The definition of living dangerously was a loose one. There were various complicated nuances that a normal person couldn't be expected to understand. Well at least it was easier to understand the finer points of his philosophy once a shot or two of alcohol had entered your system. It was the best way to clear your mind, especially when life seemed to be too complicated to handle. But most people couldn't understand, or maybe they didn't want to understand. Robert Muldoon didn't care either way. Other people's business and all that. But that was beside the point, superfluous really. But the basic principle applied to everything, the underlying complexity non-withstanding. It was one of those things that helped you get through the day, hell throughout life.
For instance there was the man walking behind him, as he entered the compound and shut the door behind them. He noticed the man visibly relaxed, which was a natural reaction after reaching safety. He didn't loosen his grip on his Spas-12, nor did he hand the man back his gun. Probably the safest thing for everybody, considering how badly a job he botched of protecting himself. If he hadn't been there, the man probably would be facedown on the clearing floor, the kid beside him with their back ripped open. He stashed the handgun in his waistband, making a mental note to himself to store it properly later on. First things first, after all he didn't even know who this guy was, or the kid for that matter.
"Thanks for saving my ass out there," the man chuckled, the nervousness betraying itself in his weak laugh. "I guess I really was lucky, damn lucky." Muldoon turned to face the man, giving him a stare. The man returned it, his gaze strangely fixed and focused. He didn't look like a local, or even the sort of guy who traveled to Costa Rica often. "You found the kid right?" Muldoon assessed he probably had hopped off the plane recently as well, probably less then forty-two hours ago perhaps. He didn't make these guesses arbitrarily, but he figured that he was partially correct. However he knew one thing for sure. He wasn't going to be providing any sort of answers without getting some in return.
Muldoon grabbed the man by the arm, as he attempted to walk right past him. "I'll ask the questions around here." It was difficult to restrain him with just one hand so he was hoping that the sight of the SPAS-12 in his other hand would bring some sense into him. Things like that usually did, and if all went well, without any further need for violence on anyone's part. "First thing we need to take care of, is tell me how the hell you know so much." Or at least the man thought he knew anyhow. For all he knew the man could've been just throwing out keywords he'd read in some file somewhere to throw him off. "Who are you, and who do you work for," he intone flatly, thinking that it was vaguely stereotypical.
"Wait, wait, wait." The man held up his hands. "Okay let me start by introducing myself." He swallowed and nodded. "My name is Richard Levine, and I am-or at least I used to be a paleontologist." He lowered his hands a bit, breathing hard and slow, just like they did in the movies. "I know Malcom, you might say…. We go way back." Muldoon didn't release his grip on this man-Levine, just yet. He wanted to know a bit more. "I have to ask you, is the kid all right? He ran ahead and I never saw where he went…did you?" Okay now this was some information, just not the kind he was looking for. He let go of Levine's arm, still eyeing the man cautiously.
"So Levine," he said tenuously, "What brought you to the village today." He just had to be on his guard today, especially with the arrival of those 'mercenaries' that morning. If they were really Mercenaries…. No the most likely situation was that they came because they were after something. Someone tipped them off, and he knew what that something likely was. A certain dinosaur some asshole decided it would be entertaining to keep as a pet? Maybe. Maybe. But he still didn't know how much to say to this man, or what he even knew. "That animal that attacked you," he began tactfully, 'It's not something that needs to be…reported or made public by any means. It was dark, rainy, and only your word that you saw it."
"Save the bullshit," Levine interrupted with an unsual presence. They were almost down to the end of the hall, right to the common room. They were stopped at the door now, and Levine was holding the doorknob. "That was a Velociraptor Mongoliensis, one of the animals that escaped the first island." There was a long and interminable pause, during which Muldoon felt himself breathing very hard. "That's not the reason I came down here today if that's what your wondering. Hell I figured that thing would be so rare the chance would be greater of winning the damn lottery then encountering it down here. No, I came for an entirely different reason. " Has the atmosphere in the room chanced suddenly, this hadn't featured in Muldoon's book.
