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Jurassic Park The Dark Depths (Chapter 3)
By Vito_The_White
Chapter 3: Arrival at Isla Pena
Wednesday June 14, 2001
Jeff Rossiter sat in the back compartment of the small corporate helicopter. He yawned as he looked out the window at the dark sky growing around him. It was coming upon 9:30 in the late evening and the sun had already gone over the horizon and couldn’t be seen any longer. Rossiter seemed to be growing more irritated as the time appeared to grow slower and slower, and the helicopter felt as if it would start going backwards because of how slow they appeared to be going.
The helicopter was somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, and it was actually making good speed and time, unlike how Mr. Rossiter felt. They had been traveling for the past five hours at their top speeds doing their damnedest to get Mr. Rossiter to the island. The pilot and copilot knew very well that when Rossiter was in a hurry to get somewhere he wanted to get there right then and didn’t have time for people to be goofing around while working for his company.
Rossiter slowly felt his eyes becoming very heavy to keep open as they began to droop over as he kept constantly trying to resist his sleepiness. Mr. Rossiter was in his late seventies and felt older and older every day, but he normally blocked all of those feelings out. He didn’t want to appear a weak wimp like John Hammond had become. Rossiter smiled at thinking back to the old man that he’d just visited. He pulled out a file from his briefcase and looked it over a couple of times as his smile continued to get larger and larger from his excitement.
‘Just wait until you see what I’ve done Lew,’ Rossiter thought to himself. ‘I think I’ll give him a share in all of this.’
Rossiter then chuckled and placed the important documents back in his briefcase. He then heard the copilot talking into a radio in the cockpit, so the old man leaned up to listen to what was being said.
“… Yeah don’t worry about them Senor,” the copilot finished what he was saying, before releasing the microphone. Then there was a response from the other end of the radio.
“Just so you’ll know Senor we don’t take kindly to trespassers on that island,” a man on the radio said.
“That’s a ten four,” the copilot replied into the radio. “We’ll keep a watch out for that plane, you can be sure of that. This is Jose out.”
Jose, the copilot, put the microphone back on the stand that it rested on. He then turned back to look at Rossiter who had been quietly listening in to what was being said.
“Who was that,” Rossiter asked.
“The San Juan Approach sir,” Jose replied. “They wanted to inform us that there was an unidentified aircraft that passed near Isla Sorna only a few hours ago. They wanted to let us know that it might be terrorists.”
“You did tell them where we are going correct,” Rossiter questioned.
“Of course I did Senor,” Jose smiled. “If I hadn’t have they would’ve thought that we were working with that aircraft and that we were planning some sort of large invasion on Costa Rica or something.”
“Well that is understandable,” Rossiter said smiling back.
Jose nodded. “Don’t worry Senor, we’re almost to the island. I understand how tiring all of this can be, especially having to go through customs and all.”
“Yes,” Rossiter said. “It can get quite annoying.” Rossiter then looked past the copilot and over the shoulder of the main pilot to see the outer rim of the island coming over the horizon. Rossiter smiled. “It gets more and more beautiful every time we come toward this island.”
Jose nodded. “Si… It is a nice place… Senor, if I may, I’d like to ask you-“
“It’s not your place to be asking things,” the pilot said breaking his silence, turning to look at the copilot quickly before turning back to his flying.
“Oh that’s quite alright,” Rossiter said. “Please ask away.”
“Well Senor, it just seems odd to me that you would’ve bought this island.”
“Why is that?”
“Because these islands have been known to inhabit horrifying creations of nature that love to kill for their own pleasure.”
Rossiter chuckled. “The urban legends that you Costa Ricans love to tell one another are always quite amusing.”
“I don’t believe that they’re amusing Senor. In fact, they scare me. I’m always left wondering if we’re going to make it back home alive after dropping you off.”
“That’s ridiculous. I’ve owned this island for a good four years, and still have yet to have any problems with it what so ever.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. This place and all of the other islands for that matter are safe.”
“I’d beg to differ sir,” the pilot said. “I mean, that Sorna has dinosaurs on it, does it not?”
“Oh those InGen things,” Rossiter asked. “Yes, but my island is a complete paradise.”
“But don’t you find it very odd being anywhere near that death trap?”
“No actually,” Rossiter replied. “I find it quite peaceful.”
The pilot nodded and turned back to what he was doing. The copilot wanted to say more, but he noticed that Rossiter was now starting to lean back down into his seat as they helicopter neared Isla Pena.
* * *
Lewis Dodgson stood in the late evening smoking a cigarette. He could smell that it was about to rain. He was very keen to figuring all of that out on his own. That was especially true for when he was on Isla Pena, which he now was. Things seemed pretty quite since he’d arrived on the island. Actually things had been fine during the time that he was gone from the island looking for that Liopleurodon that had escaped for the most part.
Dodgson kicked himself after thinking about the fact that the mission to bring that damn animal back failed. Everything really was falling apart in front of his eyes and he knew it. Mr. Rossiter would be there any moment and he’d have to explain what happened. Just thinking back to the fact that that creature had almost eaten him gave him the chills. He tried his best to take his mind off of what had happened earlier in the day as he turned away from the helicopter’s landing platform to look back at the island he was standing on.
