A/N: Thanks to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed! I hope you keep enjoying Canary. :) We get to Jurassic World in this chapter, so on with the show!
x
Not ten minutes after Mr. Masrani had left, Iris came over to her, weeping and holding a check for the one million he had promised.
"Thank you, thank you!" She held onto Nell, who smiled sadly as she informed her of the reason for the reserve receiving such a large check from Masrani Corporations.
She took three weeks to finish up her research and pack her small collection of belongings. Calling her mother, who was incredibly excited for her daughter's next step, was much less painful than she thought it would be.
The worst part was leaving the reserve that had been her home for five years. As she and Tuck boarded the small, rickety plane that was to fly her to Nairobi where she would then take many different flights and boats to get to the island, the entire crew saw her off. The twenty some mixture of researchers, environmentalists, and scientists waved to her as she pulled off into the sky, blinking away tears.
The second worst part was the travel to get to Jurassic World. Flying from Nairobi to San Jose, including layovers was almost a day in itself and with the time differences she had no clue how much time she had lost. She couldn't even have Tuck with her and thoughts of him in a cargo hold made her sick.
Once they were reunited in San Jose, Costa Rica, she was immediately whisked onto a ferry. Nell and Tuck found respite there in a small air conditioned compartment where they could nap for a few hours before they would reach Isla Nublar.
Feeling only marginally better from sleeping for the first time in at least twenty four hours, though she still felt as if she were covered in grime, she emerged into heat that was so humid it knocked her in the face.
"Whoa, we'll have to get used to this Tuck." She said, sweat immediately forming at her forehead and underarms. Slinging her carryon over her shoulder, she tossed Tuck a treat to keep him distracted from the massive amounts of people that filled the ship and the island itself.
No wonder one million was just a drop in the bucket for Masrani. Jurassic World was filled with tourists, a buzz filling the air from the thousands of excited people who all but raced towards the island.
Nell departed the boat, pulling her hat and sunglasses out of her knapsack and donning them.
Trying to see over the sea of people, which was almost impossible as she barely broke five foot two inches, she finally spotted a gorgeous dark haired woman dressed very stylishly, not a bead of sweat on her. More importantly, she held up a sign with "DR. ELEANOR KIRKWOOD" scrawled across.
"Hi, I'm Doctor Kirkwood." She stuck a hand out to the woman, who took it coolly.
"Zara Young. I'm Ms. Dearing's personal assistant." She replied in a crisp British accent. "I take it this is your dog?"
Nell laughed. "This is Tuck, yes."
"Do you have a leash for him?" She said coolly. Nell shrugged.
"Never had a need for one. Don't plan on needing one. He's incredibly well trained, you don't have to worry."
Zara nodded, her eyes obscured by giant sunglasses. "I'm sure." She said dryly. "I take it your trip went well?"
"Just fine, thanks. I'm glad I came early, that flight is not an easy one."
"Certainly." She turned on her heel, taking her to a beautiful Mercedes. "We'll head to meet Ms. Dearing now so that you can sign your paperwork."
She turned to Tuck, her lip curling up so slightly it was almost unnoticeable. "I trust he behaves well in a car?"
Nell rolled her eyes, pulling a towel from her knapsack. "He can sit on this, don't worry."
Zara nodded, relieved. "Wonderful."
x
They arrived at Control quickly, much quicker than the park's large, all-encompassing train would take. The air conditioning of the car had been a brilliant reprieve; Nell didn't even need to mop up her sweat as she practically panted in front of the car's fan.
"We'll need to take care of all your papers before we can get on with meeting Ms. Dearing and introducing you to your workspace, of course." Zara said as they transferred quickly from the car to the beautiful chrome building, the humidity barely seeming to affect the woman as Nell and Tuck followed her.
"Of course." Nell rolled her eyes as they entered an elevator, the doors closing quickly with a silent whoosh. Zara eyed Tuck and opened her mouth to say something–
"He comes with me wherever I go." Nell cut her off. "Mr. Masrani specifically told me that it would be possible."
"Yes, of course, your oral agreement with Mr. Masrani." Zara said, finally taking off her sunglasses to reveal more of her lovely pale face. "Ms. Dearing wasn't too happy about that, but at least you've shown up."
"I said I would." Nell muttered, Tuck sitting happily at her feet. The elevators opened with the same whoosh, and Zara showed her ID to the security guard in front of the offices, all chrome and glass.
