Claudia laughed and patted his head "Oh Connor! You poor man! You know that you just have to make ONE phone call?"
The young man looked at her with a frown. He HAD thought it all out. What did he miss?
" You're too smart to take the simple road? Just call the university. Or better yet, let Nick call the Dean. We have the name and we know she studies there … it's really easy to get hold of her now, if she is so important to you, Puppy."
Connor smiled. The nicknames she gave him always made him smile, and her suggestion really could be the best way to get to Abby.
"Do you think she'll remember us?" He asked Claudia.
"I can still remember her, so yes, maybe."
The last thought Connor had before falling into deep dreamless sleep that night was that he would talk to her soon.
One of the first things Nick Cutter did the next morning was to call his old boss at the university. He explained that he was working with the Home Office now, and that he needed someone who could work with lizards. He had fed him all the crap the government had told them to tell outsiders about the ARC. Cutter asked for promising students who had experience with lizards. The Dean wanted to meet up with Cutter to show him the files of some zoology students, and Cutter agreed.
He and Connor would go to get lunch with the Dean today.
Connor held the three files the Dean had given him in his hand. Cutter and Dean Thomas Price were talking about the good old times, whilst Connor began to look through the files. He really hoped Abby's file was in there.
He glanced at the names and let loose a loud "YES!" When he read Abigail S. Maitland on the last file. He nodded in Cutter's direction and smiled as he opened the file.
Abigail S. Maitland, 24, Zoology, 2 semesters
was written on the front page, and a yellow sticky note attached to the file said:
worked in the Wellington Zoo in Lizard projects.
This was it. He told Dean Price that he needed to talk to the students. The Dean smiled and nodded. If he was surprised that Connor called the shots and not Cutter he never let it show. Connor was allowed to go and talk to the students this very afternoon, right after a lecture.
He explained to the Dean that he would like to offer one of them a job at the "Research Center" assisting them with some work they were doing with rare breeds of lizards. The most promising student was Miss Abigail Maitland. The Dean nodded and was happy that one of his students could be offered a job by the government. He spoke with the professor who gave the lecture to send Abby over to his office.
Connor was getting nervous now. He was only minutes away from meeting Abby.
Two minutes later there was a knock on the door and the Dean called her in. There she was. Abby Maitland. She looked younger than the "other Abby" in the anomaly, but the other Connor looked a bit older than him too. This Abby's hair was longer now than she had it 3 years ago, it was coming down to her shoulders. Her style was still a little punky and the face and the smile were still the same. Connor stood and nodded in greeting when she seemed to recognize him. Dean Price told her about a possible job offer and that Connor would need to interview her for that. Her eyes widened a bit and she nodded.
They agreed to do the interview in the cafeteria on campus and left the Dean's Office.
When the door closed behind them, Abby turned to Connor instantly.
"How is Rex?" she asked him with a smile.
"So … uh … you remember me?" He smiled.
"Sure I do! How could I forget your smile?"
"My … ? Uh … "
Abby laughed when Connor blushed bright red. All Connor could think was: is she flirting with me?
Abby began to walk again and asked "Is there really a job?"
"A job? … Oh … yes. There is a job. And it's yours if you want it, but I have to show you something to explain what the job actually is."
"It's mine if I want it? What kind of an interview is this?"
Connor laughed. "We think you could fit in well with us. You like lizards?"
She nodded.
Connor nodded too and turned around. "Where are you going?" Abby called after him.
"To tell the Dean that I don't need to talk to the other two students. I want you!"
Abby giggled and Connor realized what he had said "I mean... uh ... What I wanted to say is … you are perfect for the job, and … WE want you … uh … to work at the ARC, you know!"
Abby waited for him to return and thought about what had happened today. She was surprised to get called into the Dean's Office. When she had seen the other man in the office she had instantly recognized him. He was with the guys who had taken Rex. He looked more mature but no less cute now. A bit of facial hair and a hat gave him a bohemian look. He wore a waistcoat over a T-shirt and a tight fitting black jeans; really, he looked good. The fact that he wore fingerless gloves in June made her smile.
And he was offering her a job! If he was genuine about that, it would be perfect. She needed a job, and to work with lizards was what she wanted. She did, however, have questions about the kind of lizards, because she had done some research in the last 3 years.
When Connor came back to her smiling she smiled at him too, because she found his big dimply grin infectious.
Connor gave her the address of the ARC and told her to meet him in the car park.
Abby got there before him and she waited next to her old green rover mini. It was putting and puffing sometimes, but it was all she could afford.
Connor arrived 5 minutes later and parked right next to her. He got out of the car.
Abby went over to him and got right to it. "Alright. So: First I wanted to tell you that I KNOW that Rex was a Coelurosauravus. SO what I want to know is: WHAT kind of job is this you're offering?"
"You're right. Rex is a Coelurosauravus. He's still here in the ARC if you want to say hi. Actually … I need to show you something that will explain everything. Come on."
Although Abby was suspicious about what she had heard, she followed Connor.
There were security checks when they entered the building and Connor seemed to have an "ALL AREAS" kind of pass. He just told them that she was with him, and it seamed to be okay that she followed him. Abby was impressed by that, Connor only looked a little bit older than herself and he was treated like one of the top men here.
When he stepped into a big round room, he called out to someone called Becker that he needed to come with them into the creatures area. A soldier came over and nodded at her.
"I'm Captain Becker. You must be Abigail Maitland."
"Abby, yes. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand but he just ignored her and turned to walk out of the room.
Connor laughed and whispered "Becker can appear a bit rough at times, but he's actually a really nice guy when you get to know him." before he followed behind Captain Becker. Abby had to practically run to keep up with the two men.
The Captain stopped at a big green double door and Connor zipped his ID Card through a slot at the side. It beeped and then buzzed so that Becker could open it and get in first.
Abby looked at Connor in confusion when the soldier took out a tranquilizer gun.
"Don't worry, it's just precaution. We scientific people are not allowed to go in here on our own, we need a soldier with us all the time. You'll see why in a second."
With that, Abby stepped into the hallway after the Captain and smelt some kind of animals in the area. Connor got in front of her and stopped right in front of a animal habitat of some kind. Abby stepped up to him and looked into the area, but couldn't see anything. Connor climbed over the barrier, knelt down and whistled. "Sid? Nancy? Come here! I want you to meet someone!"
TBC
AN: Reviews make me write (and update) faster ;)