There really wasn’t much to see on the island. It was pitch black outside so what could you see in the darkness? However he’d spent so much of his precious time on this damned island that he knew it like the back of his hand. He could go through the whole place blindfolded for crying out loud. And it wasn’t just because the island was so small, because it really was. The whole island was just one long strip of land in the middle of the ocean. It really made no sense as to why it was even considered an island, or even one of the five deaths.
Suddenly a rustling sound from within the foliage that Dodgson was standing in front of was heard. Dodgson spun around quickly noticing Tom Naff emerging from the trees. Dodgson sighed.
“You scared the shit out of me Tom,” Dodgson said.
“Sorry about that,” Tom replied. “I’m guessing Mr. Rossiter’s late again eh?”
“Isn’t he always,” Dodgson asked. “Damn custom’s officials take forever to let him through. You’d think that they’d remember who he was every time that he came through and would just let him go on.”
“There are terrorists all over the world Lew,” Tom said coming over to Dodgson. “They’re just doing their job to make sure that their beautiful country isn’t bombed or something.”
Tom looked at Dodgson holding a cigarette and then sighed and turned away. Dodgson noticed and threw the cigarette to the ground stamping it out. Tom turned back to him and smiled.
“I can’t help it,” Dodgson said. “It’s hard to break the habit.”
“Yeah I know,” Tom said. “At least you’re trying.”
“How are Dr. Haynes and Mr. Heath doing,” Dodgson asked. When the boat had finally arrived at Isla Pena those two had been taken directly to the underground infirmary on the island. Dodgson hadn’t been in there since they had arrived, because he’d spent the whole time that he was on the island preparing for Mr. Rossiter’s arrival. He wanted to make sure that everything was in order and ready for the boss’ inspection.
“They’re both fine,” Tom replied. “They’re resting in their quarters now.”
Dodgson smiled. “Good. I want them up and ready to work by tomorrow morning.”
“Lew, they’re in no condition to be doing anything for a few days.”
“They’re going to have to explain their story of what happened to Mr. Rossiter. You know how he is. He’ll want an explanation of what happened when the boat was attacked and why the animal was killed from every single person involved.”
Tom scratched his head. “Yeah I guess you’re right. Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to figure out something.”
“That’s good to hear,” Dodgson said smiling. “I always seem to be able to count on you my friend.”
Tom blushes. “Ah shucks.”
Dodgson laughed. “Now go make yourself useful. Mr. Rossiter will be here any second…”
Just as those words came out of Dodgson’s mouth he suddenly heard the sound of helicopter rotors coming directly toward him.
“It’s about time,” Dodgson said moving toward the place that he knew he’d need to be standing when the helicopter landed.
The helicopter quickly descended to the landing pad as Dodgson looked up at the large flying machine coming down almost like it were going to land on top of him. He stepped back a few paces and looked on as the chopper quickly made its gentle landing. Dodgson ducked his head down and went running over to the side door. He opened it and immediately moved out of the way to allow Jeff Rossiter to exit from the helicopter.
Rossiter was wearing a suit and tie and was carrying an attaché case. He also wore a white fedora on his head that he grabbed hold of as he moved quickly away from the rotors of the helicopter. Dodgson quickly ran after Rossiter not even bothering to shut the back door.
Jose, the copilot, rolled his eyes and got out of the helicopter and shut the side door that Dodgson left open. He flipped off Dodgson, who didn’t see him, because he was walking in the other direction with Rossiter. Jose got back in the cockpit and gave a thumbs up to the other pilot. The helicopter then took off leaving the ground and the island behind.
* * *
Tom Naff extended his hand as Mr. Rossiter walked up to him. Rossiter smiled and shook his hand.
“Hello Mr. Naff,” Rossiter said. “How have you been?”
The two men started walking side by side with Dodgson walking not far behind them.
“I’m doing great Mr. Rossiter.”
“That’s wonderful,” Rossiter said turning away from Tom and over to Dodgson who moved up to the other side of Rossiter. “Well, Lew, I’ve got some wonderful news for you, and it’s all right here in this briefcase.”
Dodgson looked down at the attaché case that Rossiter had in his left hand. “What would that be sir?”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Rossiter said. “You don’t want to ruin the surprise now. This is something that requires us to be in private if you know what I mean.” Rossiter was referring to Tom.
Dodgson nodded. “Of course Mr. Rossiter.”
The three men continued walking as they neared the large walking path that lead through the foliage and toward the center of the island. They walked past several small buildings along the way that were right beside large water paddocks. These paddocks were so huge that it would’ve made you think that they were the whole island, and that was almost true. The Biosyn workmen had practically dug up Isla Pena when it was bought. Seeing as which this island would become something of a Sea World, they had to dig large trench areas deep enough to hold the water and animals, but not deep enough for the animals to escape from the island by just using all of their strength to burst through the bottom of the paddocks.
