After Muldoon returned, things began to become complicated very fast. Or at least, it all started to blur. First there was the rattle of the door, the few tense moments in the house. Then there was a collective sigh of relief as they realized it was Muldoon behind the door, alive and unscathed. Just a minor panic, especially when the man had considered five minutes was a rather long time to stay outside, especially after such a dire warning as he'd given. Instead, there was no words spoken, just silence. Utter and complete silence, complemented only by the pounding of the rain outside. The look on the man's face... it seemed to say it all. Everything and nothing all in one expression.
Baxter and Levine had stepped to the side as Muldoon had come in, gun raised, and he was not alone. There was another figure, hard to discern exactly because of how mud stained and soaking wet the person was. However, Baxter thought he could make out at least some patches of recognizable camouflage uniform. Must be one of the three 'mercenaries' that had come in that morning ran after the animal. Head down, so Baxter could barely tell who the person was. His heartbeat accelerated, as he remembered on of the three had been the Biosyn agent he'd originally made a deal with. He didn't know if that man was still alive or not, or if he'd any of the others were privy to it.
Muldoon had a backpack on his shoulder, similarly dirty and stained. As he'd passed them, Baxter noticed him hand it off to Levine without batting an eye from the person he was leading along at gunpoint. The silence was palpable, and Baxter noticed the person holding their arms up. The sign of a captive or a prisoner everywhere, pretty international it seemed to him. As they passed him by, the person lifted their head, and their eyes met. Baxter was surprised to see it was the woman, considerably worse for the wear then she'd been earlier. There was a resigned look on her face, and she sighed as she passed him. Her eyes trailed off, seemingly past him, resting on the backpack in Levine's hands.
The two stared at each other, and then after a pause they heard a door slam, and a key locking. Baxter felt that was his cue to go back into the living room. Muldoon was standing next to the table, holding the key. "Place the backpack down on the table gently," he said tersely. He looked tired and he shook his head. As Levine placed the bag on the table, he gestured for all of them to come and look. "Don't get too close, and don't touch anything." As they leaned over, Muldoon set the gun down and opened the sack. "The reason for that little display earlier…" He reached in the bag and took something out. It was a white ovoid, dimpled all over like a golf ball. It really did look like an ostrich egg…that was the least he could compare it to.
"Shit," Baxter heard himself say, it just seemed so surreal, like he was seeing this from another plane. He thought that shit was hitting the fan; especially since the egg had to come from here…He could see Levine frowning, as they both looked at the object. "So is that…" He didn't have time to say anymore because just then Muldoon reached into the pack with his other hand, took out an ovoid that exactly matched the first, except it seemed to be slightly more dimpled at the ends. "Is that what I think it is?" If it was, then they most likely had a very serious problem, and he found himself swallowing. What had they got themselves into exactly? No one spoke, or seemed to want to be the first person to speak. Everybody was thinking, about just how to react.
"Yes, these are eggs." Muldoon said softly shaking his head. "Don't know where the hell she got them from, although it's safe to say from close by." He looked from first Levine, to Baxter meeting their gazes. "Obviously these people whoever they are were not sent from the Costa Rican's at all." He put the eggs back in the pack gingerly, making sure that they didn't clash "We need to find out who sent her, and why. It's vitally important that we do this now, before we do anything else." Baxter could see his point, although he was very unsure of himself right now. So far as he knew they had no way of communicating with the outside world, and he didn't know if he wanted to risk going outside to get the Hummer.
""So who wants to lead the questioning?" Levine said to his right. "Do we all go in together or…." Baxter noticed that Levine looked worried, his frown continually parsed by timely winces. He was very uncomfortable with all this, and it seemed he was not really ready for this turn of events. "I don't know…" Baxter was surprised to see that Levine was fidgeting with his hands all of a sudden. "Isn't there just some way we could keep her contained until we get the situation under control?" Yet he didn't look like he had a plan to do that, or any idea actually on how to proceed from here. "Can't we…." He indicated the eggs, nervous just to be around them.
"We'll talk about what to do with that believe me," Muldoon said, his voice hard. " He gestured at Baxter, his head swiveled to the side. "If you don't mind kid, this is going to be a discussion for men here, and frankly I don't give a damn what you do." He paused again, as if considering the matter. "We can't have a conversation with our uninvited guest if she's unwilling-or unable to talk to us." He gestured back to the kitchen. "If you want to play the sympathetic jailer, you can get a plate and provide a meal for her. No knives or forks are going in that bedroom, so I'd recommend you pick something not too messy that won't leave a stain on the floor."
