Chapter 10: One Week Later
It's doesn't matter how many times you explain it to me," Brian complained as he sat down on a chair near the hospital room door. "It doesn't make sense that raptor could build a den that looks man-made."
"I'm telling you," Sebastian replied. "Either these raptors are craftier than we thought, or someone has been there." Sebastian opened a can of soda and sat on a chair next to Lola's hospital bed. Sebastian had already been treated for the compy bite and had hid hand bandaged. Brian had no major injuries, so he was fine. David was still getting x-rayed, but was well enough to walk. Lola was the only one who was in a hospital bed on the naval ship that Petty Officer Jackson had brought them to.
"What are you going to do once you get back to the mainland?" Brain asked Sebastian. Sebastian put down his can of soda down and said, "Who knows? I though I'd be on the mainland a week ago." Brian chuckled until David hopped in asking, "Is Lola up yet?"
"No," Lola's voice replied. "I'm awake, but I'm not up, so stop coming in here and asking every five minutes." David smiled and laughed until Petty Officer Jackson barged in and began to type on the computer at the end of the hospital room.
"Care to explain what you're doing?" Brian asked. Petty Officer Jackson seemingly ignored Brian for a few seconds until he spun the chair around and said, "Do you remember when I said we sent a TAC-team to Isla Nublar to recover Jason's body?" The group nodded as he continued. "Well, although they did find Jackie Hart's body, Jason McCain's was nowhere to be found. Luckily, the raptor weren't home when the TAC-team went in, but they said that what they found out was hard to explain. Sebastian, are you sure you went up a wall, down a hall, and stopped at a hole?"
Sebastian nodded and asked, "Why?" Petty Officer Jackson spun the chair back in its original position and began to type and showed the picture on the screen. "This," Petty Officer Jackson started, "Is the hole that they found using your direction. It's a pit surrounded by four sided of seemingly man-made walls. Although there are footings, I highly doubt that the raptor could have climb it, much less carrying a dead body."
"That's impossible," Sebastian replied. "I remember my exact steps. Jason climbed down and I clearly heard raptors."
""Did you see them?" he asked. Sebastian shook his head no as he continued. "Maybe you imagined it." Sebastian sat back down before replying, "If raptor's didn't kill him, then where is he?"
Petty Officer Jackson shrugged and said, "I don't know, but unless there is a secret door down there, Jason McCain was not killed by raptors."
Static came over his walkie-talkie as he began to walk out of the room. David walked over and said, "Relax. I believe you."
"So do I," Brian added. The trio turned to Lola as she asked, "What? You heard the man. It's a hole with four walls."
"Two out of three isn't bad," Sebastian mumbled. Petty Officer Jackson came back into the room and said, "You guys might want to get up deck. There's someone that you're going to want to meet coming in on a helicopter and will be landing in five minutes."
David, Sebastian, and Brian gave each other puzzled looks before following him up to the deck. Four minutes, there was silence until a helicopter came into view with the word InGen written on its side. The helicopter landed and out came a short man with a white beard that could only be John Hammond.
Brian stepped forward and pulled out Jason's cylinder and said, "Mr. Hammond, I believe this is yours." John Hammond stared at the cylinder and said, "I'm not here for that."
"Then what are you here for?" Sebastian snapped.
"Well," Hammond started as he walked over to Sebastian. "When a picture of the newest members of the Jurassic Park survivors was faxed to be, I had to come." Sebastian stared in confusion as Hammond continued, "I think this will explain things."
Hammond handed Sebastian a picture of a man in brown clothing holding a gun. "This," Sebastian started to say in shock. "This guy looks like me, except that I'm 22 years old and he looks 32."
"Thirty," Hammond corrected as he took back the picture. "The man in that picture is Robert Muldoon."
Brian stepped closer and said, "He's the one who wrote the files that put us in the danger we were in." Hammond nodded as Sebastian mumbled, "That explains why the raptors seems to recognize me, but it doesn't explain why they didn't attack."
