JP: New Beginnings-Chapters 5-10

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Chapter 5: Grant and Ellie

Alan walked to Ellie's door. Before he knocked, he could hear her crying. He was not prepared for that. The suspicions he was having about Mark seemed to be justified. He stood there for a few seconds, without moving. He finally knocked.

Ellie didn't feel like holding all of her emotions in anymore. She was crying loudly, when she heard the knock at the door. She took a couple deep breaths and tried to regain her composure.

"Who is it?"

"It's Alan."

She closed her eyes for a moment. She was certain that he must have heard her crying. She wiped most of the tears away and walked up to the door. She put her hand on the doorknob, started to turn it, and then changed her mind. She couldn't bring Alan into her personal family problems. She didn't want Mark finding out and then taking it out on him. She backed away from the door.

"Alan, I'm fine. I was just about ready to go to sleep. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Ellie, please. Would you please let me in."

"No."

"Just for a minute," he said.

"No, Alan. Just go away, okay?"

"Look, I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm very worried about you."

"Please, don't be worried. Everything is fine."

Alan was still standing in front of the door, but he didn't respond this time. He simply stood there. Ellie waited for a reply, but there wasn't one. She stood there, in the middle of the hotel room, for a few minutes. Still, there was no reply.

"Alan?" She whispered.

There was no answer.

"Alan?" She repeated.

There was still no answer. She waited a few more minutes, just standing quietly with her arms crossed. She walked to the door and opened it slowly. She managed a smile when she realized she was tricked.

"Hi there," Alan said.

"Oh, my . . . you're a sneaky one, aren't you?" Ellie asked.

"I just want to know what's wrong. May I please come in?"

"Alan . . . "

"Just for a minute, Ellie. What's one minute going to hurt?"

"Okay, you win. Come on," Ellie said, finally giving in.

Alan nodded and walked into the hotel room. He quickly glanced around the room, as Ellie shut the door. When he turned to look at her, he noticed she had a black eye.

"What happened to you?"

"Would you believe I walked into a door?"

"No."

"Well, I don't really want to talk about it right now. How's that?"

"Okay."

"Thank you," she said.

"Where's Mark?"

"He's downstairs in the casino."

"Was he up here with you earlier?"

"Yes, Alan."

"So, he did that to you?" Alan asked, pointing at her eye.

"I already told you, I don't want you involved in my personal problems."

"Ellie, if he's hurting you, you need to talk about it and get help."

"Maybe I do need help. But from a professional, okay? Not you. I don't want you involved."

"Why? I want to help you."

"Have you seen Mark, lately, Alan?"

"No."

"Well, he's been working out. He's about as tall as you are, as you might remember. And about 235 pounds now."

"And he feels the need to hit . . . " Alan didn't finish the sentence. He looked at her for a few seconds. "Ellie, I don't think you should be here when he gets back."

"Thank you for trying to help. But I really don't think it's a good idea."

"Ellie," he said, as he walked very close to her.

He reached out and gently grabbed her arm. He needed to change her mind, this much he knew. As he was about to speak again, Ellie gently pulled her arm away from him and winced a little bit. He noticed a few tears streaming down her cheek.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"Yeah, my arm just hurts a little bit."

"Did Mark do that, too?" Alan asked.

He was starting to feel a lot of anger toward Ellie's absentee husband.

"Alan, please. I don't want to go into the details right now."

"Okay, then I'm going downstairs to find him," Alan said.

He turned around toward the door. Ellie grabbed his arm and turned him back around.

"No. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I think I can take care of myself."

"Listen to me," Ellie said. "He is dangerous, okay? He's somewhat . . . no, completely insane. Do not go looking for trouble."

"I don't want to argue with you anymore," Alan said.

"That's a relief. You can go now, okay?"

"Come back with me, to my room. You shouldn't be here when he gets back. I'm serious. Please?"

Ellie looked into his eyes. He was so concerned for her. She didn't want to argue anymore, either. Alan spoke again.

"That is the only way I would feel comfortable leaving this room. If you were with me."

"Okay." She finally gave in. "Okay, Alan."

They were still standing close, looking at each other. Ellie stepped a little closer and embraced Alan tightly. She started to cry again. Alan gently embraced her, being extra careful not to hurt her again. The two of them stood in the hotel room for a few minutes, with Ellie crying into his chest.

