Jurassic Island

Chapter 5 – Explorers

John Hammond leaned back in his chair, monitoring the control room. Ray Arnold was directing most of the staff while Hammond sipped his morning cup of tea. Early weather reports had a small storm system moving in, but it was nothing they couldn't handle. The power grid was fully functional, and the back-up system was placed on stand-by, just in case. Hammond didn't expect anything, but as his Head Game Warden Robert Muldoon was fond of saying, it was better to be safe than sorry.

He was absently watching security footage arrayed in a series of several sectioned off windows to the left of the main central screen, which always displayed a digitally rendered map of the entire island. Hammond enjoyed the voyeuristic kind of thrill he got from observing the visitors of the park. Right now the screens were showing the breakfast crowd in the Visitor Center cafeteria. There were several families watching in line at the buffet. A rather attractive couple was stuck in the middle of the throng, but they didn't seem to mind, too absorbed in one another to care about anything else.

"Looks like we've got a pair of newlyweds with us," Hammond declared, gesturing towards the section of the security monitors that showed the couple. Arnold briefly glanced up from his work, gave a brief nod of agreement—the unlit cigarette wiggling between his pursed lips—and then ducked his head back down to the computer, punching in some commands on his keyboard.

Hammond grinned, and raised his cup of tea back to his lips for another sip. His eyes flicked up when he heard the hiss of the door. Placing the cup back in the saucer, Hammond craned his neck around to spy Dennis Nedry shuffling in. The large man waddled down the ramp and maneuvered around the various computer banks and terminals, easing down a small flight of steps until he reached his messy workstation. Crumpled up candy bar wrappers and crushed soda cans littered the desktop, and the small bin sitting off to the side of the desk was overflowing with trash. Hammond shook his head in disgust. Nedry may be a pig, but the man was a brilliant coder.

Nedry plopped down into his chair, and shoved some plastic wrappers aside, before placing a can of Barbasol between two monitors.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Dennis," he hollered down. "Enjoy your time on the mainland?"

Nedry spun around in his chair, the gears squeaking and protesting under his considerable weight. He adjusted his glasses. "Yes, John, I did," he said.

Hammond gritted his teeth, biting his tongue. He really disliked how informal Nedry was, but his skills and talents with computer programming were enough to compensate for his lack of formality. Hammond had learned to live with it over the past two years. However, today it just irked him. But before he could reprimand the man, he was interrupted by the arrival of Muldoon.

"Ah, Nedry, you're back," the game warden said, taking off his hat and tossing it down on one of the few open flat surfaces. "I was wondering when you were going to run that check on the perimeter fences."

"And some of the phones need debugging," Arnold added. "Not to mention the security system is due for a diagnostic."

Hammond pursed his lips and hid his smirk behind the rim of his teacup. It was quite satisfying to see his other employees take charge and remind the fat ass of his job. Nedry, however, did not appear put-off or aggravated by their reminders as he usually would. Instead, he flashed them all a disarmingly friendly and polite smile.

"Thanks for the reminder, fellas. I'll get right on that," he proclaimed, right after adjusting his glasses and rolling the chair back around to face his computer terminal.

Hammond knitted his eyebrows together as he stared at the large man punch away on his keyboard. He took a hesitant sip of his tea. It was odd. Something was… different about Nedry. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it. At least Dennis Nedry was no longer stalling and actually doing his job. Hammond shrugged the strange feeling off.

It was probably nothing.

XXX

"You've got our tickets, right?" Castle asked, craning his neck over her shoulder to glance down at her purse.

Kate stifled her eye roll and gave him a nod, digging her hand into the stylish leather bag and producing the two tickets for his inspection. "Right here," she proclaimed, pursing her lips and smiling at the excited glee that flashed across her husband's blue eyes.

They were standing in a small queue with the rest of their tour group. There was a father with his son and daughter—eleven and fourteen, respectively—waiting in front of them. The boy was jabbering away to his sister, telling her all about what he'd read in Dr. Grant's book. Kate smirked, sharing a knowing look with her husband. He hadn't really been able to finish the book last night after she'd surprised him with that skimpy outfit she'd purchased specifically for their island getaway. Castle winked back at her and added in a suggestive waggle of his eyebrows, before dipping his head to press a chaste kiss to her lips. Kate hummed into his mouth, and leaned back into his chest, remembering their morning.

