October 2005
Jiggling the key in the lock, Elizabeth Adams cursed under her breath as the door to her boss' office stuttered open. Hands full of bags and steaming cups of coffee, she kicked the door closed with her heel. Cursing again when the lock failed to catch and the door bounced back and hit her in the ass, she cautiously placed the coffee container down on her over crowded desk before flopping down in her chair and resting her forehead on the surface in front of her. There was a flash of sudden light and Lizzie squinted her eyes open.
"Sleeping so early?" grinned a blonde woman, standing by the light switch.
"Did I mention the new born baby the couple upstairs have?" Lizzie replied, pulling herself off her chair and shrugging out of her jacket. "Ellie, you would not believe the sounds that come out of this kid's mouth. I'm used to babies; my sister has five children under nine. This spawn of Satan sounds like a wounded animal crossed with a space shuttle taking off."
Dr Ellie Sattler rolled her eyes at her assistant, tweaking the position of the photo frames on her desk, "Lizzie, never say again that your drama degree is worthless. My entertainment from the daily morning melodrama was worth your tuition alone."
The younger woman smiled shyly. Despite appearances, she wasn't ashamed of her degree, she had worked hard during her college years to graduate with honours. However, now working with world class scientists around her, she always dreaded the inevitable questions about her university education. She was proud of where she was in her career and loved her job working for Dr Sattler, but she could see the look behind some of her colleagues' eyes that suggested there were more qualified applicants for the job. Lizzie didn't know what Ellie had seen in her, but she worked hard every day to make sure she didn't let her down.
"Can you please pick up the phone and tell my mother that?" Lizzie replied. "Because as far as she's concerned, I spent four years pretending to be a tree."
Ellie giggled, "She should get together with my mother. She still tells the neighbours that I spend my days digging up the Loch Ness Monster."
"Wait, that's not what we're doing?" Lizzie gasped in mock surprise. "Then why were you dressed head to toe in tartan during the charity gala last week?"
"Hey!" Ellie smirked, as she tapped her assistant on the head with the nearest folder. "That was one bad fashion choice, and it wasn't all tartan, there was just a little on the skirt. All this coming from the girl who has dresses with kittens on them."
Lizzie stuck her tongue out, "I'll have you know that prints are the next big thing for the Spring/Summer season!" The two women grinned at each other, accepting that the playful bickering was over for now. "Now, if you are done sparring maybe we can get to the important part of the morning. Bagels."
The brunette snatched the paper bag from her desk, peered in and then threw it back down. "Poppy seed!" Lizzie exclaimed in frustration. "They gave us poppy seed bagels. I get the same order five times a week, how can they mess that up?"
"Leave it. It won't hurt to have poppy seed bagels once." Ellie responded, taking her phone out of her bag and checking for messages.
"When we're spending the rest of the day picking them out of our teeth, it'll hurt," Lizzy vehemently stated, grabbing her jacket and pulling it back on. "When you're in a meeting with the Dean this afternoon, discussing department funding with black specks in your teeth, it'll hurt. No, today it's poppy seeds, tomorrow it's light cream cheese instead of full fat. I'll be back in literally five minutes. I got all the assignment grades inputted and filed late last night, I'll start with the curriculum update when I get back."
Ellie shook her head and smiled to herself. Lizzie may seem to other people like she flaked out, but she knew different. She kept the office well run and organised and had an eidetic memory where her diary was concerned. Her assistant cheered her up when she was low, and encouraged her at a time when her confidence was diminished.
"Okay, but pick up some cinnamon rolls as well. I've got a sweet tooth this morning," Ellie replied, "Call me if they don't have them though. Last time you brought me back something with walnuts." she said, scrunching up her face.
Lizzie grinned back, "Hey, it's not my fault you have the taste buds of a six year old! My phone's dead, so you'll just have to cross your fingers and toes that I bring back something you find scrumptious. Or maybe someone!"
"Oh no, take my phone," she said, waving it towards Lizzie. " That way I know you're not going to bring back some dubious pastry or suspect man, both of which I would find unpalatable."