"I think we should get going now," Alan whispered to her.

Ellie nodded.

"Let me get a few things together. It'll only take a few minutes."

"Okay," Alan said, nodding.

Alan watched as Ellie put everything she owned in her suitcase. When she was finished, he picked it up and opened the door for her. They went into the hallway.

"Wouldn't Mark just be able to look up your name and find us?" Ellie asked.

"He doesn't even know I'm here."

"Yes, he does. That's what the argument was about."

"Ellie, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said.

"Well, you were arguing about me."

"He saw us talking in the casino. I shouldn't have been out in the open like that. It was stupid."

"What do you mean, in the open?"

"I came here alone. I lied to you earlier. Mark and I had a fight. A very big fight, back at home. Hammond really was offering me a trip to Vegas, so I took him up on it. I needed to get my head together and decide what I was going to do about Mark. He found out about it somehow."

"Where are the kids?"

"With my mother. They're fine. I talked to them today."

They got into the elevator. Alan put Ellie's suitcase down and pressed the button for the 7th floor.

"So, Mark followed you here?" He asked.

"Yes. He just showed up at the door, barged in, and demanded to know where you were."

"I'm really sorry about all of this, Ellie."

"Not as sorry as you'll be if he finds you."

"Well, he shouldn't be able to find us. Ian and I switched rooms."

"Ian Malcolm?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, my God. I haven't seen him in a long time."

"You're the lucky one."

Ellie smiled.

"So, you're in his room? Why, may I ask?"

"Something about his room being nonsmoking. I don't know," Alan said, laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, well, I was just thinking that if Mark did look me up, he would get Ian. That's funny to me."

"Alan."

"Sorry," Alan said, smiling.

"All these years later and you still don't like Ian."

"No, I don't. I guess I'll never change."

"No, probably not. That's not such a bad thing, though. Being consistent."

The elevator doors opened. Alan picked up the suitcase and started down the hallway. Ellie followed. Alan reached his room, opened the door, and held it open for her.

"Wow, Alan. This room is bigger than mine was," Ellie said.

"I guess Hammond was trying to impress me . . . or Ian," Alan said. As he looked around the room, he smiled. "Hey, look. My bags. I guess Ian really did take care of that, like he said he would."

Ellie laughed, as she looked around the room. It was a two room suite. There was a dining room table just to the right of the door and a wet bar, just beyond that, complete with 4 bar stools. Past the wet bar were two plush chairs along with a matching couch, a television armoire, and a sliding glass door on the other side of the room. Ellie went into the bedroom that was attached on the left. This room was enormous, as well. In addition, the bathroom was attached to the bedroom. Ellie was taken aback by the expensive looking and roomy suite. Then, she got serious for a minute.

"Alan, there's only one bed."

"Yeah. I see that. You can have it. I'll take the couch."

"Thanks," Ellie said.

She was relieved that he was making this so easy. Although, a big part of her wished they would be sharing the bed. She was starting to remember her past life with Alan, and it was a much better life than what Mark was giving her now. No contest. She looked at her watch.

"Oh, my God. It's already 12:30am. I'm going to turn in. First, I'd like to take a shower, if that's okay with you."

"Of course it's okay with me."

She smiled and headed for the bathroom. She hadn't even realized it until this moment, but Mark had gotten her into the habit of asking permission to do things. She stayed in the shower for quite a while, thinking about things. When she finished with her shower, she wrapped up in the robe that was in the bathroom and came out.

Alan was sitting on a barstool, reading a label on a bottle of wine. He looked up at her.

"There's only one robe and I claimed it," she said.

He smiled.

"Wanna drink?" He asked.

"Yeah, I could use one," she said.

Alan poured some wine into two glasses and handed one to Ellie.

"Thank you," she said.

Ellie drank the wine and handed the empty glass back to Alan. She went over to her suitcase and found her nightgown. She quickly changed and then slipped under the covers. When she was settled, there was a knock at the door.

Alan got up from the stool and walked toward the door.

"He found me. He found me already. Don't answer it," Ellie said.

Ellie started to get out of the bed. Alan walked into the bedroom doorway.

"Ellie, wait. It's just the concierge. I asked for more towels and a blanket."

