"Hey Ric..." She said when she came around the corner into my office.
I was in the middle of a heated phone battle with Tank. She looked at me with a real quizical grin. I guess I was speaking in sylables again.
"Just a second, partner." I put up one index finger and sweiveled in my office chair.
It came back around, and Stephanie didn't look happy when it made a complete circle. "Listen, Tank. I'll be there as soon as I can, but no gaurntees." I said.
"What the fu-" Tank yelled angrily, but I hung up on him.
"Need me for something?" I set the phone down on the reciever.
"Yes, Professor Higgins," She whiped the corner of my desk clean and sat on it. "I do."
"And what might that be?" I asked and added my own smug little grin.
"Well, you see, my partner's daughter came into Trenton this morning, be he refuses to let me meet her." She folded her hands in her lap.
This was her way of telling me she was mad at me. Truthfully, she had a right to be. I arranged for my daughter, who I rarely speak about, to fly in early this morning. She arrived on time, but I had cooped her up in the penthouse apartment. Stephanie was especially facinated with the fact that I had a daughter. I guess it was some sort of proof that I was human and cappable of making life.
"Maybe there's a reason." I said in a shrink-like tone.
"Reason, smeason. He'd better hurry up with it though." She smiled and picked up the baseball off my desk.
She tossed it gingerly back and forth between her hands, concentrating hard on it instead of me. Not an easy task, I can assure you. "So, what's up with Tank. I though he was on mission for another week." Her favorite game, fifty questions.
"He is." I nodded and filtered through the scattered papers on my desk
"The top secret one that you won't tell me about?" One down.
"Yes, the top secret one I won't tell you about." I replied and folded my hands in my lap.
"And you have to bail him out?" Two.
"Yeah." I mentally rolled my eyes.
"I saw that. Since I'm your partner, does that mean I get to go to?"
Shit, I hadn't thought about that. She didn't need to be anywhere near that island. No where. I had had contact with Mr. Hammond, owner of Isla Nublar, just off the coast of Costa Rica. He paid a quarter of a million dollars to have us install secrurity equipment all over the island.
He didn't tell me what he was doing. Only thing he said was that is was a top secret project, and he'd show me one day. I took the check without looking back. Only now, five years later, I was going through my routine check ups. Going around, making sure everything was still working correctly. Thats where Tank was now.
He sounded desperate on the phone. "Manoso, you better get over here and look at this."
Rarely had he ever called me Manoso. I asked, but got no answers. Just a get over here statement. Anything that could scare Tank was not good for my babe. Not Stephanie.
"No. You're not going." I grumbled.
"I solemly swear to you, Mr. Ricardo Manoso, that I will guard your back till...till..." She began reciting the oath I made all partners say to one another.
"Till my dying day." I reminded her.
"Till my dying day. And until that day, I shall be faithful to you, and only you. This I swear." She said.
She had me there. As my partner, she was obligated to save my ass (which was not very often) and to whatever necessary to get both of us through a mission. "No Babe, it's too dangerous."
"Has that ever stopped me before?" She got all doe eyed and blinked them a few times to get the glassy affect.
"No, it hasn't." I stopped for a second. This was one battle I would loose. "Fine. Be packed in..."I glanced at my watch. "...Three hours."
She did a little happy dance leaving the office. I pulled out my gun, and emptied the bullets out of it to clean it. She came back a few seconds later. "Pack warm for two days, three at the most." I said without looking up.
"I hate you." She said and turned to leave.
"Not many that don't. Hurry up." I yelled back.
I finished my gun in record time. I took the elevator back up to my apartment, where Kayla was waiting patiently on the couch for me. "Daddy! Daddy! Where's Stephanie!" She hurled herself off the couch and into my arms.
I had made the biggest mistake of my life, telling a 10 year old about my newest girlfriend.
"Listen, sweetheart, I have to go bail Uncle Tank out, and Stephanie has to come with me for a few days. But I promise that you'll get to meet her the minute we get back."
"Where's Uncle Tank?" She asked and I set her down.
"He got lost in Costa Rica" She snorted.
