"You can unpack your clothes. The other girls are pretty trustworthy, everyone tends to keep to themselves . And I guess you sleep here." He pointed out some cabinets and a bed. There were around half a dozen trailers on the land, each dedicated to a group of people. Charlotte had been put into whichever one had room.
He uncle had quickly left her in hopes of finding someone to boss around and Charlotte, having nothing to do, decided on exploring the site. She had half expected for her uncle to give her a tour but as he had earlier pointed out, he was a busy man. She walked around for a bit, trying to ignore the obvious stares of the other students. She knew where their thoughts were, she was only here because of her uncle, she didn't deserve this internship or whatever it was they thought she was here for. Billy had found her a little while after she had sat down with a friendly group who were excavating part of velociraptor and pulled her to look at what he thought was better. That happened to be another piece of technology, only this one showed her a approximation of how the dinsosaurs ran.
"You thought this was better than an actual skeleton?" Charlie questioned him, giving him a pointed look.
"Come on. You can't stay sitting outside all day. This is exactly what happened last time." Charlie rolled her eyes at the boy.
"I like digging up bones. It's calming. And it keeps me distracted. " She was met with a dubious look as she attempted to make her point. She was completely aware of how childish she sounded but it had already been a long day and being criticized on how she liked to spend her time was not something she appreciated. "What?" She was confused as to why Billy was smiling at her.
"Nothing, Char. Just glad that you're back."
A little while later the trio was leaving the site in favor of the local bar, to meet their potential investors. They made it to the restaurant almost half an hour late in dusty clothes and tired expressions. While Charlotte had looked around the bar her sister had so often frequented during her stay here and felt out of place. Her uncle looked as though he'd rather be anywhere else and Billy looked thrilled.
Charlotte spotted Mr. Kirby first leading the boys to the table where two people sat. The new woman, Amanda politely greeted the trio, and despite her friendliness towards them, she had regarded Charlotte with calculating eyes.
"First off let me say as a dinosaur enthusiasts, Amanda and I have admired your work for years." Mr. Kirby started saying as the trio got comfortable, Alan and Billy quickly flagging down a waitress to get them drinks.
"It is truly, what's the word? Inspiring." Amanda nodded, agreeing with her husband.
Her uncle replied with a simple, "Thank you."
"Amanda and I, well, we just love the outdoors. Heck we've been on pretty much any adventure
tour they can come up with: Galapagos, K2,the Nile..." Charlotte's interest peaked, of the many things she had an interest in she was utterly fascinated by anything involving Egypt.
"We even have two seats reserved aboard the first commercial moon flight." At this Charlotte chocked on her coke. "Really?" She questioned.
They nodded in response as Charlotte looked to her uncle in amazed disbelief and Billy nudged his arm. "Rich" he mouthed at the young woman, as she rolled her eyes but grinned, electing to pay attention to the couple rather than Billy's attempts to ingrain in her uncle's brain how loaded their companions were.
"Now, for our wedding anniversary this year we wanted to do something really special, something..." Paul put his hand on top of Amanda's, giving her a gentle squeeze as they made eye contact.
"...once-in-a-lifetime." She continued.
"We've arranged for a private airplane to take us flying over Isla Sorna. And we want you to be our guide."
The couple looked expectantly at Alan, who gave his niece and assistant an annoyed look, while they both shrugged. He turned his attention to the eager couple, unsure how to let them down but determined to do so.
"That's a very nice offer, Mr. Kirby, but I'm afraid I'm much to busy. If you like I can refer you to a number of highly qualified..." It didn't sound to Charlotte like her uncle even had a choice in the matter, even though he had always been adamant that he wouldn't return to any island with dinosaurs, not even a thousand feet off the ground.
"No, no, see Dr. Grant, you're the best. You've seen these animals in the flesh. No one else
has come close to you."
"I'm flattered, but I've taken this little adventure tour. And with the air restrictions they've imposed after the incident in San Diego, you can't fly low enough to see anything of interest."
"You see, that's just the thing. Paul and I have special permission to fly low." Of course that wouldn't be a problem for them.
"How low?" Billy questioned, leaning forward to wait for an answer.
Paul gave him one. An answer far more terrifying than either had expected. "Well, I'm no aviation specialist. But I do know it's hell of a lot lower than anyone else."
"From what I understand, it's pretty much whatever we want." Charlotte's eyebrows shot up. There must have been some regulation for being that close to an island filled with extint, aggressive animals.
"That's hard to believe." Her uncle mumbled, like his niece, wondering what kind of person would allow them to fly that low.
"Let's just say that through my business -imports/exports, emerging markets - I've made some friends in high places. In this case, the Costa Rican government." Paul explained at the questioning glances the three paleontologists made at each other.
"Dr. Grant, you don't know how important it is for us to have you come along. It would make all the difference." Alan tried to say no, he was going to explain how dangerous it was and how he vowed never to go back when their next offer gave him a reason to agree.
"And of course, we're prepared to make a sizeable contribution to your research here. I can write all kinds of numbers on this check. Just tell me what exactly it would take." Charlotte glanced at her uncle and could practically see the list of pros and cons going through his head. As thrilled as she was at the prospect of seeing a dinosaur she knew her uncle would only take up the offer if money was really an issue. But luckily for the Kirbys, it was.