Ellie felt completely stupid, as she listened to him open the door and take the towels and blanket from the stranger. It had only been about a half hour and there was no way Mark could have hunted her down that quick.

Alan walked through the bedroom and put the towels in the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom, he walked to the bed and sat at the end of it. Ellie looked down.

"How long has this been going on with Mark?" He asked.

"Do you want me to count the verbal abuse, or just the physical?"

Ellie looked at him. She could tell he was having a hard time coping with this.

"I'm sorry. I'm just angry with myself for letting it happen for so long."

She didn't want to explain how she choose to marry a maniac and then choose to stay with him all those years.

"What about the kids?" He asked.

"I don't think so. I think he saves it all for me."

Alan was fighting back his anger with Mark.

"Ellie, why didn't you tell me? I talk to you almost once a week."

"I don't know. There were a few times when I almost told you, but then I just chickened out."

"I wish you would have told me," Alan said, thinking. "That must be why you only let me visit your house once."

"Yes. That, and the fact that Mark really hates you."

"Me? Why?"

"Because I talk to you once a week."

Alan nodded.

"And because we have a past," Ellie said.

Alan nodded again.

"And because you're a better man than he is," she added.

Alan briefly smiled at her. He was starting to get uncomfortable with the conversation, all of a sudden. He changed the subject.

"I'm going to take a quick shower, and then try to get some sleep."

"Okay," she said.

Alan smiled and nodded. He got up from the bed and went into the other room to grab a few things from his bag. He came back through the bedroom and went into the shower. About 10 minutes later, he opened the bathroom door and quietly walked through the bedroom. He had decided on wearing pants and a shirt. If Mark did somehow find them, he wanted to be dressed and ready for him. When he reached the doorway, he turned around and looked at Ellie. She was sound asleep in the bed. He smiled. He made his way to the couch. He grabbed the extra blanket, laid down, and covered himself up.

Several hours later, Ellie suddenly awoke and sprang up out of bed. She was having a nightmare. She was dreaming that Mark had found them and killed Alan. She sat there in the dark, for a minute, breathing heavily. It was 3:30am. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she remembered where she was, and started to feel safe again. She got out of bed to check on Alan. From the bedroom doorway, she could see him on the couch. She smiled. Then she looked closer at him and noticed that the couch wasn't quite long enough for him. His legs were hanging off the side. The more she looked at him, the more uncomfortable he looked to her.

"Alan," she whispered.

He jumped up quickly.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she whispered.

Alan nodded. She watched as he started to stretch out his body. Clearly, he was sore.

"Does your back hurt?" She asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"Looks like a lot, to me."

Alan smiled.

"It's fine, Ellie. It's just been awhile since I had to sleep on a couch."

Ellie waited a few seconds before she asked her next question. She took a deep breath.

"Why don't you get into the bed. It's much more comfortable," Ellie said.

"You sure?"

"Yes, Alan. I think we can manage to share the same bed, don't you?"

Alan smiled and slowly got up. He walked across the room and walked up to Ellie. He raised his arm.

"After you," he said.

Ellie nodded and got into the bed. Alan followed her and got into the other side. Ellie covered him up and then moved to her side of the bed. It was like there was an invisible wall between them. They both lay there quietly, on their designated sides of the bed. Neither of them spoke. After a period of silence, Alan drifted off to sleep.

After she knew he was asleep, Ellie turned on her side. She was staring at him. She was looking at him and thinking about how she had broken things off with him. She remembered the day very clearly. He was in the trailer that they shared, working on a research paper. She had walked in and told him that she was taking a job offer in Oregon. At first he was happy that her professional life was becoming so successful. She had left the dig site before, for other jobs, but then she would always come back. That's when she had informed him that she needed more. She told him that she wanted a family, and that she knew he didn't. After about 2 hours of talking, she had left the trailer . . . and Alan. She had packed her things up and headed for Oregon. He had shown up at the airport to see her off. He had kissed her one last time and then she boarded the plane, crying. That was about 7 years ago.

Looking at him now, she wondered why she let such a good man get away. When they first went their separate ways, she almost went back to Montana to see him. Then, as fate would have it, she had met Mark Degler at a conference in Oregon. Mark was a very charming man, who swept her off her feet. They had gotten married about 6 months later and had moved to Arizona. Ellie had their first child, Charlie, about two years later and their second child, Samantha, about 2 years after that. Now, her kids were 5 and 3 years old.

