It took me longer to work on this chapter than initially expected. I got halfway through the first version before I scrapped it. Didn't like how it sounded; too mopey and depressing. After taking a couple of days to re-think the chapter over, I came up with this. While slow, I think it'll help set up the next chapter that I'll hopefully have posted here in a few days.
A NEW HOPE
15 – Courtesy of Mascom
Just like the years before it, Christmas and New Year's flew past in a drunken blur. One day it was two days before Christmas and the next thing Pet knew, it was the second day of January. She could only imagine what the trash can inside the kitchen and outside Quarantine looked like, full of glass bottles and beer cans.
Pet cradled her head and rolled out of bed. It was too early in the morning and all those drinks and whiskey shots from the days before had her head throbbing. She could hear her pulse in her ears and feel it behind her eyes. Oh yeah, today was going to suck. It hurt everywhere she tried to move, come to think about it. Bloodshot blue-green eyes gave a quick glance at her alarm clock. It was only one-o-nine in the afternoon. Shit. Okay. So, it wasn't morning. Guess Grant decided to let her sleep in. It was probably for the best. She did tend to get a bit cranky when woken up hungover from hell.
The hybrid shuffled through the trailer and to the bathroom for a much needed refreshing shower. It wasn't until she got into the bathroom that she realized she didn't bring a fresh change of clothes. Back to her bedroom, she went when she heard it; a helicopter nearing the dig site.
The hybrid whimpered. Not again! "Damn it, Masrani!" Pet yanked open a dresser drawer and blindly grabbed a t-shirt and black leggings. "Why does he keep coming back here?" Clean socks were taken out of another dresser drawer and clutched tightly in a white-knuckled hand. "Seriously, he needs to find someone else to pester besides me!" The hybrid stomped her way to the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.
Inside the bunkroom was Derek stretched out on his top bunk bed and nursing his own hangover. He rolled over and cracked open the narrow window's blinds beside his bed. Descending behind the trailers on the other side of the dig site was a blue and white helicopter with InGen's logo on the side.
Though Pet seemed to stay constantly agitated with the billionaire, Derek was becoming partial to him after everything he had done. While he remained skeptical of Masrani following Pet's viral out procedure, most of that changed after witnessing the example he made of the corrupted InGen executives. Providing financial support to Dr. Grant's dig site added to his favor, as well. Further respect was garnered after he used his influential pull to get Pet a birth certificate as well as a work visa. It seemed the wealthy man wasn't that bad of a guy after all.
Not everyone felt the same way, however. Grant stopped working and dropped his head in exasperation to the interruption. He was brushing away a few small chunks of hard dirt littering the top of a partially exposed Ischium bone before the helicopter's arrival.
Billy blew off a layer of dust on the Illium section he was excavating. "You okay, there, Alan?"
Grant sat aside his favorite worn toothbrush. "I'm beginning to wonder how that man gets any work done with his other companies, seeing how he manages to find himself here regularly." Billy snickered and followed his mentor out of the fossil protection tent. "I know it's becoming difficult for me to get any work done."
The two scientists watched the InGen helicopter touch down what came to be known as the unofficial helipad. The engine whirred down, and the side door slid open. Out stepped a tall African American man with a salted goatee looking quite sharp in a black wool dress coat and slacks.
"Who's that?" Billy questioned.
Grant shook his head. "No idea."
Mr. Winston saw the mutual confused expressions on both men's faces and stood before them. "Dr. Alan Grant?"
The addressed man nodded. "That's right."
"Good afternoon, Doctor. My name is Xavier Winston, president of InGen." A friendly handshake was given, Winston more than thrilled to finally the paleontologist he had heard so much about. "I am here on behalf of Mr. Masrani."
Grant eyed the man from head to toe. Used to be, seeing anyone from InGen arrive at his dig site set off all sorts of alarms inside his head. Now, it was becoming a regular thing. Exiting the helicopter were two other men wearing dark blue jackets and khaki slacks. The two of them brought three sturdy black cases out of the aircraft, Grant could only assume carried some form of equipment.
He was curious as to their purpose. "Can I help you?"
