Jurassic Island
Chapter 2 – The Monorail Ride
After checking in their luggage with the valet services located by the unloading dock—and being assured that all their things would be waiting for them at their trailer—Castle and Beckett joined the rest of the park visitors in the queue for the shuttle. The high-speed monorail reminded Kate of the one at Disney World, except this one was painted in a green-yellow camouflage style, the fringe around the windows and doors painted red.
Castle draped his arm over her shoulder as they waited for the queue to start moving and Kate couldn't help but smile, easing into his side and resting her head on his shoulder. Her husband still looked like a child on Christmas.
"I can't wait until we see our first dinosaur!" he exclaimed.
Kate chuckled beside him. "You've seen the pictures and the videos on YouTube."
"Yeah… but this will be the real thing!" he objected. "Nothing beats seeing it in person. Just think of how you felt when you finally saw the Colosseum in Rome, or the Venus di Milo at the Louvre. Did seeing just pictures of them even compare to seeing the real thing?"
Kate pretended to mull over her answer, just to make him squirm. "Alright, you've got me there, babe," she patted his hand and pressed a quick chaste kiss to his cheek.
Truth was, Kate still had trouble believing that it was even possible that a company had managed to clone dinosaurs from the blood in ancient mosquitos found in fossilized amber. From what she had read in the visitor booklet that had arrived at the loft along with their admission tickets, Jurassic Park scientists had used the DNA of a frog to build the sequence and complete the genetic code of the prehistoric creatures. It was all a little science fiction, but Kate couldn't deny the reality of it, especially when she'd been seeing it first hand soon enough.
The next train arrived, and Castle bounced with excitement. She squeezed his hand, trying to rein him in… if just a little. Kate was actually enjoying his enthusiastic behavior. It was almost like how he got around any major holiday. The doors slid open, and the line finally began to move. An attendant, dressed in khaki slacks, a light blue polo shirt, and donning a black baseball cap with the Jurassic Park logo embroidered on it, stepped forward to direct the visitors into the monorail.
This time they were able to board.
Castle clasped her hand in his and quickly led her to two seats by the left side window. "I read on a blog that the best seats were on the left… supposed to have the best view of the lake when the monorail sweeps around towards the Visitor Center."
Kate pursed her lips and shook her head slightly as she settled in beside him, Castle practically vibrating with excitement, like a little kid on Christmas Day. A chimed sounded, and the doors closed. And they were off. Kate arched her neck to look around Castle, watching as the docking bay and check-in kiosks disappeared, soon replaced by a tunnel of tropical foliage. The monorail zoomed along, taking them—and their fellow visitors—into the heart of the island. She dropped her hand on his knee, squeezing gently to calm him down. He glanced over at her and smiled, placing his hand over hers and returning the squeeze.
"Thank you," he said.
"For what?"
Castle shrugged his shoulders and gestured around, indicating the park. "For indulging me," he said. "I know this wouldn't have been your first choice for our delayed honeymoon adventure, but… Kate, it means so much to me that you agreed to come."
She slowly interlaced their fingers and clasped his hand tightly. "It may not be what I had in mind," she concurred, "but it's still just us… on a tropical island."
"With dinosaurs!" he added with a child-like glee, grinning widely.
"Yes, with dinosaurs," she repeated smiling back at him as she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips, before allowing him to gaze excitedly back out the window. Kate was more than willing to indulge Castle in this.
She may not be as enthusiastic as he was, but that did not stop her from having the same anticipation at seeing once extinct giants in the flesh. Kate could still remember the wonder and awe of going to the American Museum of Natural History with her parents and seeing the fossils of the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Apatosaurus in the Hall of Saurischian Dinosaurs. That childhood wonder had been tempered with the passage of time, but even Kate realized it was healthy and natural to indulge in it, at least once in a while—yet another thing she had learned from her husband.
The monorail intercom speakers began playing a similar fanfare to what had played on the ferry when they'd passed through the giant gate. Castle squeezed her hand. "This is it!"
Kate shifted in her seat, following his direction, as he turned to gaze out the window. The dense foliage broke, and there it was, the long flowing grass plains, with a spotting of tall trees, and the lake. Kate's breath caught in her throat when she saw them. A large herd of greenish brown dinosaurs with long curved crests on their heads were approaching the lake, some already dipping their heads to drink.
"Castle… what are they?" she asked, eyes wide as she gazed out at the sight. She was only vaguely aware that all the other passengers were doing the same thing.
"Parasaurolophus," he answered absently, staring out the window in awe. "Oh! Hey, Kate… look over there, by the trees. Do… do you see them?"