Her mind traveled back to the present time. Back to Alan, who was laying right beside her, in the dark. He was sleeping so soundly. She looked at him and suddenly wondered how old he was now. She was 35. She did a little bit of quick math in her head and figured he was 44, since they were 9 years apart.

She inched a little closer and carefully put her arm around him. He woke up and looked in her direction. He didn't say a word. He just grasped her hand in his and kissed it gently. After a few minutes, he spoke quietly.

"Everything's going to be all right, Ellie."

"I know," she said.

She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, feeling very safe and sound.


Chapter 6: Hammond's New Mission

John Hammond was awakened by the sudden ringing of the phone. He was staying in a hotel in Montana. He hadn't left Montana since he talked to Alan the day before. He had sent his assistant back home because he wanted to have a little independence. He glanced over at the clock. It was 4:30am. He shook his head, trying to wake himself up, and then he picked up the phone next to the bed.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Hammond. Sorry to wake you, sir. We have a situation."

"Henry?"

"Yes, sir, it's Henry. Something, very serious, was just brought to my attention and I thought you would want to know right away."

"Well, what is it, Henry?"

"Mr. Hammond, we have proof that Tim and Lex were taken from your house about two nights ago."

"What? What?"

"John, your Grandchildren are missing. We think we know who is behind it."

Hammond was already reaching for his suitcase and getting his things together, as he held the phone to his ear.

"Let me guess. Envoy?"

"Yes, sir. We have witnesses who saw his number one henchman, Patrick Bodan, take Lex and Tim."

"What witnesses?"

"Some of your security officers saw them."

"Why didn't they stop them?"

"Most of them were taken out, sir. Killed."

"Oh, my God."

"A few made it through and they were able to identify Mr. Bodan."

"Are my grandchildren all right, Henry?"

"As far as we know, yes. There's more, John."

"More? What more?"

"Bodan made his way to Chicago and nabbed him another hostage yesterday evening."

"Who is in Chicago that would interest me?"

"Jodie Grant."

"Oh, dear. As in Alan Grant?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, dear."

"John, do you want to go to Las Vegas to meet with Dr. Grant?"

"Let me think a minute."

"Sir, you should tell him."

"Yes, yes, that is probably the right thing to do, Henry."

"Okay. I'll send someone for you right away."

"Good, good. Thank you, Henry."

Hammond hung up the phone. He sat in a chair in the hotel room and thought about how scared his grandchildren must have been. And Jodie Grant. She must have been frightened, too. Hammond wasn't quite sure how this whole mess was going to impact his plans. He would worry about that later. Right now, he needed to get out of Montana and get to Las Vegas. He only had about 3 hours before Grant, Malcolm and the rest of the team left for the island.


Chapter 7: Mr. Marcus Envoy, Madman

70 Miles West of the Baja Peninsula - Nighttime

Tim was sitting in the dark, shivering. He was in some sort of military aircraft. He and Lex were forced to sit somewhere near the back and there was no heat there.

His sister was right next to him. Lex was unconscious for a lot of the mysterious journey. She was still unconscious. Tim had been out for most of the trip, as well. There was one instance, that Tim vaguely remembered, when Lex awoke at some point. An unknown man approached them and gave them both some sort of an injection.

Now Tim had been awake for the last half hour or so. He had no idea where they were. All he knew for certain, is that it had something to do with his Grandfather. He had overheard some of the men talking before he was forced into unconsciousness. While deep in his thoughts, he heard some movement in the darkness, next to him.

"Lex?" He whispered.

There was a long pause before he finally got an answer.

"Yeah," she said. "Tim, where are we?"

"I'm not sure yet."

With Lex being awake, Tim filled her in on all that he knew. He told her how Bodan was able to get him, too. Then he explained to her how they were transported to some sort of large military aircraft and that he didn't know the destination.

As they were whispering, the aircraft landed somewhere. Tim could feel the wheels touch down on the ground. The large door of the military aircraft opened from the rear. It was still quite dark outside, so they couldn't see much better. Tim noticed the silhouette of a man coming into the back of the aircraft. Tim and Lex were both understandably frightened.

"Okay. Get up. Follow me. Both of you," the man ordered.