A smile widened across Mr. Winston's face. "Actually, it's what I can do to help you." He motioned to the cases. "Courtesy of Mascom I present to you, satellite internet."
Billy took a mental note of the different sized cases. One was about four and a half feet wide and three feet deep and required a two-person carry. The second case that was set out was half the size. The third, however, looked to be the perfect size for holding a cello. It was a wonder how anyone was able to fit in the helicopter with the cases, alone, taking up so much space.
Winston went on with his explaining. "It's in the early stages of development, mind you, but everything must start somewhere." He clapped and rubbed his hands together in front of him. "Mr. Masrani suspects after some fine-tuning to the technology, it'll become a rather popular thing. How else will rural and isolated locations, such as this excavation site, get internet access?"
Derek approached the two scientists from behind. "What's going on?"
Billy explained. "It seems we're getting satellite internet installed at the dig."
Chocolate brown eyes went dumbfounded. "What? Is that any better or worse than dial-up?"
Winston chuckled. "Just show my men where to install the equipment, Dr. Grant, so they can get started."
Derek scratched his head. "Why's this place even getting it, anyway?"
Grant led the charge through the site to the office trailer.
Winston looked it over from one end to another. With a nod of his head, the two technicians with him began setting up for their task. He answered. "To assist in your reviewing the applications, of course." The largest of the cases were opened, revealing a three-foot-wide satellite dish surrounded in thick foam. "It's to Mr. Masrani's understanding that without easier access to an internet connection it'll take that much longer to comb through the applications."
Derek shrugged and hid his hands in his coat pockets to protect them from the cold. "We were just going to go into town and do our work there."
"You could," Winston mused. "Or you could simply stay here a few steps from the comforts of your trailer to work your own hours as early or late as you choose. Unless, of course, you prefer driving almost an hour into town and sitting in a library…working from nine to five in the most ungodly uncomfortable chairs before having to drive an hour back."
His smile brought a frown from Derek. "At least the internet in town will go faster than that will!" He aimed a hand at that satellite dish being carried around to the back of the trailer by the two technicians. "What happens if this area gets hit with heavy cloud cover for a day? Or more, for that matter? How much work will get done, then?"
"That," came Pet's voice, "is when we go into town and conduct our business at the library, getting as much done as we can from nine to five in the most ungodly uncomfortable chairs." She cocked a grin at InGen's president. "Good afternoon, Mr. Winston."
The man nodded in return. "Ms. Veronica."
The hybrid waved a clawed hand at the dress coated man. "Please stop with the Ms. Veronica and Ms. Hammond crap. It's got me feeling old and like I'm going to turn into some crazy cat lady."
Derek snickered. "As if! I don't ever see you being a crazy cat lady, Pet. See, to be a crazy cat lady, you can't eat the cats." The hybrid backhanded him in the gut. Derek snickered. He elbowed her in her thick-coated side, knowing it had no effect.
Winston gave another look at the trailer then to the people with him. Though the hybrid just joined them, he could tell the cold was getting to her. "Is there a place somewhere inside we can better discuss business where it's warm?"
In a matter of ten minutes, the conversation relocated to Quarantine. Winston took in every detail of the cozy little trailer. It wasn't much, but it was obviously home to the ragtag team comprised of a tough as nails game warden, a human-Velociraptor hybrid, a psychologist turned game warden and a bounty hunter.
The InGen president peered into the trailer's half-full trashcan containing empty liquor bottles and beer cans. It seemed someone, or someones had a good New Year's. "In addition to the internet services, there will also be two new laptop computers for your use, courtesy of Mr. Masrani as well. Once the tech team is done installing the equipment, the computers will be set up. From there, it's getting those of you logged into InGen's employee portal where you'll be able to review the pending applications as they come in." Winston turned his attention to Derek. "Did you ever make that phone call to the police chief for access to background checks?"
Derek nodded. "My pal got me set up and ready to go right before New Year's."
"Good." Winston looked back at the others.
He counted those present and realized the group was smaller than it should be. From what he had been told by Masrani, the hybrid had five people at the dig site she confided in. Dr. Grant and what was presumed as his assistant were account for, as was Derek and Pet, which meant the other two were absent.