I'm beginning to notice a theme with the décor here. Nell thought as they walked by, giving the guard a nod. She was lead to a small office where Zara dropped a file full of paperwork on the desk table.
"Please sign where highlighted. I'll be back with Ms. Dearing in a few minutes." She paused. "I also need a picture for your ID." Nell took a second to fix her hair and smile and Zara snapped a quick photo.
"Lovely." She stated, and before Nell had a chance to open her mouth she was out the door.
There was an insane amount of paperwork. Some forms she recognized from the reserve – basic insurance policies that made you responsible if one of the animals harmed you, etcetera. She checked over her health and life insurance papers to ensure that Tuck had been included, and he had.
Then there were Non-Disclosure Agreements, Confidentiality Agreements, a form that stated that her work was her own but the park had the right to review it before publishing, and a bunch of other forms that made her head hurt. She gaped at the form that had her salary on it – she hadn't even been thinking about that since Masrani dropped a check off at the reserve.
Eighty thousand! Shit. That could pay for the doctorate easily.
She signed them all, just in time to see Zara return with a tall, slim redhead that was dressed impeccably in a black pencil skirt, purple blouse, and matching pumps. Her pointed face and red hair immediately reminded her of Tuck, and she pushed down the giggle that threatened to emerge.
"I'm Claire Dearing." The woman said crisply, shaking her hand. "We are so happy to have you here, Doctor Kirkwood."
"It's good to be here," Nell said, her confidence wavering under the tall woman's gaze, she picked up the papers and tapped them together to make them even before offering them to Claire. Zara immediately took them from her and tucked them under her arm. "I uh, signed all the paperwork."
"Good," Claire replied, "It's nice to have official documents that you're working for us instead of Mr. Masrani's word."
"You guys really like your paperwork, don't you?" Nell joked, before quieting under Claire's cool gaze.
"We have people here who do not do their paperwork as expected, Doctor Kirkwood. I hope you won't be one of them." The redhead replied.
"Oh no, I promise I'll make sure to have it all done."
"Good to hear. Now," Claire turned and began walking quickly, Zara at her side, handing Nell her employee ID without a second word. Nell glanced at the ID – she looked sweaty and tired, but she had a feeling most people on this island would look that way.
Glancing up to see that they had moved on without her, Nell had to break into a slight jog to keep up with the two glamazons. "Would you rather go to your staff housing first or see where you'll be working?" Claire asked quickly.
"With all respect Ms. Dearing, I'd love to just go to my housing and stay there if that's alright with you." The red head stopped and looked at her. "I'm sorry, I just flew for like, a day, maybe two if you count the time difference and I would love to just sleep. I don't think I'll be able to remember much of anything you tell me, if I'm to be honest."
Ms. Dearing nodded, a small smile creeping at the corner of her mouth. "I don't mind honesty, Doctor Kirkwood. We'll take you to your housing and Zara will set up a time when I'm free tomorrow to take you to the herbivore enclosures.
Zara nodded, pulling out a slick PDA as they entered the elevator. "You have 2:30 to 4:45 free tomorrow Claire."
"Let's do that then."
That's the only time she has free? Wow.
As they exited Control the heat hit Nell in the face again. They went to a different Mercedes, this one even more tricked out than Zara's had been. Claire got in the driver's seat and Zara in the back.
Claire wrinkled her nose as she looked at Tuck. "Zara said you had a towel for him…?"
"Oh yes!" Nell stated, flustered. She pulled out the towel again and Tuck hopped in back next to Zara, who side eyed the basenji.
What is it with these two and not liking dogs? Nell thought, sliding into the passenger seat. Once she was buckled in, Claire took off, speeding through the roads like a madwoman. Nell clenched the door handle and looked in the mirror at Tuck, who didn't even notice the speed.
Both of the women were on their phones – Zara texting and Claire speaking. It was obvious that the Operations Manager was quite possibly the busiest woman at the park.
They pulled onto off roads, Nell hungrily eyeing up the lush greenery of the island. She hadn't seen stuff like this since she left for the reservation, and she forgot how much she missed color – brilliant greens and blues covered the island.
They entered the staff housing enclosure, a group of scattered bungalows that rung around a lake. Or was it the ocean?
Pulling up to one that looked newly refurbished, Nell got out of the car in amazement. It was small, but really quite lovely. A white Jeep with the Jurassic World logo stamped on the side sat in front of the house.