Tim and Lex did what they were told. As they emerged from the aircraft, Tim looked all around him, trying to figure out where he was. It was too dark to see much more than trees. The ocean could also be heard, or at least some sort of body of water. He squinted in the direction they were being pushed and noticed a building. A man opened the door. Another man from behind them shoved them into the building.

When everyone was inside, the door was shut. There was total darkness for a few seconds, then someone turned on a flood light from behind Tim and Lex. Most of the room was illuminated, with the exception of the corners. They were hidden in the shadows, since there was no direct light aimed that way. A tall man emerged from a door in the rear of the room. He walked very slowly. Tim guessed he was about 55-60 years old. He walked up to Tim and Lex, and then stopped.

"Hello. I am truly sorry about all the secrecy," he said. Then he looked at Lex. "And all the violence."

This man also had a British accent.

Tim had a million questions. He was trying to get them situated in his head, so that he could ask one, when Lex beat him to it.

"Where are we? Who are you?" She asked.

The tall man laughed.

"My, you're one of those right-to-the-point people, aren't you?"

"Just answer the question," Lex demanded.

Tim lightly bumped into her, to get her attention. She looked at him.

"Don't make him mad," he whispered to her.

"Mad? I'd say that I'm the one mad," Lex said. She looked at the tall man. "Please, where are we?"

"Very well, then. You are on Isla Norte. Welcome to my life's work."

Tim and Lex were still confused. Lex spoke up again, to Tim's dismay.

"Well, that's nice. Where is Isla Norte?"

"Near Mexico, my dear."

Tim wanted answers, too. He decided to get into the conversation with a nicer attitude.

"Sir, why are we here? Please, just level with us."

"You are here because of your Grandfather. Unfortunately for the both of you, Mr. Hammond has involved himself in matters that do not concern him. And that's all you need to know for now, I'm afraid. This will be your home for now. We are building a more secure room for you to stay in, but it will not be ready until tomorrow."

The tall man turned around to leave through the rear door.

"Wait," Lex said.

He turned around and spoke before Lex could.

"I'm not answering more questions. I would like to make one more comment, though. You see how they are locking the doors and boarding up the windows in this room?"

Tim and Lex nodded.

"Well, it really isn't to keep you inside this building. It is to keep what is out there . . . out of this building."

Tim looked at Lex. She shrugged and shook her head. Neither of them understood fully what he was alluring to. The tall man noticed this, too.

"All that I am saying . . . do not go outside. Breaking out of this building would probably be very easy for two clever young people, like yourselves. But, don't attempt it. You will not be happy with what you run into out there. Trust me."

The tall man turned around and headed for the back again. All of the men followed, leaving Tim and Lex alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tall man went through another door and ended up outside. There were several men with machine guns surrounding the area. They were lined up all the way to the helicopter that was waiting for the tall man. As the man got closer to the helicopter, a woman came out of it and hurried over to him. She was looking nervously around, as she approached. She was his assistant, Loretta Hart.

"Loretta, you need to relax., dear."

"Mr. Envoy, we should be going right now, sir."

"I know, I know. I'm coming."

Loretta took his arm and helped him in. Marcus Envoy was a 63 year old man. In his day, he was a brilliant scientist, developing several inventions for NASA. He was rewarded handsomely for his inventions and had been saving all of his money for some future endeavor.

Back in 1993, when he read about John Hammond's little island experiment, he was enthralled. He had used a fair amount of money to get all the information that he could about it. Then, back in 2001, he was blessed with the best thing possible. He was visited by an agent from the InGen Corporation. He never even got the man's name, as the man was very secretive. The agent agreed to get samples of every dinosaur embryo that he could find. When he delivered, Envoy was overcome with joy. Of course, he had the delivery analyzed for accuracy. When the results came back, Envoy was very happy. Not only were the contents the real thing, but there were six additional species of dinosaurs included. Apparently, Hammond had authorized other species, but decided not to produce them. Most of the six species were carnivorous.

He brought his newly acquired find to the Biosyn Corporation in the latter half of 2001. After researching all the provided test results, they decided on bringing Envoy on board, so they could use his discovery. They had offered Envoy a position in the company. He refused at first, and then finally agreed. They offered him the job of CEO. He would have been really foolish to turn that down.