"Well, maybe sometimes something is better than nothing," Lizzie said, taking the phone. "You sure you want me to call and not just surprise you?"
Ellie folded her arms and tilted her head at her assistant, "Okay, okay! I know that look," Lizzie replied, putting her hands in the air in submission. "I promise to call before bringing back anything or anyone for you to devour."
With a final grin and wave of her hand, Lizzie left the office with as much furore as she had entered. Ellie sat down at her seat with a sigh. It was still early, the sun was barely peeking through and there was still a faint twinkle of the stars in the sky. She decided to catch up with some reading while waiting for Lizzie to return. They started each day by going through the diary, making sure that Ellie understood each commitment and had them fresh in her mind. She sometimes felt stifled in her tiny cramped office, with paperwork and modules cluttered up in front of her. Ellie was good at being organised and she did enjoy her work, but there were times when she gazed wistfully out the window. It showed her the possibility of freedom and the thought of that made her chest unconstrict just a little.
Suddenly, there was a loud rap on the door, waking Ellie from her day dream. She shuffled in her chair, slightly unnerved by the sudden sound at this hour. Perhaps the cleaners were making their early morning rounds. There was another knock, sounding even more insistant.
"Come in," she replied to the second thump. Ellie wrinkled her brow when the source of the sound stepped though. In came a large, well-built man with impeccable posture. It took Ellie a moment to notice he was not the only inhabitant. The muscled man quickly stood aside to reveal a much smaller and older man, with thinning hair and narrow eyes, carrying a large briefcase.
"Can I help you?" Ellie asked. She didn't recognise them as university staff, although sometimes it would take her a while to meet new faculty. They certainly weren't students; that much she was sure of.
The larger man stood with his back against the wall, eyes straight forward, like he was guarding her office. Ellie shivered at the thought that he was probably trying to keep her from going out, rather than anything else coming in.
"Good morning to you, Mrs Degler," the little man started. "I hope we find you well today." Ellie didn't trust his smirk and knew from the outset he was trying to gain the upper hand with her.
"It's Dr. Sattler, as I'm sure you can see from the large name plate in front of you," Ellie said with gritted teeth, standing so she could gain some control over the situation. "Even if you missed that, I'm sure you'll see it on the door that you'll soon make your way out of. I don't see people without an appointment, gentleman."
Ellie didn't have access to her diary at that second, but she was sure that Lizzie hadn't booked in a consultation with two men, who looked like they were auditioning for remake of 'Twins', at 6.30 in the morning.
"We seem to have got off on the wrong foot, Dr Sattler," the man continued, with more than a hint of frustration in his voice. "My name is Peter Evers and I would like to offer you a very lucrative and mutually beneficial proposition."
As Evers was speaking, Ellie noticed him nodding towards the other man, who he failed to introduce. The large man strode quickly towards the door, turning the lock and handing a file back to Peter.
"Hey!" Ellie started and reached for her office phone. Lifting the receiver to her ear, her heart sunk when she realised there was no dial tone. Frantically pressing the keys didn't help either. Looking back up, she was repulsed by the smirk on Evers' face. She strode past the man towards the door. A forceful hand grabbed her wrist and spun her around. The military man looked her straight in the eye. "Don't," he muttered quietly. It felt to Ellie that he was warning her rather than threatening her.
"Escort Dr Sattler back to her seat, would you Webber?" Peter spat out with gritted teeth. Ellie still resisted, as Webber dragged her and sat her back down behind her desk. She rubbed a little at the blossoming red mark around her arm, but quickly retreated her hand, not wanting to give either of the men the satisfaction of seeing her in pain.
"Here," Peter said, throwing a folder down on the desk. "Take a look."
Ellie opened the folder, recoiling as she noticed the words 'Isla Nublar' on the first page, she continued to read through the documents for several minutes, before slowly closing it back up and looking back at the rotund man staring down at her. She shrugged her shoulders, "And? What response were you looking for from me?"
"Dr Sattler, you saw the deal in there. Any money worries you ever had would be gone, for a few weeks of work," Peter explained, clearly struggling to be persuasive once he had not got the initial response he wanted. "It would provide financial stability for you and your children for a long time. It can't be easy being a single mother."
