Chapter 5

InGen Headquarters

Malcolm, Guiterrez and Harding walked through the wide open doors of the InGen headquarters building, momentarily stunned. The reception was massive, and filled with a bustling movement. It was spotlessly clean. Several dozen people were walking around, some appearing and disappearing into the lifts at the very rear of the building, others milling around the large desk area. The marble floor gleamed brightly, reflecting the light being emitted by several long strip lamps above. A waiting area was stationed in the corner, filled with comfortable armchairs and low coffee tables, a vending machine stood against the wall. They stopped just past the threshold, looking awkward for a moment; they didn't know what they were to do now. Malcolm had assumed that Tim would be waiting for him, but he was nowhere to be seen, and nobody had seemed to have noticed them arrive. It was unusual, seeing that he seemed to be so urgent to get them here. His jet had hurried them on board and taken off as soon as they had arrived at the Los Alamos airport, and a taxi had been waiting for them when they landed in New York to whisk them off to the InGen building. Malcolm shrugged.

"What now?" asked Harding, looking around.

"I thought he'd be here," said Malcolm.

"Well, if he has such a big problem why isn't he here?"

"I don't know."

At that moment the doors of one of the lifts at the back of the building, and Tim Murphy emerged. His eyes scanned the room quickly as he stalked forwards. He spotted them, and walked towards them with surprising speed. As he came closer Malcolm could see that Tim had the air of somebody who had been constantly harassed recently; his hair was standing up on end and his suit was creased. His eyes looked weary. However, as he reached them he smiled and extended his hand.

"Dr. Malcolm, I'm so glad you came," he said, shaking hands. Malcolm smiled politely, and began to ask what was going on, but Tim shook his head fractionally. His eyes darted around the reception, looking at his employees. Malcolm frowned at this sudden tense behavior, but it seemed that that nobody had noticed them and Tim relaxed again.

"Ah, Dr. Harding, I'm glad to finally meet you," he said, smiling as though nothing had happened and extending his hand. She shook it uneasily, glancing towards Malcolm. By then Tim had moved on to face Guiterrez and he looked at him for a moment, considering the older man.

"Dr. Guiterrez, thank you for coming. I'm very interested to see what you've uncovered down in Costa Rica. But I'd prefer if we talked in private," he said, glancing once more around the reception. It was obvious that he didn't consider it safe to talk about his little problem in public, as he still looked over his shoulder occasionally. Tim led them across the marble flooring, towards the lift that he had appeared from a few moments before.

Two minutes later they exited the lift, on the thirty sixth floor of the InGen HQ building, Tim stalked out along the long corridor, which was painted beige and was lit warmly, with expensive framed portraits hanging on the walls. As they approached the end of the hall a heavy wooden door came into view, and overhead was a large sign marked "Conference Room". Tim turned the handle and pushed it open with a gentle snap, walking inside. Malcolm followed, and was surprised by the elegance that he found within. A vast table made completely of glass stretched almost all of the way across the room, with 20 leather chairs stationed at equal intervals along each side. The wall running along the exterior of the building was also made completely of glass, giving a panoramic view of the skyline outside. Exotic looking plants were stationed in the corners, housed in expensive Asian style vases. At the far end of the room a large portrait had been hung like a shrine, depicting the posing figure of John Hammond, although he looked far younger than when Ian had known him. Underneath it was an engraved golden plaque.

John Alfred Hammond

1918 – 2002

International Genetic Technologies Inc. Founder

"Please, sit down," said Tim airily, walking along the table and seating himself in a noticeably larger seat in front of the portrait of his Grandfather. Malcolm, Guiterrez and Harding took a seat each along the left side of the table, and then turned expectantly to Tim. But he was looking at his watch and glancing towards the door. Malcolm cleared his throat to get Tim's attention.

"So, Tim, what's going on?" he asked.

"Ok, we've got a big problem," said Tim, turning to face them. "As Dr. Guiterrez has found there is a mysterious disease immerging in Costa Rica. It's suspected that this new allergen is coming from Isla Sorna. The government is sitting on it at the moment, trying to keep the press from getting a hold of it. So far I've been able to stop them from destroying the islands, which at the moment is their sole desire. Unfortunately, this new disease seems to be more aggressive than Guiterrez may have seen. People are dying, fast. This has occurred before in the same places, as he may be aware, but never to this extent."

"So it's mutating?" asked Harding.

"Obviously, it is. Previously, this aberrant disease had merely caused severe headaches, nothing fatal."

"So you brought us here why?"

"Well, I'll tell you in a few moments. If my watch is correct the final edition to this little meeting should be arriving any minute now." The door snapped open and a man poked his head in, looking around for Tim.

"Mr. Murphy, he's here," the man said.

"Excellent, send him in Jack," smiled Tim. The man nodded and disappeared, shutting the door behind him. They sat for a few seconds and then the door opened once more and a man in his late thirties entered the room, dressed in a checked shirt. Dr. Henry Wu looked around at the four of them, finding Tim and nodding. He crossed the room and sat down opposite Malcolm, breathing heavily. Ian noticed he looked flustered.

"Henry, glad you made it," said Tim.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to finish up a few things," Wu said, looking around at the others.

"Dr. Sarah Harding, Dr. Guiterrez, and Dr. Ian Malcolm, may I introduce Dr. Henry Wu. He was the chief geneticist at Jurassic Park," announced Tim. Harding and Guiterrez nodded curtly.

"Ah, yes. We met briefly," said Malcolm.

"I remember, Dr. Malcolm. Your predictions about the park were surprisingly accurate, however unfortunate that was for everybody on the island at that time." Malcolm gave a small laugh.

Tim clapped his hands together. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're all here. Let's get this show on the road," he said.