After the digging was done, the crews then put in large titanium linings that would help to hold the weight of the water and animals that would inhabit them. The workmen had tried their best to leave a tropical feel to the island in as many places as they could, but these feels were hardly anywhere on the island. Yes it was at the helicopter landing pad and maybe a few places here and there near the buildings, but otherwise it was just walkways and water.
Rossiter was extremely surprised at how well the island had turned out on all fronts. When he’d first bought this island it was to his dismay that since it was so small that it also wouldn’t go very far down. However to his astonishment, he was greatly joyful to find out that Pena was the tallest of all of the islands. It might have been the smallest, but it definitely wasn’t small as in density.
It suddenly began drizzling as Dodgson looked up and smiled. It was just as he had predicted.
They passed by a section of water that had a large label by its side. All of the paddocks had these labels. It was kind of like how sea world put the labels for the whales, dolphins, and other marine life that they carried. However this label was called “Liopleurodon” and it had a large picture of what the creature looked like. That was normal for all of the labels on this island.
Rossiter smelled the late night air as he looked out at the water that was bathed in the bright quartz lights that covered the whole island and saw the small raindrops hit the water in the paddock. The place looked very peaceful for some reason. He couldn’t really tell why, and it kind of made him a little uneasy, because this island always seemed very hectic whenever he was on it. Something was going on.
Rossiter looked down into the water and noticed a shadow slowly moving around. He knew that the creature had to be asleep if it wasn’t moving very much. However, that’s not what really caught his attention. It was the fact that he only saw one shadow. There should’ve been two.
Rossiter turned around and stared at the two men before him quite angrily. “Where is the other Liopleurodon?”
“Well sir,” Dodgson began, “there is a good explanation for that.”
“Well then,” Rossiter said crossing his arms. “Please enlighten me.”
“We were attacked by the creature sir,” Dodgson replied. “It would’ve killed all of us after it finished destroying the boat. My bodyguards had no choice but to destroy it. I’m sorry.”
Rossiter turned back to the water. “Largest waste of money in all the face of the earth.”
“All we have to do is make another one sir,” Tom said.
“What would you know of these matters Mr. Naff,” Rossiter asked turning around hatefully at Tom. “That creature was full grown just like the other one down there. It’ll take years for the other one to get that old, and by then the other creature will be dead. Do you have any idea how much of a waste this is?”
Suddenly, because of Rossiter’s rants, a large head busted out of the water roaring. This caused Rossiter to jump all the way to the other side of the platform. He turned around seeing that the Liopleurodon was fully awake now and rushing toward them.
“To the main entrance,” Dodgson screamed.
The three men ran as fast as they could toward a large door at the other end of the catwalk that they were on. The Liopleurodon continued to rush toward them as fast as it could, but stopped when it realized that the three men had gotten away from him. The creature roared one last time and then sunk slowly back down into the water.
* * *
Jeff Rossiter sat at a long table in a small briefing room rubbing his temples back and forth as he stared down at the table. Rossiter was constantly getting migraines anymore, and they always seemed to hit when he was under pressure or doing extraneous exercises, like running for his life from a Liopleurodon.
Rossiter then opened the briefcase in front of him and looked at the important document again. He sighed feeling a little better already. He knew that this news was something that was much better then anything that had happened with his company in several recent years. Biosyn had a bad luck streak. The company had gone through a lot of strenuous times before and after Isla Pena had been bought. A lot of the problems, however, didn’t come until after the island was bought. Biosyn had had a lot of death cases caused not only from the animals, but also from the construction that had been done on the island. Rossiter’s thoughts suddenly drifted away from the bad things as the door to the room opened up.
Dodgson stepped into the room holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a couple of Excedrin Migraine in the other. He handed both items to Rossiter who swallowed the medication with one gulp of the hot coffee. Rossiter then set the cup down and looked directly at Dodgson.
“Thank you Lew,” Rossiter said.
Dodgson faked a smile. “You’re welcome Mr. Rossiter. Gerry said that he really didn’t want to just give those out to you just yet hoping that you might get over it in a few minutes, because those things tend to have an after effect on older people.”
“Dr. Harding can go to hell for all I care,” Rossiter barely said. “He’s a veterinarian, not a medical doctor.”
Dodgson laughed. “Yes sir.”
Rossiter then glanced down at the document on the table. “Oh, I’m sure you’d like to see this.” Rossiter handed the document to Dodgson as the man began to read.
Dodgson’s frown from all of the events that had happened suddenly turned into a menacing smile as he continued to read the document. Rossiter chuckled at the reaction coming from Dodgson’s face. Dodgson stopped reading the document and looked at his boss in utter disbelief.
“How is this possible,” Dodgson asked surprised.
“It’s rather simple my friend,” Rossiter said. “Hammond had no choice.”
Dodgson shook his head and sat down in a chair beside Rossiter. “I can’t believe it.”
“Well, you should start believing it then.”
“He was so adamant about the fact that he’d never do this.”
Rossiter nodded. “Indeed. I’m surprised myself that I finally conned it out of him.”
“You aren’t the only one sir… What does this mean for Biosyn?”
“A lot more then you could ever imagine my friend. A whole hell of a lot more.”
Thanks for reading. Comments are welcome:)
9/21/2003 10:21:36 AM
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