Baxter only nodded, and as he turned his head, sure enough the two men began to argue. He mentally tuned most of it out, trying to pay attention only to whatever tidbits might be important. Shaun Baxter rolled up his sleeves first, and then opened the cabinent, taking a plate out. Placing it on the kitchen counter, he opened the icebox, and took out the first two things he found, namely a Tupperware container of cooked rice and some cold beans. As he slid them from their containers on the plate he looked back up, noticing the conversation was getting a bit heated. Something about the eggs and the girl, what was to be done with them. As far as Baxter could tell, Muldoon was about ready to be the bad cop, which left Levine with the role of 'good cop'. Stereotypical maybe, but that was the picture he was getting…
As he walked out of the kitchen, Muldoon swiveled around to face him. He took the plate for an instant, looking for any hidden utensils. Apparently satisfied the other man returned the plate, giving him a paper towel as well. "Where is she?" Baxter asked, so those two could get back to whatever the hell it was that they were talking about. Muldoon nodded and gestured to him, leading him to a hallway that opened up on the other end of the room. The first door on the right. Just knock three times when you want out. As Baxter stepped in holding the plate, he heard the door close and lock behind him. That made sense; Muldoon was erring on the side of caution, just in case.
The space inside the room was not dark, the blinds were open and the lamp on the end table was on. Baxter set the plate down the table, and turned to face the prisoner. She had removed her jacket already, the stained uniform resting on the back of the chair. The woman had on a white tank top underneath, and what looked like a bemused smile on her face. Shaun was at a loss for words really, as he saw she'd tried to wipe the rain and dirt off her face with some of the blankets, it really went a long way. "What do they want?" The woman said to him, her face impassive, and straining to be neutral. "If it's about who I work for, they're in for a long time. Be sure to tell them that."
Baxter realized he was staring and shook his head. "I just brought some food, in case you were hungry." He realized suddenly that this woman was a colleague of the man he'd made a deal with-who incidentally was the leader of the three 'mercenaries'. Ah to hell with it, he knew now who they really worked for, Biosyn, whom Ed James had said he was affiliated with back when they'd made the deal. Which was probably invalidated by now due to the Biosyn agents discovering dinosaur survival on their own but still…. "I don't know if you were aware…." He paused, unsure of how to say it. "But before this expedition, James and I had a deal. Which means right now I'm your best hope for some sort of compromise."
Her demeanor seemed to change abruptly, and he could see what appeared to be a crooked half-smile emerging on her face. "Sit down," she said, "and bring the plate over…." She ran her hand through her short raven hair, while tapping the side of the bed where she was sitting. Baxter pulled the chair up to the bed, and set the plate down in front of her. "Okay," she said. "James told me about the deal," she bit her lip as if trying to think. "That deal however can still be in effect if you want it to," she said carefully, staring at him, her eyes gesturing to outside the door. It left no doubt as to what exactly she was referring to. "He told me about your…situation, I'm sure right now you could really use the money."
Baxter nodded, as he watched her eat. It was true that his graduate studies had caused him to take out a bundle of student loans. His credit was almost ruined actually, there was no way in hell he could afford to take out any more loans-or pay the ones he'd already taken out. "It's about the eggs then," he shook his head. "Where the hell did you find them?" he knew this question was probably damn near irrelevant but all the same… He was the kind of man who liked to know exactly what he was getting into, even if he sort of had an idea. "And secondly…yes. I need the money, but how the hell am I going to save them?" There were two grown men between him and the eggs; one of them had a gun.
She looked up from the plate, wiping her face with the napkin. "I found them in the jungle, right when I was coming back…" she trailed off as if remembering something. ""Yes it is about the eggs. I just need you to keep them from being destroyed. That's the extent of your job. At least keep them safe until the Biosyn Company Helicopter comes back for extraction." She met his gaze, giving him a reassuring smile. "Tell the others that if they do this, they'll receive a similar share of the money." She must have caught his expression, because she set the plate back down on the bed. "I'll make sure to to my corporation you helped us, and make sure you are fully compensated for your efforts." She reached out a hand for him to shake and Baxter took it, realizing it was like a business deal.