"It's not much, but with Ms. Goode leaving us, we had it redone for you so your fixtures are up to date. The crew should have dropped off your luggage. Here are the keys to both the bungalow and your car – it'll be the easiest way to get around the island." Claire said quickly, handing her a ring of keys that Nell quickly stuffed into her bag.
"No, it's perfect. So much more than anything I had at the reserve, or even in college." Nell laughed. "Thank you."
Tuck crooned in agreement, sitting at Claire's feet and panting up at her happily. She looked down uncomfortably at the small dog before reaching down to pat him awkwardly on the head.
"He likes you!" Nell grinned.
"I'm not really… a dog person." Claire said carefully, and Zara laughed.
"That's an understatement." The British woman muttered.
"You kind of look like him." Nell offered, but was immediately horrified at her statement as the two women looked at her sharply.
"I-I mean the hair color and your face is pointed kind of like his…" She stuttered off as Claire looked at her, an eyebrow quirking.
"I'm a dog person," Nell was flustered. "It's a huge compliment to me if you remind me of a dog…?" She tapered off, and Claire gave her a small smile and nodded.
"Well, thank you. I suppose." She cleared her throat, turning back to the bungalow. "Feel free to let Zara know if you need anything. We get supply deliveries, including food, delivered to the island every week. I'll need your report by end of business tomorrow. So make sure you have budgeted for what you'll need. Anything we deem to fall outside of needs through your insurance we'll just take out of your paycheck."
She smiled at Nell's shocked look. "Don't worry, that basically just means if you want alcohol or other luxury goods we'll charge you."
"Oh. Phew. I was worried for a second there."
"Make sure you also mark down what you need for…him."
"His name is Tuck." Nell grinned at Claire's obvious discomfort at her dog. Tuck crooned again, trotting back over to Nell's feet.
"Yes, Tuck. He's included in your food plan so just mark what you need for him for the week so we don't charge you."
"Great. Will do."
"Your ID will serve as payment if you wish to eat or shop onsite. Of course, you get an employee discount."
"Oh, awesome. Thanks."
Claire nodded, before offering her hand out to shake. "I'll see you tomorrow, Doctor Kirkwood. We have high hopes for you here at Jurassic World."
"Nice to meet you too…" Nell trailed off, shaking her hand. Zara gave her a quick nod, walking back to the car and sliding into the passenger seat, never once looking up from her cell phone. The two ladies drove off quickly, leaving Nell and Tuck alone.
"Ready for some sleep, boy?" She pulled her knapsack up to her shoulder as she climbed the few stairs to… wow, it was her porch now. Her bungalow. She worked in Jurassic World.
This was surreal.
The porch was small but cute, large enough for a couple chairs and maybe a table. It faced towards the water, where right now the sun was still high in the sky but during sunset must really be magnificent.
The bungalow inside was small, with a small living space, complete with a couch and an office table where a thin laptop lay. The kitchen was cozy, with cool tiled floors and enough counter space to get the job done. Nell chuckled as she saw that part of the refurbishing was adding a doggy door next to the kitchen screen. The screen door led out to another exit out of the bungalow. It would be a nice place for a grill if Nell could remember how to even use one.
Through the kitchen was a tiny hallway that lead back to the bedroom, which was mostly taken up by the bed and the dresser. Her luggage lay on the bed, and she tossed it to the ground, not even thinking about unpacking until she showered and slept.
The bathroom had a shower and a tub and toilet, as well as a delightful pink tile throughout the whole room that must have been the doing of the previous tenant. Nell dropped her bag on the bedroom floor and splashed her face with cold water, immediately feeling better.
She trudged back into the bedroom, the exhaustion from the travel fully setting in. The, well, her bedroom got a lot of natural light, but thankfully had heavy curtains to draw across the windows, blocking out the light completely. She closed the windows and drew the curtains immediately. Yawning, she set her air conditioning to a cool seventy two degrees before stripping herself of her clothes, throwing them so they just missed the hamper.
"Whatever. That's for future Nell." She grumbled, plugging her phone in and setting an alarm so that if she slept like the dead she could at least be up for her meeting with Claire Dearing.
"Time for bed boy." She muttered, sliding under the covers and sighing in pleasure as the cool sheets hit her skin.
Tuck crooned, getting up on the bed with her and curling up against her back. The pair fell asleep in a matter of moments, dead to the world.
