Chapter 7
Considerations
Malcolm and Sarah moved cautiously around the room they had been appointed, feeling slightly gawky and out of place. The room was extravagantly decorated, and had the quality and atmosphere of a five star hotel. The walls were creamy white and were laden with slightly Chinese patterns, there was a large double bed in the centre covered in throw pillows of varying colours, and they had their own bathroom. A television stood on a side table, and Malcolm now sat flicking through the channels. It was hard to believe that anybody could be living a normal life, sitting in their homes without a care in the world. Ian settled on CNN, watching for any sign of the disease in Costa Rica. But, the most interesting thing that had happened was a bank robbery, no sign of infectious allergens. Wu and Guiterrez had both been appointed similar rooms next door to them, but Malcolm and Sarah were sharing a room. Sarah was pulling a tower of towels out from the cupboard next to the television; the faint roar of the shower was already running in the bathroom.
"So, what do you think?" asked Sarah, rooting in the cupboard for some shampoo. Malcolm hadn't heard her; he was sitting, deep in thought.
"Ian? I'm talking to you," she repeated.
"What?—Oh, I err, pardon?" he said, looking up.
"I said what do you think?"
Malcolm shrugged. "Sounds like a plan."
Harding frowned, still rooting around.
"What do you really think?"
"That something will go wrong. Tim may not see it, but his expedition is fraught with danger."
Sarah sighed, bringing out a bottle of L'Oreal.
"I thought it was fairly simple. We'll be in and out within an hour or so, and he said there weren't any dinosaurs in the areas that we're going. I don't see the problem."
Malcolm raised his eyebrows at her.
"Can't you stop the doom saying?" she said, exasperated.
"I've been doing it my whole life, and I've been right every time. Believe me; this won't go as he has planned."
Sarah shrugged helplessly, dumping the shampoo on top of the towels. Picking the bundle up, she headed blindly for door of the bathroom; the towels were stacked so high that they blocked her field of vision. She left the door open, but he could hear her undressing around the corner. Ian clicked off the television and took off his jacket, throwing it onto the bed. He sat for a few minutes, listening to the sound of the shower. Sarah was humming to herself, which echoed throughout the bathroom. Then the sound of the water cut off abruptly and he heard the clink of metal as she took the towel off the hook. Then she re-emerged, wrapped in a towel.
"Sarah, why in god's name do you need so many towels, if you're only going to use one of them?" asked Malcolm.
She smiled wryly.
"I'm a woman Ian."
"Sometimes I wonder."
"Cheeky!" she exclaimed and threw a pillow at him, laughing. Then she stopped abruptly, and turned to Ian.
"You better call Kelly, tell her you can't make your little dinner," she said.
"Oh, Christ, I forgot all about that," he sighed, "What the hell am I supposed to tell her?"
"I don't know. Tell her you have an appointment with a few old friends from out of town," she smirked.
"Very clever," he murmured, reaching for the phone. He brought out a small phone book that he carried with him everywhere and flicked through the pages. He was terrible at remembering phone numbers, the book had been a present from Sarah after he'd lost her number several times. He found Kelly's mobile phone number and began to dial, slowly, looking up and down at the numbers in the book and on the keypad. Sarah had to smile at Ian's ineptitude when it came to technology; it was funny at the worst of times. She listened to Ian's conversation with his daughter, by the sound of Ian's tone of apology she was bitterly disappointed. Ian had said that she had been looking forward to it for some time.
"Tell you what, how about we'll reschedule for Tuesday, I'll take you somewhere real nice," said Ian. Faintly, Sarah heard Kelly's reluctant agreement, and then heard something she couldn't make out.
"I love you too," said Malcolm, and hung up. He sighed heavily and lay back on the bed.
"We better get some rest, Tim said we leave at sunrise," said Sarah, glancing at the digital clock that was lying next to the television. They climbed into bed tiredly; they had been up for a long time. As Sarah lay next to him, she spoke, her voice tense.
"Let us hope, that you are wrong about this expedition," she said. Malcolm didn't answer, but frowned. Then he closed his eyes, and slept.