"I'll tell them," he said. "I'll tell them." It was an odd thing for him to agree on so suddenly, although he had it in his mind that maybe he wouldn't tell them. He needed the money, and by rights that share should be his anyway. Well, at the very least he could give Dr. Guitierrez some of the money. Enough to pay his medical bills anyway, he did need a recommendation letter after this trip anyway. It wasn't as if he wanted the man to die either. "No sense introducing myself…but I always like to know who im dealing with." He smiled, taking the plate in his other hand. "Its just a nervous tick…" like hell it was, and he knew it.
"Oh sure," she said with a sigh. "Megan, Megan Stone." Her eyes danced with some fire behind them, that Baxter couldn't quite understand. "Don't worry Mr. Baxter, Biosyn always keeps its promises." She smiled. That charming smile. Really brought out her dimples, and Baxter had to shake his head because he was staring again. "But yes, tell me, they're going to try to 'interrogate' me aren't they," she said using air quotes and rolling her eyes. "Do I really seem that dangerous? Which one is going to come out first, the good cop or the bad cop?" Baxter didn't know whether she was being so talkative to hide her nervousness, or she didn't really care what she might say when they questioned her.
"I guess I'll be going then," he said turning for the door. "Yes, they might come in a few minutes… " He knew that she wouldn't say anything about the deal, there was too much riding on it for the both of them. However, other stuff like the original location of the eggs…that was trivial compared to the gains he hoped to see. He turned to see one last look at her, still sitting on the bed, the fading light of the afternoon coming in through the blinds. She smiled at him, and it seemed that was the only honest smile she'd done so far. Or at least it was genuine to him, not faked or forced. She wasn't even that much older then him… He shook his head turning away and knocking on the door three times.
Standing back he waited until he heard the sound of footsteps walking towards the door. The doorknob turned slowly, and he saw Muldoon staring at him. Baxter shrugged at him, and walked through the portal as the door slammed shut behind him. As he walked over to the kitchen, he heard them resume arguing. The man Levine was holding one of the eggs up gently, studying it intently. "There's absolutely no question about it," he was saying. "This is a [I]Velociraptor Mongoliensis[/I] egg. No doubt in my mind." That made the other man stiffen for some reason, asked him how the hell he knew. There was a long silence. Baxter leaned back on the kitchen counter holding his breath. "I encountered a nest…back on the other island."
"So what you're saying…" At this point Baxter tuned him out again it was getting boring. Only bits and pieces drifted into his general spatial awareness, his mind still distracted. "-The raptor that attacked you-" But that wasn't important right now. He was still thinking about the money, how badly he needed it to pay back those loans. The girl could probably handle herself in the interrogation, from what he'd seen she was obviously quite the cool customer. The job seemed easy enough as well, to safeguard the eggs. He listened again, still quite detached-"Had to be the one that laid them, ecosystem couldn't support…" He didn't hear what happened after that, but the two men seemed to realize something at the same time.
Muldoon and Levine both walked over to the door, entering one at a time. Muldoon at the entrance of the door, gun lowered slightly, and he could see Levine trying to start a conversation. Good luck with that pal, Baxter thought. He couldn't think of a harder person to crack. Only thing she would probably give them was the location of the eggs, probably not who she worked for. He was confident that it wouldn't ring any bells with those two, at least he was betting on it. Let them try it, see how far they got. But at the end of the day, that money was going to be his, and he kept a weather eye on the pack. It would be tricky, very tricky indeed. But from her demeanor, he was guessing that one of her compatriots had already dialed in a pickup chopper.
Good, away from this hellhole, let the military deal with that giant lizard. There was just one nagging thing on his mind, very faint now. He wondered how Dr. Guitierrez was doing now, since it didn't look like he would be able to go back anytime soon. He had a nagging feeling that he was forgetting something important, even as he took a bottle of beer out of the pantry. Was he? No, as far as Shaun Baxter figured, he had everything accounted for, every single variable. There was not a single damn thing that could go wrong. He sat down at the table, his thumb stoking the backpack strap aimlessly. Somewhere thunder rolled, and lightning flashed, the cacophony led by the incessant pounding of the rain.
He watched the interrogation begin, ready for the show.