Notes

Hypothetical casting:

Tomer Kapon as Valentine Taylor.

-o-

After inhaling air through his nostrils, Valentine Taylor took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled for a long time while looking at the Cañada de las águilas hotel which stood ahead of him.

Thirty-four years old, with tanned skin, close-cropped hair, and a lean but muscular body of average height, he wore a midnight blue T-shirt and cargo pants. The latter and the rangers he was wearing were the only elements that could betray the nature of his job since they were part of the clothing of InGen's security guards while the vehicle near which he waited was just a simple white minibus without any logo. The corporation not being very popular in town and in the rest of the country, it was advised to its employees to not attract attention when they left its facilities and properties.

Having no one else available, Jocelyn Hodgson had tasked him with picking up the group at their hotel and as he arrived a little ahead of the agreed meeting time, he had taken the opportunity to smoke a cigarette.

Turning to look at the other side of the street, his eyes scanned the passers-by coming and going along the shops and cafes that could be found there. Looking more closely at the customers seated on the terrace of one of the cafes, he recognized a bespectacled man in his forties, taller and sturdier than him, with cropped thick black hairs and a short beard. He was Benito Verde, one of his Costa Rican colleagues. Then on leave, Benito was also in civilian clothes and totally incognito among the other customers, mostly locals but also tourists from other parts of Costa Rica and foreigners, mainly North Americans and Europeans. As he just finished his coffee, Benito got up from his chair and left the establishment, starting to walk up the street towards his home a few blocks away, walking quite briskly. Valentine hailed him:

"Hey, Benito!"

Surprised, Benito turned sharply and looked at him, standing still for a moment, before deciding to join his colleague across the street.

"Hey Val…" he greeted him a little hesitantly. "So you're the one picking up the Lockwood-DPG group?"

"Yep," Valentine replied in his usual Texan accent. "What's the matter?" He asked him shortly after, having noticed his rather odd attitude. "You look nervous. It's your day off, you should be relaxed."

"It's nothing. It's because of the operation... My contract will soon be terminated and I still haven't found a replacement job. And things are rather tense financially-speaking for me..."

Valentine gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"You're a good guy, you'll find something, I'm sure of that."

"You're lucky. You're going to be transferred to the United States. You will take the train with the animals, right?"

"Yes."

Benito nodded, then pulled out his phone to check the time.

"Shit. I just remembered that I have to run a quick errand. See you on Monday."

"Yeah, see you on Monday. Enjoy your weekend."

"Thanks. See ya…"

Valentine watched his colleague reach the nearest pedestrian crossing, cross the street and disappear further.

Near the café Benito had left a few moments earlier, the Texan saw a couple of tourists accompanied by a little boy, most likely their son. They were standing near the entrance of a shop and the parents were talking so loudly that Valentine could clearly hear their accent from his position and deduce that they were from the Midwest. But while the parents had their eyes on the shop, their child behind them was bored and distracted himself by making a ball bounce on the sidewalk while passers-by came and went, even passing between the parents and the boy. However, the couple was so caught up in what looked like a quarrel that they no longer watched their child, and he continued to make his ball bounce, closer and closer to the road… Noticing this, Valentine's attention redoubled and his body tensed. He hoped that at least one parent would turn around in time and tell him to stop and come back. It was in vain…

The ball slipped out of the boy's hands and bounced down the road, toward the opposite sidewalk. Without paying attention to the oncoming vehicles, the boy rushed after it, but when the ball disappeared under the minibus near Valentine, he was confused and he realized the danger when a motorcyclist swerved to avoid him. He turned around and saw that his parents were still arguing. To his left, a van driver hadn't seen him in time and no matter how hard he braked, he knew his vehicle wasn't going to stop in time. But just as he was to hit the child head-on, Valentine grabbed him by the waist and brought him to safety near the minibus while the van's wheels squealed on the asphalt.

Valentine put the boy down on the sidewalk and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hey kid, you're okay?"

The child, still petrified with fear, did nothing but nod feebly.

"Don't go on the road, it's dangerous!" He warned him in a calm but firm tone.

Valentine then saw the ball near the minibus' rear wheels. He went to fetch it, and then squatted in front of the child to show him the ball:

"Look, here's your ball. I'll give it back to you if you promise to no longer play near the road like that, okay?"

The boy nodded again, having understood the lesson of this experience that had almost turned into a tragedy, and in a small shy voice, he said:

"I promise, mister..."

Valentine smiled and gave him back his ball. It was then that the boy's father called out to him:

"Hey, you there!" He shouted at him while crossing the road without checking first if there were any approaching vehicles. "Get away from my son!"

Valentine stood up but did not back away.

"Damn! That idiot doesn't understand English!" The mother grumbled while trotting right behind her husband.

With his tanned complexion and the Costa Rican license plate of the minibus, Valentine knew they mistook him for a native of the country. He waited until they reached the sidewalk's safety before replying.

"I do understand it!" He retorted, making them realize he was American too with his accent. "I just saved your son from getting run over and witnesses can prove it. So be polite and don't be ungrateful!"

Having heard the altercation, several passers-by had approached and the driver of the van who had almost run over the boy came to join them. Judging by the looks they were given, the parents knew that several passers-by had witnessed the scene and were ready to support Valentine's version. Defeated, the parents became silent and their eyes became shifty.

"You'd better watch him next time," Valentine warned them, looking them straight in the eyes.

The mother timidly took her son by the hand.

"Come, Kenny...," she stammered.

Then the family walked away and as the passers-by resumed their activities, Valentine saw the front door of the Cañada de las águilas being pushed open from the inside and the expected group leaving the hotel.

They had put on hiking boots and neutral-coloured T-shirts and pants or shorts, outfits compatible with the work that awaited them at the Farm. Each also carried a backpack, containing among other things their lunch.

Valentine counted them. They were five, as expected.

Claire hailed Valentine.

"Mr. Taylor?"

"Yeah, that's me," he replied. "Hi."

"Hello. Mrs. Hodgson informed me that you were coming to pick us up."

"You're ready?" he asked.

They nodded.

"Then climb."

The group got into the minibus and they headed south, crossing the town again and following the same road they had taken on the outward journey.