Pet gazed at her friends. "Something wrong, sir?"
"Where are the other two?" The hybrid was just as confused as Winston.
"In town," Grant answered, "picking up some things I had delivered to the dig site's post office address."
Pet frowned. "Why didn't you wake me up? I could've gone with them and helped."
Grant cocked a sideways grin at the hybrid. "I tried to for several minutes. You wouldn't wake up." Blush filled the woman's cheeks. "They should be back, soon, anyway. All it was, was a new flatbed trailer and two boxes of plastering kits."
Pet and Derek were halfway through Mr. Winston's teaching them how to navigate InGen's online personal portal by the time Muldoon and Terrence arrived back. The rattling of the flatbed being pulled up and parked behind the office trailer couldn't be missed.
Pet paid it no thought as she was trying to focus on what she was being told. The instructions were simple enough. The hardest part for her would be remembering the site's address, but Derek resolved that problem by bookmarking the page. From there it was entering their company assigned usernames, consisting of their last names and first initial, and custom created password.
After that came remembering what links to click on that would take them to the webpage where access to the pending applications could be found. Already there were seventy-three awaiting review.
Pet arched her brows. "Wow, these people must've gotten the memo early."
Mr. Winston chuckled. "Application submissions went live midnight January first. When Mr. Masrani stated he wanted to make the submission process public first thing after New Year's, he wasn't joking. He's taking everything regarding this new park of his very seriously. The news spread the fastest to those already within InGen. I expect those numbers," he pointed at the laptop's screen, "to jump way higher in the next few days once word gets further disseminated."
"Great," Pet sighed. "This is going to take a while."
Derek scoffed. "I have a feeling you and Uncle Rob are going to be at this all day and late into some nights. And just when you think you've made a dent in the numbers, you'll wake up the next day to find umpteen times that waiting just for you!"
Pet slouched in her chair. "Yeah, well you're going to be right here with us running background checks."
"Oh, I know." A sly smile sparkled chocolate brown eyes. "But I won't be near as swamped as you and Rob will be. You're going to have hundreds of names to go through, whereas I'll just be going over a quarter to maybe half of that once the names are sent my way." He patted the angrily glaring hybrid on the shoulder. "I suggest buying a stock of your favorite Rip-er energy drinks to help keep you awake."
The hybrid snorted, her nostrils flaring. "I want to see you tell Robert, that…that you plan on twiddling your thumbs while we do the heavy lifting of the job."
No sooner did she say something than the trailer's door opened. In stepped Muldoon and looking for Grant. The lead scientist was sitting at his desk and trying to ignore the typical back and forth that was expected of the hybrid and friend. From what he could tell, even his visitor was getting a bit bored of it, too.
Muldoon looked from Grant to Mr. Winston, then to Pet and Derek questionably. Derek stated, "Good news, Uncle Rob! We won't have to drive to town as much for those applications, now!" He pointed at Winston. "He said Mr. Si-Money Mass-loaded is providing the dig site with satellite internet to better help us!"
Pet smacked him on the side of his head. The hybrid turned her cheeky sneer to her guardian and best friend. "By the way, Derek said he's just going to fuck off while you and I go through the applications."
Brown eyes snapped back to the hybrid. "What!?"
Muldoon joined the senior scientist at his desk while keeping his gaze on his nephew. "Like bloody hell, you are!"
While he and Grant discussed where to store the flatbed trailer, Pet grinned at the scowl she was receiving in return.
Winston just stood there behind the two younger people and sighed, hands on his hips. No wonder Mr. Masrani barely tolerated Derek.
Pet watched the helicopter disappear into the distance and frowned. Muldoon was right beside her and wearing an expression much like her own. "Alright," he began, "let's get started on this mess before it gets any worse."
Derek laughed. "Don't worry, it'll get worse. Mr. Fancy Coat already said it would." He ducked to avoid his uncle making a correctional swing at him, but there was no avoiding both his uncle and the hybrid at the same time.
Billy snickered. "Maybe one day you'll learn to keep your mouth shut."
Pet scoffed a laugh. "That'll be the day."
