoubtedly for you, clearly more serious and more professional than I am. "
- Do not try to discard, retorts the other, aggressive, it is not what I expect from you. "
- Whether you agree it or not, it is impossible for me to receive you tomorrow morning! Take it as you want ! "
- You found a juicier affair, did not you ? I am not more well enough for you? "
- I do not know anything about it and it is not the subject, answers Jonathan, exceeded. I just know that people come by very far to meet me. Understand it or not, I don't care, but I shall receive them. In what concerns you, I am going to make a last effort. If you agree to move the appointment, I shall not make you to pay. Does it suit you ? "
On the phone, his interlocutor finally calmed down. An agreement is found.
Having hung up, Jonathan sighs noisily.
Everything is settled !
It is late and he is finally going to be able to go back home and rest, because tomorrow will be a difficult and determining day.
He puts on his hat, greets Maria, quite amazed to see him still there at the present time, and goes away by whistling.