After his new appointment in the company, Envoy immediately began dreaming about people visiting an island with dinosaurs. An island with dinosaurs they had never seen before, not even on Hammond's island. Dinosaurs that were more dangerous than any living thing today. He began dreaming about an island with better security. An island with solar power. An island where computers would run security, but couldn't be re-programmed by would-be back stabbers. An island with monorails and aerial tours. An island completely safe for visitors.

It would be several months after that agent visit in early 2001, before he would be able to find the perfect location, the perfect trustworthy people to work with, and the perfect government in which to deal with. Everything was coming together beautifully. Until John Hammond found out and began to assemble a team to stop Envoy's dream from coming a reality. The island was already built. The dinosaurs were already produced. Of course, there was all the little tweaking that still needed to be done, but the only real things missing were the visitors and the millions of dollars expected to roll in. Then, John Hammond was suddenly threatening all of it. He had to be stopped.

When his associate, Mr. Bodan, found Lex and Tim in Hammond's house, Envoy decided to go after the children. He knew that Hammond had met with Alan Grant, so he authorized Grant's cousin to be taken. He knew very little about the rest of Hammond's team. There were rumors that Ian Malcolm would be involved, but there was no sufficient proof as of yet. Grant was the only one he knew for sure had met with Hammond. Envoy hoped that by holding innocent children hostage, Grant and Hammond would back off. He would sit tight and wait to see how they reacted.

If it came to actually threatening the lives of innocent children, Envoy would do so. His dream was right on the brink of becoming something great. He wouldn't let Hammond defeat him. He would do anything he had to in order to stop Hammond. His island would survive and flourish, no matter what.


Chapter 8: Plans Change

Alan slowly opened his eyes and rolled over. Ellie was sound asleep, right next to him. He glanced over at the clock. It was 5:30am. He decided to let Ellie sleep a little longer. He gently made his way out of the bed and went to take a shower.

Ellie continued to sleep. She was having another nightmare. Only this one wasn't made up. She was reliving one of her own personal wars with Mark. She kept stirring, as the nightmare went on. It was the first time Mark had hit her. He was drunk and had gone into Charlie's room to yell at him about leaving a toy on the floor. Charlie was way too young to understand, of course. Mark only succeeded in making Charlie cry. Ellie had gone into the room to try and reason with Mark, but was pushed out of the room. Mark came out of Charlie's room and slammed the door. He walked right up to Ellie, grabbed her by the throat, and then slapped her in the face, knocking her down. Ellie sat on the floor of the living room for quite a long time, just holding her nose. It was bleeding really bad. Mark threw his hands up in the air and then left the house. He didn't come back all night.

After Alan was finished with his shower, he went back to the bed. He gently sat on the edge of the bed and just watched Ellie sleep. As he looked at her, he realized what a truly stupid person he really was. He let the love of his life go without much of a fight. Maybe, if he had fought a little harder, Ellie wouldn't have left and she would have never met Mark Degler.

He leaned over and carefully moved a strand of hair away from her face. He was very careful, but still managed to wake Ellie up. She opened her eyes, as she was startled awake. She looked at him and realized where she was. She was very happy to know that she was just dreaming. Alan smiled at her.

"Good morning, sunshine."

Ellie smiled. That was what Alan used to say to her every morning when they would wake up. She really wanted to kiss him suddenly, but she stopped herself. At this point, a move like that would be hard to explain.

"Good morning," she said, stretching out her arms.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks."

Alan nodded.

"The shower is all yours. I'm supposed to meet Ian downstairs sometime between 6 and 7 o'clock. God, I'm not looking forward to that, let me tell you."

Ellie laughed. She made her way to the bathroom. Before she closed the door, she called out to Alan.

"Could you get me some coffee?"

"Black, right?"

Ellie smiled.

"Right."

"I'll get right on it," Alan said.

Alan fiddled with the coffee maker that was in the room. When he plugged it in, it suddenly began to spark, quickly catching fire. He pulled the cord from the wall and started to frantically throw water on the coffee maker. When he finally had the fire contained, he just stood there, looking at the mess he had just made. The fire had traveled very quickly. The entire wall, where the thing was plugged in, was scorched, all the way to the ceiling. He shook his head and went to the phone.

"This is Al . . . uh, Ian Malcolm . . . in room 717. I would like some coffee brought up. Yes, I know there's a coffee maker in the room. Yes, I found that. The one in this room doesn't work. Yes. Okay, thanks."