"I guess that means I get to stay with Ma-Maw huh?" She really hated staying with her grandparents. I would have been too, all they do all day is cook, garden and watch Ophra.
"I think you're old enough to stay here by yourself." I ruffled her silky black hair.
"Really!" She squealed.
I nodded yes, and gave her the rules. No cooking with the stove, no jumping on my bed, no eating in the living room, and that she sould call Ella if she needed anything. She got excited and then watched TV again, her mobility rate equivallent of a slug.
I called the Lester and told him to pack and meet in the conference room in an hour. He said he'd pass on the memo to the others.
That left forty-five minutes to pack, say my goodbyes and get Steph. In my room, I dialed Ella and put her on speaker phone.
"Hello Mr. Manoso. What can I do for you?" She asked politely and respectfully.
"I need to leave for work for a few nights, and Kay really doesn't like to be left with her grandparents. Would you look after her for me?" I returned the respect.
"Not at all dear. Tell her I'll bring dinner and a movie for her at six." She said.
"I will. Thanks." And I disconnected.
In the few moments of phone call, I managed to scrape up enough clothing for the trip. A sweatshirt with a hood, three black shirts, an extra pair of army pants, and three fresh pairs of socks. I laced up my old Bates boots, shoved all my clothing in a duffel bag, and took off downstairs.
I stopped on the 4th floor to check on Stephanie. Her apartment door was wide open, and clothing was being tossed out the door out into the hall. "Problems, babe?"
"I can never pack for these things!" She yelled to me, bent at an impossible angle in her closet.
"These would be fun." I said, picking up a black satin thong off of her nightstand.
She straightened up, made a disgusted noise and swiped the underwear off my finger. I smiled. "You are so male." She shook her head violently and began digging again with her ass up in the air.
"Can't help it. Meet me in the control room in fiveteen minutes, please?" I asked and kicked another pair of skimpy underwear back into the pile.
"Ugh!" She groaned, and threw some warmer looking clothing on a rather small pile on her bed. I'm guessing that was the take pile.
I made my way through the things, and grabbed her at her hip. She rose slowly. "You look good in anything babe." I whipered in her ear, my lips brushing the skin beside her eye with each word.
She shivered a little. My job was done. I continued my way through the clothing and out her door. She was going to be running through the jungle, and all she was worried about was her outfit.
Lester and Bobby were the first ones in the control room. They sat in their spots and looked at me blankly. They noticed there wasn't Tank, but hadn't commented on it. I could see gears working in their over muscled heads. They weren't bad guys, but they were as dumb as rocks.
Other men, mostly of the recovery team, ambled in and took the open seats. I had shoved some paperwork aside, saving a spot for Stephanie. At 8:04, everyone was getting antsy and checking their watches.
I cleared my throat. "Sorry for the delay I-"
Stephanie came gasping in, her shirt all wrinkled and her shoes untied. Around her shoulder was her duffel bag. "Sorry boss." She heaved.
"Hurry up babe. I was about to start without you." I smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"I had an interesting phone call from Tank. He said there's some sort of trouble, but refused to tell me over the phone. InGen had been long gone from Isla Nublar supposedly, and there are just charred remains of stuff. There is a whole new tropical forest grown, and a few buildings are intact. Tank got separated from Spyder." I announced and watched most of the team nod.
Everyone did execpt for Steph. She looked lost among the high clouds. "I'll explain it all later babe." I whispered in her ear.
"Lester and Bobby, you will accompany Stephanie and I to the island. The rest of you, stand on guard. You are all on call for the next forty-eight hours, unless I say otherwise." Lester and Bobby nodded, looking equally sick.
They caught up to me after the meeting. "You can't be serious! Bombshell can't go!" Bobby protested.
"Tell her that." I snapped.
Bobby stopped in his tracks, and Lester did too. Neither one felt safe enough to mess with me after the Abrunzzi incident. Actually, I don't think they ever had, but especially not now.
Stephanie was close at my heals too, but had dissapeared when Bobby approached. She returned not long after he left, with powdered sugar on her -my- black sweatshirt that she had decided on.
"Doughtnut break?" I asked.