Keeping a straight face, he looked Levine up and down. "Maybe if you'd like to clarify, the exact reason…." He was a complex man, but a very direct one as well. But there was something about other people who were equally direct that was somehow off-putting. He couldn't quite explain it. The man had identified the raptor down to the species name, and identified Nublar. There was definitely something very off here… He put it together. Someone in the village had called him, and he rapidly tried to figure out who. That narrowed it down, to exactly one person. He squinted taking a breath as Levine opened the door. "Marty called you didn't he?" That was the most likely, and probably the only possibility.
"Yes he did as a matter of fact." Levine reached into his pocket and got his cell phone out. After pressing some buttons he showed it to Muldoon, who leaned forward to look. Squinting, he realized the image even though it was taken in what appeared to be the muddy and damp confines of the barn. A basal Theropd footprint, much like those he'd seen back in his days at the park. But it was like none he'd seen before, which reminded him also of that night in the barn. What had that animal been exactly? More importantly, was it still there somehow? "I knew he wouldn't send it if it wasn't damned urgent, or he knew someone else to send it to."
Muldoon nodded, as they walked into the general room, the things Levine had said weighing on his mind. But why would Marty call him unless…. Something seemed to click inside. But there were more important things to discuss first, such as the initial problem in front of both of them. Lying on the sofa in the common room was the kid, who'd run in front of Levine. He seemed to be taking deep breaths. "Any idea on who the hell this guy is?" He said turning to Levine. He sort of recognized him from when Marty had arrived by helicopter. Sort of guy who never really bothered to learn the name. Figured that Marty would say it by accident sooner or later.
"That doesn't matter so much Muldoon, as does the pressing situation," They were both seated now, pretty much ignoring the guy on the sofa. "If that raptor was really as aggressive as it just showed when it attacked me, half the population of the village would be dead by now." Muldoon was actually impressed, sitting back and watching the man with a keen eye. Maybe this man had some brains after all. "Something instigated that, a new predator in its territory…. or something I don't know." He leaned down, placing the phone on the endtable. "This picture was taken from somewhere in the village, Muldoon." His calm demeanor was somehow very annoying and frustrating at the same time. "Can you think of anything that might have happened in the last few days? Because this picture was sent yesterday."
Muldoon turned the phone around, propping the gun up by the side of the armchair. He folded his hands together, trying to not express surprise that the man knew his name. "There is actually," he said, silently wishing he still had that eggshell. Too bad he'd broken it years ago when dusting his desk. "That picture was taken in a barn in the other side of the village." He still had to be very cautious, even if Marty had been the person to dial him. "A man brought in an egg, around 1995 or 1996 I can't be sure." He noticed Levine visibly stiffen at the statement, though he couldn't possibly imagine why. "Built a barn to contain it. I let him continue for a while but then…" He trailed off, his hand to his head, tilting his hat a bit. There was just no right way to say it.
Levine got up, shaking his head. "Damn!" He seemed to be unusually agitated, though the reason wasn't immediately clear. He got up, paced around the room. Muldoon stayed seated, although he did keep his hand on his gun. "I've told you a bit of the puzzle, now isn't it customary to offer a bit about yourself?" He was intrigued by this man, who apparently Marty trusted enough to break the nondisclosure agreement. Well not technically, since this was on the mainland, had nothing to do with the park. Hell, he barely had wanted to discuss it with him in the first place. But…"You know a lot," he said getting up as well. "But Hammond never mentioned you as a consultant." That thought had crossed his mind, that Levine might have been a consultant, what with being a paleontologist.
"What no," Levine replied. "Look you're not an idiot I can see that. Surely you must have been paying attention to the headlines a few years back. Aberrant forms on the coast up and down all of Costa Rica!" He threw his arms wide; thrust his fists against the kitchen island. "The dinosaurs weren't destroyed, not all of them…the raptor outside is proof of that." He paused…. biting his lip. "Think back to what I said earlier, there was more then one island. It should've been obvious, even to a game warden like you." That last comment was especially and needlessly pointed, Muldoon thought to himself as he got up as well. Taking a few steps towards the kitchen area, he pushed the kid aside who was busy eating some fruit.