As Alan hung up the phone, Ellie came out of the bathroom. She looked around and saw the mess, and then she looked at him.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. All I did was plug that damn thing in," Alan said, pointing at the coffee maker.

Ellie laughed at him. Alan looked at the burn marks on the wall and then he looked back at Ellie, who was still laughing. He finally smiled.

"Ha, ha, ha. I'm going to get some ice for my soda," he said.

Ellie nodded. As Alan opened the door, he looked back at her.

"I ordered some coffee for you. It should be here shortly."

"Thanks," Ellie said.

Alan walked out of the room. Ellie shut the door back and began to get dressed.

Alan had to walk down a few hallways to find the ice machine. He found it and then began the trek back to the room. When he reached the room, there was a man there with the coffee, about to knock on the door.

"Oh, here, I'll get that," Alan said.

He gave the man a tip. The man nodded, smiled, gave Alan the coffee, and then left. It was then that Alan realized he had forgotten to take the keycard with him. He knocked on the door. Ellie didn't open it. He knocked again.

The door quickly opened. Before Alan knew what happened, he was grabbed by a man and pulled into the room forcefully. Hot coffee spilled on him, as he fell to the floor. He still didn't see who grabbed him. As soon as he hit the floor, his attacker was right on top of him, hitting him in the face. After a few seconds, Alan was able to push the man away from him. He slowly stood up and looked around the room. He saw Ellie on the floor, next to one of the chairs. Her mouth was bleeding. He turned his attention toward his attacker. It was fairly easy to guess who it was.

"Well, hi there, Mark," he said.

Mark was furious. He had gone back to Ellie's room and didn't find her. All of her things were gone. He had found out which room Alan was staying in and had found some other person. He recognized the man, though. So he had found out which room Ian Malcolm was in and had found Ellie there. They had talked for a few seconds, and then he had gone after Ellie in a rage. Mark had thrown Ellie to the floor and had been pacing back and forth, when Alan had knocked. Now, he went after Alan again.

"Mark!" Ellie yelled, but it was no use.

Mark charged at Alan. This time Alan was more prepared. Mark ran into him and Alan deflected his body and shoved him to the right. Mark fell into the dining table. He ran into it at an awkward angle, and ended up flipping the small circular table over. Alan walked past Mark and farther into the room.

"Let's try and calm down, okay?" Alan asked.

Mark stood up and threw one of the dining chairs in anger. He stared at Alan.

"I'm going to kill you," he said. Then he looked at Ellie. "Both of you."

Alan was close enough to smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Nobody needs to die here. You need to calm down," Alan said again.

Mark reached under his shirt and pulled out a gun. Ellie was shocked. Alan quickly backed away from him.

"Somebody is going to die. Right now," Mark said, waving the gun around.

"Look, Mark, John Hammond is waiting downstairs for me. Right now," Alan calmly said. "If I'm not there in the next few minutes, Hammond will send some people up here to find me. If you kill me, you won't get far. Hammond's men will find you."

"Is that so?" Mark asked.

"Yes," Alan said, hoping that Mark would believe his lie.

There was a knock at the door. Mark was closest to the door, but his back was to it. When he heard the knock, he turned around. Alan seized the moment. He grabbed the lamp that had fell to the floor, hit Mark in the head, and managed to knock him out.

He ran to Ellie, who was trying her best to get up. He helped her and the two of them walked over Mark and opened the door.

It was Malcolm. He looked at Alan and Ellie and shook his head.

"Are you two lovebirds ready to go?" Malcolm asked.

Alan just shook his head. As Alan and Ellie left the room, Malcolm saw a man on the floor, unconscious.

"Who is that?"

"My husband."

"Why is he on the floor?" Malcolm asked Ellie. He looked at Alan. "Don't tell me. I don't want to know."

Alan didn't say a word. He just looked at him.

"Ian, my husband is very . . . mean. Alan was helping me," Ellie said.

"I suggest we go downstairs to talk about this," Alan added.

Alan turned around quickly and went back in the room.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked, concerned.

"Getting the gun," Alan said, as he pried the gun from Mark's hand.

"Gun?" Ian asked. "He had a gun?"

"Later," Alan said to him.