"See what?" she craned her neck, practically leaning over him to stare out the window. He placed a hand on her hip to steady her and pointed. Kate swept her eyes over to where he indicated. "Oh my god, Castle… are those brontosaurs?"
"Brachiosaurus, yes," he bobbed his head.
She was at a lost for words. The long necked dinosaurs were munching on the top most leaves of the tall trees, seemingly oblivious to the numerous humans gawking at them.
"God, Castle… this… this is incredible."
"What'd I tell you!" he exclaimed, sliding his arm around her waist.
It was then that Kate realized that she was practically sitting in his lap. But she couldn't bother to be embarrassed or even blush. Her eyes were wide and in awe as she stared out at the open grasslands, watching as another herd of dinosaurs, this one was a dark muddy color, with a fan-shaped bone crest on the top of its head. Kate couldn't remember what the name of the dinosaur was, only that they were herbivores. She watched as the new herd mingled with the herd of Parasaurolophus.
She released a breath of awe, unable to look away from the mind-blowing spectacle of seeing two long extinct species co-mingling at the watering hole. And for one of the few times in her life, Kate Beckett was speechless.
XXX
A large rotund man sat at a table filled to the brim with Costa Rican cuisine. It wasn't just his size that made him stand out, though that alone was enough. His skin was pale, and he wore a loud Hawaiian Shirt, the buttons threatening to burst over his round belly. He wore a constant smile that could either be an 'I'm laughing with you' or an 'I'm laughing at you' smile, you could never tell. And that's how Dennis Nedry liked it.
He looked up from his meal when a rusted taxi pulled up, and a man wearing a white Panama hat and spook-like sunglasses stepped out. The man was painfully obvious. He practically screamed American tourist. The man stopped by the café, scanning the open air eating area furtively. Nedry laughed, finding it all so amusing. He shook his head, then waved over to the man.
"Dodgson! Dodgson!" he shouted until he gained the man's attention.
Dodgson hurried over to the table, casting suspicious glances around at the other patrons. "You shouldn't use my name," he whispered as he sat down, still overly paranoid for Nedry's tastes.
Nedry shook his head at the man's attempt at being covert. He pointed at him and loudly proclaimed, for the entire restaurant to hear, "Dodgson. Dodgson. We got Dodgson here!" When no one so much as glanced their way, Nedry turned his attention back to him. "See, nobody cares." His beady eyes flicked up at the Panama hat. "Nice hat. What are you trying to look like, a secret agent?"
Dodgson ignored his teasing. He pushed aside some of the plates, making room on the table for his briefcase. Nedry's focus immediately zeroed in on it.
"Is that it?" he asked, almost gleefully.
"Seven fifty," Dodgson confirmed, sliding the briefcase across the table to Nedry. "On delivery, fifty thousand more for every viable embryo. That's one point five million. If you get all fifteen species off the island."
"Oh, I'll get them all," Nedry asserted confidently, reaching up to grab the handle of the briefcase and pulling it down under the table.
"Remember," Dodgson hissed out, keeping his voice low. "Viable embryos. They're no use to us if they don't survive."
"How am I supposed to transport them?"
Dodgson unzipped his shoulder bag and pulled out an ordinary can of Barbasol shaving cream. "The bottom screws open," he said, demonstrating as he spoke. "It's cooled and compartmentalized inside. They can even check it if they want." He reassembled it just as quickly. "Press the top."
Nedry took that can from him and pressed the button on the table, and real shaving scream hissed out onto his hand. He grinned, impressed. While Dodgson continued talking, Nedry looked around for somewhere to wipe scream off his hand, and ended up dumping it on top of a pie sitting on a dessert tray next to him.
"There's enough coolant gas for thirty-six hours," Dodgson was saying.
Nedry stared down at the can. "What? No menthol?"
Dodgson sighed. "Mr. Nedry… the embryos have to be back her in San Jose by then."
"Well… that's up to your guy on the boat," Nedry asserted, picking up a napkin to clean his hand. "Seven o'clock tomorrow night, at the east dock. Make sure he gets it right."
Dodgson gave a bob of his head, affirming he would give his guy the information. "I… was wondering… how are you planning to beat security?"
Nedry smirked, it was one of those 'I'm either laughing with you or at you' smiles. "I've got an eighteen minute window," he asserted. "Eighteen minutes, and your company catches up on ten years of research… another five years, and you'll have a park of your own."
A waiter appeared, placing a check on the table, between them. Nedry finished cleaning his hand and stared down at the check with a pointed look. His beady eyes then flirted back up to Dodgson.
"Don't get cheap on me, Dodgson. That was Hammond's mistake."
Dodgson sighed, but complied nonetheless, picking up the check with one hand, while reaching pulling out his wallet with the other.