"Are you saying that there was another way for him to get the egg?" That seemed to make sense, in some strange way. He knew that Levine was right, there was no way in hell something like that had been on Nublar. At least not from what he'd seen... It seemed like he was missing something, some very vital piece of the overall complexity that would make it all fit together. He tried to think, but it wasn't making that much sense. Hammond had said all the dinosaurs were made on Nublar, and until now Muldoon had pretty much taken him at his word. No reason at all to doubt the man, even from beyond the grave. "You know something I don't?" He said, his hand firmly on his hat now.
"Yes," Levine said, his face very serious now. "Hammond basically fooled everyone on staff apparently, you included. Only a select few were ever privy to the secret. There was another island, Isla Sorna." He paused to let that sink in for a moment. "Hammond was creating the animals over there, shipping them off to Jurassic Park when they were fully grown." Muldoon leaned forward, his brow furrowing even more, he hadn't heard the name of that place in years, had hoped never to hear it again. But if this was true… That might change pretty much everything. "It was to this island that I traveled to in '95, and I found that in their rush they had left animals behind…"
There was a thunderclap outside, and Muldoon shook his head and grit his teeth. This certainly explained some things, especially why this man knew about Hammond the Park, but something still nagged at him. "This other island," He looked out the window, staring at the pouring rain. "Where there any other animals that weren't on Nublar? Carnivores Specifically?" He thought this was the test, if this man really knew Malcom he would be able to answer without a doubt. Even ten years later he could still recite all of the species by heart. It was his pride as a game warden; he could still remember them all. There was another thunderclap, and he heard what sounded like a faint low buzzing.
Now to a normal person that would just sound like the thunder rolling, but Muldoon knew better. He'd not been blind to the rumours out of Costa Rica either, and even though he knew it was a very slight chance, he didn't want to be caught unawares. Even if that raptor had lived close to the village all these years, the sheer volume of people nearby had taught it the wariness of all wild animals. But even the native animals wouldn't rush in to fill a vacuum. Levine looked at him straight in the eye. "[I]Carnotaurus Sastrei[/I], seven, eight feet tall", he held up his index fingers as a descriptive tool. "Two horns on either side of the head." Muldoon frowned as he got up, stepping backwards a bit.
In that hazy light back at the barn, he remembered seeing something like that. He'd put it down to too much drinking, which had to be it. But how would that animal… He knew something that size would be too large to have snuck onto the mainland from a boat. Unless it had been someone who worked there…no anyway if something this large had gotten to the mainland before the government would've figured it out. "At least it's safely in that barn" he chuckled nervously seeing Levine perk up suddenly, the kid as well. But Muldoon wasn't paying that much attention. He was looking outside the window the fence in the pouring rain. The sensor lights were on, something had tripped them off.
"You guys just sit tight," he said, seeing Levine had started to move forward. "The perimeter alarms have been set off. Don't know if that means the raptor came back again…" He hoped it didn't, but just to be on the safe side, he quickly switched the safety off on the rifle, readying himself to live dangerously. Hell, he was ready every day. "Just close the doors and windows," even though they had bars on them there was no sense in being safe for now. He didn't notice the kid getting up, and approaching him. "What," he said flatly, scowling at the kid. "Stay away from the windows." There were only so many ways you could fix stupid, and this kid seemed to have a terminal case.
"The animal you were talking about, the ones with horns on it…" He seemed nervous for some reason Muldoon didn't know. He just wanted to tell the man to get one with it. "The Costa Ricans that came, they opened the barn door, Dr. Guitierrez was injured and it ran off into the jungle." He stopped; probably sensing that was the only bit of useful information he had in his entire body. Muldoon took a step back, his hand gripping his hat. He saw Levine's mouth open, his face the perfect picture of concern. Well if this wasn't fine and dandy. He gave the kid another scowl, wondering how they could've all just stood there and let this happen.
"None of you move anywhere," he growled in what he hoped was convincing enough for these morons. If there was another animal out there even larger then the raptor and actively carnivorous, they shouldn't even be leaving this damned building, much less running out there in the rain like a couple of fools. A wonder they were still alive. "Stay right here," he growled as he ran out of the room. It wasn't just himself he was worried about here. What if they got themselves killed? But it was his responsibility to investigate it, He ran down the hall, and unlocked the door. He couldn't see anything unusual but he knew that was probably typical. You never do when you really expect to.
As Robert Muldoon stared out at the driving rain, he heard the sensor beep again, very close to his position.