"You said we'd be on a plane till morning. I thought I'd grab an early breakfast. By the way, when are we shipping out?" She gave a mocking grin and scooted closer to me.
"Three hours, RangeMan jet. I have to go get my stuff first."
"You have luggage?" Her eyes got wide.
"Expected me to run around in these for two days?" I smiled.
"You could have."
"I have before. It wasn't pretty babe." Blood is hard to get out of clothing, I wanted to add, but she was already getting pale.
I let myself into the apartment, and Kayla was waiting for me. She, of course, didn't fail to miss Stephanie, standing right behind me. She was polite in her introduction, but you could see the curoisity building. The same in Stephanie, I was afraid. She was filling her mind with millions of questions, to keep both of us awake on the plane.
"I want to come!" Kay complained.
"You can't. Its way to dangerous." I cooed.
Kay turned to Stephanie, who was taking in the father-figure Ric she'd never met before. "Tell him its not. Please?"
"Hon, I think it is a bit too..." She paused. "Too much walking for your little feet to do."
"I walk all the time." Kay kicked her feet against the bottom of the couch.
"It will only be for two days, babe." I told her and put my hand on her cheek.
She wiggled into it, and stared at me with her mocha brown eyes. So much like the ones I had to see in the mirror every day. They were so much cuter on her though.
"Fine." She said sadly.
I stood up, ran my fingers through her hair one last time, and got my bag.
A Rangeman jet was waiting for us. I had designated a separate compartment for each of us; Lester, Bobby, Stephanie and I. There was an extra for Tank and Spyder if we needed one.
I spread out files on my bed, each with little pieces of information about InGen. My studdies proved worthless, and I pulled the internet up on my laptop. There was a news article, from May of 1996. The heading was enough to grab my attention; JURASSIC DISASTER.
I skimmed the article quickly, looking for names and inportant details. It was said that InGen had gotten DNA samples of the DNA code for a dinosaur, from a tiny fossilized mosquito. They filled in the DNA with that of an African Bullfrog, and the dinosaurs grew, and lived in a park, created just off the coast on Isla Nublar.
I swallowed hard. I had heard rumors about the InGen project, but they seemed to bazarre to be anywhere near true. I continued reading.
"InGen's hired hand programmer, Nedry, was working in conjunction with Byosin, a rival company to InGen. Nedry set the system to fail, so he could get past security and steal precious embryo's from the InGen lab. While escaping, Nedry made a wrong turn, and made a midnight snack for one dino.
"Power was not yet restored. Visitors Lewis Dogson, president of InGen, Ian Malcom, chaos-theorist, Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler, Palentologists and John Hammond's(creator of Jurassic Park) two grandchildren, Tim and Lex were still trapped on the island. Electric fences all around the park were shut down, and the carnivorous Tyranasaurs Rex was scavenging the adjacent pens, killing everything in sight.
"Lewis was the only one not to make it off the island safely, along with several prized zoo-keepers trained to maintain large and dangerous game. Ian Malcom had this to say, "This event proves chaos theory once again. Mother nature does not appreciate being tampered with. Mathmatics and extinction are two concepts that shouldn't be messed with.""
I had heard of Ian Malcom and his chaos theory. Truth be told, I hadn't payed attention, half bacause I didn't have to, and half because I hadn't slept in three days. With the quick push of a few buttons, I had another page up, with the high points of the Chaos Theory at my fingertips.
Nowhere online could I find his phone number. I whiped out my cell phone and called back to the office.
"I need a phone number for Ian Malcom, fast."
I heard a grunt over the other line, and I took it as a yes, sir.
"459-2522, sir. Area code 750."
"Thank you, Aaron." I said and ended the call.
I punched in the number. It rang for a minute or two, and then picked up.
"'lo?" The voice answered.
"Mr. Malcom. This is Ricardo Manoso. Am I interrupting anything?" I glanced at the papers infront of me.
"Oh boy, this is going to be long isn't it?" He smirked back.
"Yes. I'm a secruity firm in Trenton New Jeresy, and I was hoping to ask you a few questions concerning the park owned by Mr. Hammond. I have survellence equipment installed, and I lost contact with the team I sent over there to retreive it once I found out he went bankrupt."