Castle had woken up early, all but vibrating with anticipation. He had put that excited energy to good use, waking Kate up for a delicious morning round of lovemaking. They were definitely making up for a lack of a proper honeymoon. He jokingly said that they were making up for lost time, a veiled reference to his missing two months. Kate thought it was silly, but if such thinking had Castle rocking her world like he had been since they finally got reacquainted with their love life, then who was she to complain?

After sending in a call for a jeep, Kate had grabbed Castle's hand and pulled him into the shower stall with her. She had rolled her eyes at the idea last night, but she had to admit, it was fun squeezing in there together and finding ways to make it work. Neither her or Castle were shy about experimenting. And, to be honest, Kate did enjoy that awed look in his eyes whenever she demonstrated just how flexible she really was.

They had enjoyed breakfast from the buffet in the Visitor Center cafeteria. After which, they just meandered around the displays and exhibits until it was time for their scheduled Botanical Walk. Castle paid a little extra so they could have the headsets with a narration by Dr. Ellen Sattler of all the plants along the walk. Kate had looped her arm through Castle's and they'd enjoyed a nice leisurely walk through the prehistoric garden.

Kate had made reservations for them at the Tree Top Café, which was located within the Botanical Garden. Castle squealed like a schoolboy when they arrived, finding out that the entire restaurant looked like a tree house built into a large tree that appeared as if it was from the Cretaceous period. It was really a fake tree, but it looked real, right down to the small pockmarks and rough edges along the bark. The detail was extraordinary. The craftsman and artisans who had worked on it had definitely been extremely talented.

Lunch had been amazing. Castle had enjoyed a club sandwich with fries, while Kate had an almond cranberry salad with small chunks of grilled chicken… and some of his fries. The Tree Top Café had had an extensive lunchtime menu, and they had both agreed to have lunch there at least one more time during their visit. After lunch, they perused the shops and souvenir kiosks along Jurassic Boulevard until it got closer to their scheduled 2 o'clock park tour.

The queue was situated on the rear entrance of the Visitor Center, which looked similar to the front. The tall doors stood wide open, either side fringed by stone reliefs of dinosaur fossils. Before them, a road curved along the building, palm trees dotting the edge. A single track ran down the middle of the gravel road, a very distinct electric hum emanating from it.

"So which dinosaur are you most looking forward to seeing?" Castle inquired, pulling Kate out of her reverie, his hand rubbing up and down her back.

She cocked her head to glance at him with a slightly amused expression. "I know you'd like me to say the T-Rex, but I'm actually more interested in the triceratops," Kate said. "Actually, they were my favorite as a kid."

"It was the horns, wasn't it," Castle asked with a smirk and waggle of his eyebrows. "You were a horny kid, weren't you?"

Kate groaned and rolled her eyes. "Really, Castle… so immature."

"You like that about me," he asserted, leaning into her side, his hand slipping further down her back until he was palming her ass.

Thankfully she was able to suppress her gasp of surprise. She gave him a little heated glare and gestured towards the children with their father. "Castle," she reprimanded him. "Save it for later… okay?"

He winked suggestively, yet obeyed, readjusting his hand up to rest against the small of her back. She rewarded his compliance with a quick peck on his cheek.

Just then, hidden speakers began playing a musical fanfare, and Kate and Castle turned with everyone else to look towards the tunnel on their left, where the rays of headlights could be seen coming out of the blackness. As the fanfare reached a crescendo, two customized Ford Explorers, painted in a stylized green and yellow camouflage, emerged from the tunnel, driverless and silent, save for the low electric hum. The roofs had been replaced with curved plexiglass, which would give riders better views of the dinosaurs on exhibit. The cars rolled to a stop, perfectly in sync with the music.

Three attendants, dressed in safari uniforms and all wearing a black cap emblazoned with the Jurassic Park logo on it, stepped out of a control booth off to the side. Two of them went over to the cars and began opening the doors, while the third walked over to the front of the queue, and unlatched the gate keeping them from the track. The father with the two kids handed the man their tickets, and they were directed to the first Explorer.