Ellie took a deep breath and steadied her nerves, "Get out my office now. I don't want anything to do with those islands. Especially now that I've read what you're planning to do!" Peter opened his mouth to interrupt. "No!" Ellie responded, "You don't get to try and coerce or threaten me. I've rejected anything to do with those islands and you must know that. Now if you don't mind, in a minute my assistant will be back. When she finds the door locked and voices inside, she will immediately contact campus security or the police. Get. Out."
Sitting back down at her desk, Ellie could feel her legs shaking, suddenly feeling like they were turning to jelly. She could hear her pulse throb frantically in her ear drums. It felt like her heart was trying to beat its way out of her chest. Still, she kept her face steely and unwavering.
Peter stared back at her, also not showing any signs of failure, "Well unfortunately Dr Sattler, you've given us no choice. Webber?"
Robert Webber appeared to give a slight wince, before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a gun.
Ellie huffed at the sight, "Really? You're going to shoot me if I don't agree? You won't make it off campus, and even if you do, you won't get far. "
"It's merely a visual aid, if you will. See Webber isn't the only man of his talents that I have in employment. There are more." Peter stepped forward, with glee in his eyes, "Can I ask, Dr Sattler, do you know at this precise moment where your children are?"
Ellie jumped up and launched herself at Evers, managing a blow to the cheek before she felt her arms being locked behind her back, "What have you done to my children, you son of bitch! If you hurt them, I will kill you!"
Peter gingerly rubbed at his jaw, "Your children are fine. I have some of my men watching them as we speak. All you have to do is come with us for a few days. I'm not a child killer, Ms Sattler; I have no interest in hurting your family, but I will do what's necessary for mine. Now, do we have a deal?"
Lizzie strolled back up the path; her arms laden with sweet and savoury baked goods. She hated to miss too much time out of the office, feeling it was letting Ellie down. She had run back to the bakery as quickly as possible to get her order, cursing the fact that she didn't check the first time. She even resisted flirting with the cute server, just so she wouldn't delay her boss even further. This time they had everything she wanted. She even tripled checked the bags, just to spot for renegade poppy seeds.
As she was about the open the door to the faculty building, she noticed Ellie leaving from the other side of the complex, followed very closely behind by a large man. The pair were followed by a shorter gentleman, who was almost skipping to keep up with his companion's stride. Lizzie was just about to call out to her boss, when Ellie turned and looked at her. There was no smile or wave of recognition. No twinkle of familiarity in her eyes. Her face was blank. Something wasn't right.
Lizzie hurried into the building and quickly opened the office door, dropping the bagels on the floor. Food was the last thing on her mind now. She ran to the phone to ring security. There would be limited staff at this time in the morning, but she knew Big Mike would be finishing off the night shift. She looked at the receiver in surprise. There was nothing, no dial tone. She slammed the phone down in frustration, unsure what to do next.
Scanning around the room in the hope that the answer would pop out at her, she noticed something strange on Ellie's desk. Lizzie knew every inch of this office and there was a folder that definitely wasn't there that morning and definitely didn't belong to the university. She opened the first page, her eyes widening at the content. She scanned the next few pages, before closing it back up again.
As she released the folder, it slipped off the desk and on to the floor. As she crouched down to pick it up, she felt something heavy in her pocket that restricted her movement. Remembering she had Ellie's phone, she lifted it out gratefully. She stilled. She didn't know who to call. Those thugs that had taken her would surely be off campus by now. Would the police help? Would they even believe her? Perhaps she should call Ellie's ex-husband. She knew he worked for the government. But then she also knew some other things that Ellie had told her about him. Tearful confessions of the past, over late-night drinks, detailing life's moments of regret.
Lizzie wasn't one for staying still and doing nothing, Unsure of what else to do, she opened up her boss' list of contacts on the cell phone, hoping that if she scrolled through, someone may jump out at her. She saw the first name on the list and stopped. Should she? Ellie would kill her. After a second of thought, she pressed down on the name and lifted the handset to her ear.