There was an unassuring silence on the other line. "What about it?" He finnaly said.
"Tank and Spyder, two of my employees, went to the island a few days ago. One lost the other, and I got a disturbing phone call from Tank..." I began.
"You work with a man named Tank?" He questioned.
"Yes. I get that alot."
"Sorry, as you were saying?" He appologised.
"Well, I'm on a plane right now, headed for Costa Rica. I read a news article on the park just moments ago."
"Don't." He spat back enthusiastically.
"Sir, I must..."
"There are living, breathing, dinosaurs on that god damned island. Hammond didn't have the heart to destroy them. Its too dangerous. Turn back."
"I'm sorry Mr. Malcom..."
"Ian, call me Ian." I was beginning to hate the interrupting thing of his.
"I'm sorry Ian, but I can't just let a member of my team die. I'm going, and all I want is some information reguarding the situation."
"Ok. Information. Fine. Last I checked, there were two full grown T-rexs', a dozen and a half raptors, and thousands upon thousands of little dinosaurs not important enough to worry about." He spat back cooly.
"Any chance of more now?"
"Certainty, my friend. There were be many more, all of which equally dangerous, not to mention scary."
I sighed. "Thank you, Ian."
"Where are you at now?" He asked before I could hang up on him.
"Over Georga. Why?"
"I'm not going to let an amuture like you go trailing off on a island full of creatures God killed for a purpose alone. I'll meet you at the chopper pad, on the west coast of the island." He was the one to hang up.
I really wasn't liking him. To arrogant. Truthfully, I was glad he would be joining us. He seemed to know the island like the back of his hand. I began searching again, only this time for behavior of the beloved Rex.
I glanced once, to see Stephanie stagger down the hall. Undoubtedly to the bathroom. Moments later, she ambled back down the hall, looking green.
"You ok Babe?" I asked and got up off my bed to help her to her bunk.
"I hate traveling." She coughed and looked like she was going to hurl again.
I did know she hated traveling, especially on planes. In her mind, she felt that the plane was going to crash, and the thought wouldn't let her sleep. I put her into her bed, covered her with her sheets, and returned to my room for a second. I fished around the front pouch until I found the dramamine that I needed to carry with me, for her.
She was asleep when I returned, so I left the case and a sealed waterbottle next to her, with a small scribbled note.
I know you hate to travel. Take these, they'll help. Come find me when you wake up. -R
She'd know it was my note, without the inital, but she said she always liked it when I put one on there anyway. I wouldn't blame her. So many stalkers had crossed her path, left her notes, that she was afraid of them for life.
I cleaned off my bed, and stuck a copy of Pirates of the Carribien DVD in my laptop. Modern technology had allowed me one of the great luxuries of life: The moblie DVD.
Stephanie sauntered in just as Captain Jack and Will entered the cave and began to watch Captain Barbosa. She crossed my room, quoting each line that was said. Between the two of us, I had to buy a whole new DVD because we wore the old one out. She curled up on my couch nearly three nights a week for the first four months it was out and watched it with me.
She did the same tonight. She untucked the coveres from one side of the full sized bed, and sat up, leaning on the headboard. I let the movie play until there was a good place to stop. I turned to her, and she looked mildly upset about the sudden stop in the movie.
"I found a number for a guy who knows the island. Were going to meet him at the helicopter dock on the island."
"Who is he?" She asked, no longer dissapointed over the movie.
"Ian Malcom."
"That wierd scientist dude...the chaos guy?"
"Yeah. He sounds like a real dickhead though. Just thought you sould know." I pushed play again on the remote that came equiped with my internal DVD player.
"STOP BLOWEN HOLES IN MY SHIP!" She quoted in her best Brittish accent and I silently laughed at her. She wan't bad to tell the truth. Most Americans butchered the Brittish accent.
We sat in silence, well mostly apart from the random whispers of favorite lines, and finished the movie. I shut the laptop off and turned to look at Stephanie. Once again, she was asleep.
I pulled her down by her ankles until she was settled in the middle of the bed. With nothing better to do, I crawled in with her and watched her sleep for a few hours before we were told the plane would be landing.