Kate dug their tickets back out of her bag as they moved up in line. She handed the attendant their tickets, and he directed them towards the second Explorer. Castle practically skipped ahead of her, shoeing away the attendant so he could gallantly open the passenger door for her. She gave him an amusing look, as she slipped past him and sat down. As soon as he closed the door, he rushed around to climb into the driver's seat besides her.

"Look at this, it's so cool!" he grinned, skimming his fingers over the steering wheel locked in place in front of him.

"The cars are fully automated, Castle," Kate said, settling into her seat. "It's not like you'll be driving or anything. They'll run along the track."

"I know," he said. "I just think it's cool."

She smirked at him, giving his thigh an affectionate pat as he curled his fingers around the grip on the wheel. He grinned like a schoolboy at Christmas. It was the same with the Indiana Jones Ride at Disneyland. During their winter vacation, they'd gone to L.A. for a meeting with some studio execs at ABC who were interested in turning Derrick Storm into a TV show. Kate was only there for the vacation and California sun. Alexis had come along, with the intention of visiting her mom. But Meredith had been too busy filming some low-budget Syfy Channel monster movie to even spend lunch with her daughter. So the trio had gone to Disneyland instead.

So, just as with the Indiana Jones Ride, Kate opted to indulge her husband's inner child. Besides, it brought out the sparkle in his blue eyes. She watched as he played with the touch screen on the center of the dashboard.

"You think we'll get this car to ourselves?" Castle questioned, glancing over at her with a mischievous smile as his eyes dropped down to soak in the sight of her bare legs. She grinned, knowing that she was driving him crazy by wearing such short shorts.

"I don't think so, babe," she said, purposefully shifting her legs enticingly, just to rile him up further. And sure enough, Castle's eyes grew dark and she noticed his fingers twitch with yearning.

He shifted in his seat, reaching across the center console to skim his fingertips along the bare skin of her legs. He began to move his fingers up her thigh, a trail of gooseflesh manifested along his wake, but before he could reach his intended destination, another couple joined them, climbing into the backseats of the car. Castle quickly pulled his hand back, and Kate released a breathless sigh, both in relief and disappointment.

"Hello, I'm Sally," a buxom blonde in a tight pink shirt beamed, extending her hand. "And this is Todd. We just got engaged!"

"Hi," Todd casually waved as he buckled himself in, definitely not as enthusiastic about announcing it as his fiancée was.

"Congratulations," Kate shook Sally's hand. "I'm Kate, and this is my husband, Rick."

Castle smiled at the young pair, and shook Sally's proffered hand. Her brow furrowed as she looked at him. It only took a moment for realization to strike.

"Oh my god, you're Richard Castle, aren't you!?" she squealed in delight, and Kate narrowed her eyes as the high-pitched sound threatened to burst her eardrums. Sally's fiancé gave her an apologetic look as the blonde continued to squeal elatedly.

"Guilty as charge," he grinned, pulling out the classic Castle charm.

Sally looked like she was about to swoon. Todd looked annoyed. Kate was about to intercede when, fortunately, the car speakers began filling the car interior with music, and the attendant's voice broke through, listing off the safety instructions. Everyone settled back into their seats and listened. After the attendant finished, there was an electric thrum, and the Explorers started to move forward.

Castle reached across the center console and Kate took his offered hand, interlacing their fingers together as they sharing an excited look.

A recording of John Hammond's voice came through the speakers as the Explorers rolled on, following the curved road around the small lagoon, heading towards a tree line and the densely packed foliage that surrounded the track.

"This is John Hammond, Founder and C.E.O. of InGen Bioengineering," Hammond's recorded voice spoke to the riders. "In just a few moments, you will be transported back in time, to a world were dinosaurs ruled the Earth. The voice you will soon be hearing is Richard Kiley. We've spared no expense."

The cars rolled on down the track, tropical plants on either side. The musical fanfare spilled out of the car speakers. Up ahead of them was a large gate, the two enormous pillars topped with blazing torches. As they approached the gates, the voice of the late Richard Kiley—who must have recorded this narration before his death—broke through the music as the large gate parted for the Explorers.

"Welcome to Jurassic Park."