Hammond smiled as he said, "Robert had an affinity for the raptors, especially for the alpha female. Robert hated the alpha female and was intrigued by her at the same time. My guess is that the alpha female regretted her decision in killing Robert and, seeing how you resemble him, let you live. Of course, that's just my guess."
"Well that's all well and good," Brian interrupted, "but who am I supposed to give this cylinder to?"
"That would be me," said another voice coming from the helicopter. A tall slender man in a $3,000 business suit and slightly balding stepped out as Hammond stepped over and said," Took you long enough to join us, Charles."
"Whoa," David said in shock, "President Stevenson! What are you doing here?"
"Two reasons," The president replied. Charles walked over to Brian and said extended his hand and said, "Thank you for risking your life for the files, and I'll take them off your hands." The group remained quiet as the president chuckled and said, "I suppose Mr. McCain didn't explain that you were working for the president, did he?" The group shook their heads no as Brian slowly handed over the cylinder to the president.
President Stevenson shook Brian's hands and walked over to David. "As I understand, Jacqueline Hart didn't make it off the island." David nodded in agreement as he continued. "As sad as that is, that leaves the position of my head of security open, and I'd be more than happy to offer you that job."
David was speechless for a few seconds until he yelled, "It would be an honor to protect the President of the United States!"
Sebastian, meanwhile, was watching Petty Officer Jackson talking over his walkie-talkie. "What are you doing on the computer, Lola? Get off before you erase something!" He paused until Lola said something. Petty Officer Jackson sighed and put away the walkie-talkie as he approached the rest of the group. "Uh," he began, "I don't believe it, but Lola says the TAC-team just sent us satellite pictures of the raptor den, and according to Lola, you've got to see it to believe it." David, Sebastian and Brian followed him down and in turn even Hammond and the president followed.
The group entered the hospital room to see Lola sitting at the computer desk. The group huddled around the computer and couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"No way," complained Brian. "It's a maze that encircles the entire volcano. There's no way raptor could have done that."
"And," added Petty Officer Jackson, "According to the reading listed at the bottom of the picture, the tunnels go deeper than the satellite could picture." The group continued to study the picture in silence until President Stevenson interrupted, saying, "Well I'm sure this is all interesting, but I did leave Washington D.C. without any word to anyone, so I should probably get back before the media get wind of my disappearance. Agent Hunter, as my new Head of Security, you're going to have to come with me."
David glanced at the president, and gave a long stare to Lola before following the president out on to the deck. John Hammond entered the helicopter with President Stevenson as David took his time entering the plane. David sighed and began to climb in, but stopped when Lola's voice came from the stairs. David turned around and said Lola standing on deck. David walked over as Lola said, "How can you leave without saying good-bye?"
David nodded as he smiled as he good-bye. David began to walk back to the helicopter until Lola tapped him on his shoulder. David turned around and was surprised by a kiss from Lola. David climbed into the already ascending helicopter and stared out the window to see Lola, Brian, and Sebastian were waving goodbye.
A week passed since then. Lola had returned back home to New York as Sebastian returned to home to Chicago. David, on the other hand, accompanied the president back to Washington D.C., and only left his side when he was forced to. Only minutes from midnight, David was still standing by the door inside the oval office with President Stevenson. David stood in silence until his cell phone began to ring. "It's Lola," David explained to the president. "I managed to give her my number yesterday."
"Go ahead," the president replied. "Answer it." David smiled and left the room. Only seconds later, the president's phone rang as well.
"Is he out of the room?" asked the voice on the other end.
"Yes." The president replied.
"Good," replied the voice. "Do you have it?"
"You should be receiving it tomorrow morning."
"Excellent," replied the voice. "In turn, you should expect great support from us in your reelection campaign. Thank you, Mr. President."
"No," President Stevenson replied before hanging up. "Thank you, Mr. Dodgson."