A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you for your reviews! They mean so much to me!! You have no idea!
You know what? As of May 19, 2004, my story and this stories prequel (Return to Jurassic) still has the most reviews in the Jurassic Park section! I'm not bragging, trust me, I just want to thank every single one of you for your support. It is so awesome to receive this much feedback on one of my stories! It's not as much as one of my sister's stories (she has over 1000 reviews; check it out! Her name is Captain Oblivious and it is a Lord of the Rings story), but it's pretty good! 272 reviews or something like that. You guys rock!
T.E.N – No, actually, Eric is only 22. If you remember, he was 16 in the first book and now it is six years later.
Hothunnies16 – Thank you so much! It was really short, but I'm glad that you liked it!
Niniane, Lady of the Lake – No kidding. Two million is a lot of money!
I – You know I never reveal my hidden plot-secrets to you, missy.
Plumkin – Yes, well, here you go! Another chapter!
Shooting Starlight – Yeah, they don't really bother me either. I have a pet rat… I don't really care for them when they are "wild," though. You never know what they're going to do…
Love-angel-89 – Yeah, I liked that phrase as well. Thanks for the review!
Libby – Haha – I'm not going to take one of my reviewers to court! Lol. Yes, pointy objects. laughs evilly
Her - laughs Yes, I know you. grins
Angel LeeAnn – Oh my goodness! Thank you so much! I try my best and I am glad that you enjoy my books! They are a lot of fun to write, but reviews like yours make it worthwhile. Thanks (so much) again!
Moonlights Sundance – Yes, I'm sorry about the long wait on that chapter. This one didn't take nearly as long for me to get out. I think, now that I am getting past the more tedious things to write, I will be able to get the chapters out faster. Let's cross our fingers on that one, shall we?
What Happened Last?
"So, if you are interested, which we hope you are," the man said, "please call me at 475 201 0958 as soon as you can. I look forward to hearing from you!"
Beep!
I sat staring at the machine, completely missing the next message. Two million dollars!
I packed as fast as I could and shooed Tina out of the house in the direction of a hotel. I wanted to call that man without any distractions, and I knew Tina would only try to talk me out of it. But … two million dollars!!!
I practically ran into the kitchen, but right as I reached the phone, it rang. "Hello?" I said into the receiver.
"Hello, honey!" It was my mom, Amanda Kirby. She was trying to sound happy, but I could see right through it, even though she had only said two words.
"What's wrong?" I asked, skirting around formalities.
"Oh!" She paused, and then said, "Well… I have bad news."
"I figured," I replied, trying to sound comforting and concerned, but coming off a little dry.
"It's… well, it's your dad."
The breath caught in my throat and a wave of fear slowly crept over me. "What's wrong with him?"
"He's okay… for now. But he has cancer. A brain tumor," she said.
I began to feel sick to my stomach. "Are you sure?"
"Very sure," she said. She sounded tired and scared. "Oh, Eric! We can't afford the surgery! Ever since your dad lost his job last year… Eric, I don't know what to do!" She broke down and began to sob into the phone.
I could feel tears prickling my own eyes. 'Who can I bum money off of?' I thought desperately. 'There's Tina… but I've already borrowed so much from them! Then… wait a minute…'
"Mom," I said quickly. "Mom, I can get the money."
My mom took in a quick, painful sounding breath and choked out, "You can?"
"Yes, Mom."
"But… but you don't even have a job!" she protested.
"I just got a fantastic offer," I explained. "I don't know when I start, but I'm pretty sure I'll get some money soon."
"Are you sure?"
"I was just about to call them when you phoned me," I said, my heart racing. "Just… how much money are we looking at here?"
"It's so much more than we can afford… more than a years worth of his old salary!" my mom said.
"I can do that," I said quickly. "Just give me a minute and I'll call you back."
"All right," she said, still sounding scared. "Goodbye…"
"Bye, mom."
I quickly hung up the phone and leaned back against the counter. After I had whacked my head against the cabinet several times and taken a few deep breaths, I picked up the phone and called the number the man on the machine had left for me.
It rang once, twice, and a third time before someone picked it up and said, "Hello?"
"Hi, um… this is Eric Kirby and you left a message on my machine…" I said.
"Oh, yes. Hello, Eric," the man said, his voice giving off a hint of an English accent. "I take it this means that you are interested?"
"Possibly," I said. I needed to be cautious; I did not want to agree to anything without realizing it. "It depends on what you want me to do."
"I thought that is what you would say," he said. I could only assume that he was grinning. "Oh, I'm sorry, I haven't even told you who I am. Where have my manners gone? My name is Jack Captain, but most people call me J.C."
"…Hi…" I said uncertainly.
"Yes, well, we really need your help on this mission, Eric," J.C. said. I could hear voices in the background. "Unfortunately, I don't want our conversation being overheard, so it would be easier for you to fly down and I could explain it to you here."
"I'm not going anywhere," I said stubbornly. I then realized that I had sounded rude, so I continued. "I mean, I won'tbe doing anything until I understand what I am expected to do concerting Isla-"
"Hush, Eric!" J.C. said quickly, cutting me off. "Look… you won't be going to the island … you'll be staying on the main land… we just need you on one side of the radio, that's all. If you could fly down here…"
There was a long pause.
With a sigh, I said, "Are you going to pay for the ticket or do I need to buy my own?"
"Excellent," J.C. whispered. I assumed that he had not intended for me to hear that. "I can have someone pick you up at your apartment tomorrow morning, if you like."
I paused to think. I still needed to tell Tina about this, and she was not going to be happy. But at least I wasn't going to be on the island. That much had pretty much convinced me to go. Someone wanted me because of my dinosaur expertise and knowledge of the island, but what were they asking for? What exactly where they going to be doing on the island? My wondering about this made me go so far as to voice the question aloud.
"I can't answer that, Eric," he said. "At least not now." He paused for a few seconds, as though this was a sufficient amount of time for me to think it over and come to a decision, and then said, "We will, of course, pay you half of the money up front."
I nearly swallowed my tongue. Half – that would be one million dollars! I would be able to wire it to my mom to pay for the surgery (keeping enough for myself while I was in Costa Rica… if that's where head quarters would be). My dad would be able to have the surgery, and hopefully that would be able to rid him of his tumor.
"Right," I said, barely believing what I was saying. "Who will be picking me up?"
J.C. sighed. "Two others on our team. Their names are Kevin Vector and Audrey Roosevelt. They both specialize in computer technology, but Kevin is also very handy with the weapons… but I'll explain more about this later. He will be driving the three of you to the airport tomorrow to fly down here – Costa Rica – and the day after that you will meet the whole team. Audrey has the plane tickets… but you will need a passport… I forgot about that bit."
"I have one," I hurriedly supplied. "Looks better on my resume – that way I can get jobs that require me to go out of the country."
"Excellent," he said. "All right, then; Kevin and Audrey will be at your apartment around nine AM. I will see you tomorrow?"
I paused just a second before I replied in a firm voice, "Yes."
A/N: Sorry about another short chapter. Hopefully the next one will be longer. Actually… yes, it will be. I have no idea when I will be getting it out, but hopefully sometime this month. I am on summer break now. Yey!
Anyways, every single one of your reviews are read and appreciated like you can't believe. Thanks for all of you for your support of my story and I hope that you will continue to read and enjoy it.
-Autumn Darkness