The three of them got into the elevator. No one said a word. The elevator stopped on the lobby floor and opened. Malcolm got out first, and then Alan and Ellie followed.

"Where are we supposed to meet Hammond's team?" Alan asked Malcolm.

"I don't know. I thought you knew," Malcolm answered.

"No."

"Well, let's try the bar," Malcolm offered.

"No, let's not," Alan said.

"You are so very uptight, my friend. You could use a drink," Malcolm said.

"Ian, you are. . . " Alan began to say, as he pointed in Malcolm's face.

Ellie grabbed Alan's arm.

"Please don't finish that sentence," she said to him.

Malcolm put his hands up, in a surrendering gesture.

"All right, all right. I give up. I'll leave you alone," Malcolm said.

"Good," Ellie said, nodding at Malcolm. Then she looked at Alan. "You really don't know where Hammond's team is supposed to be?"

"No, I don't. If I had to guess, I figured they would have met with us at our rooms," Alan answered.

"Hey, Ellie?" Malcolm asked. "Does this mean you're joining us?"

Ellie thought about that question for quite a while. She looked at Malcolm, and then she looked over at Alan.

"Yeah. I think it would be . . . safer . . . for me to accompany the two of you."

"Well, let's try and find Hammond's guys and get this show on the road," Alan added.

"Should we split up?" Malcolm asked.

"Probably," Alan said.

As the three of them were figuring out what to do, an oriental man walked up to them. He looked directly at Alan.

"Dr. Grant?"

Alan looked at the man in a weird way. He was sure he had seen him somewhere before. He finally answered, after Ellie gently hit his arm.

"Uh, yes, yes. I'm Dr. Grant. What can I do for you?"

"Ah! Dr. Grant, I was hoping that was you. My name is Henry Wiggans. I am Mr. Hammond's personal assistant. I believe we met in Montana a couple of days ago."

Finally, Alan could place the familiar face.

"Yes. I remember you. Are you a part of Hammond's team?"

Henry laughed.

"Oh, no, Dr. Grant. I am here with Mr. Hammond. The team won't arrive for about another hour or so."

Malcolm walked in front of Alan.

"Excuse me, hello . . . I'm Ian Malcolm. How do you do?"

Malcolm and Henry shook hands.

"Now that's out of the way. I thought Hammond's team was due to meet us at 7:00am? It's already 7:30am. I can't help but notice . . . Henry . . . that there are no signs of Hammond's team."

Henry was beginning to look a little uneasy.

"Well, Dr. Malcolm, the team had to be re-evaluated and re-assembled because of an unforseen emergency."

Malcolm pointed at the man and yelled.

"HA! You see, Chaos Theory is playing a solid role in this little adventure. You see, Henry, there is no such thing as an unforseen event . . ."

"Shut up, Ian," Alan said. He looked at Henry. "What kind of an emergency?"

"I believe that is Mr. Hammond's place to fill you in. Please, won't the three of you come with me? Mr. Hammond has a conference room booked here at the hotel."

Alan shrugged.

"Sure. Lead the way, Henry."

Henry walked off toward one of the many conference rooms in the MGM Grand. Alan and Ellie followed. Malcolm was still standing in the same place, shaking his head.

"We are all doomed," he said, as he finally started to walk in Henry's direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henry opened the door to the conference room. He looked inside, and after he made sure Mr. Hammond was ready for the visitors, he let them in.

Alan went first.

"John, what is going on?"

Hammond didn't get out of his chair. He talked from where he was.

"I'm afraid something terrible, just terrible, has happened."

"Well, out with it, old man," Malcolm said.

"Ian," Ellie scolded him.

Hammond got up from his chair very slowly, with help from Henry.

"Alan, my grandchildren have been taken."

Alan stood there, not really putting it all together. Ellie spoke up.

"Tim and Lex?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Hammond said.

"Oh, my God. Are they okay?" Alan asked.

"They haven't been harmed, as of yet," Hammond said, looking down. "And that's not all."

"What else?" Alan said, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"They have also taken a little 12 year old girl," Hammond said. He finally looked up at Alan. "Your cousin, Jodie."

Alan was shocked. Jodie was actually Alan's second cousin. She was the daughter of Richard Grant, Alan's cousin.

"Jodie? Why the hell would they take Jodie?"

"Take it easy, Alan," Hammond said, trying to calm him down a little.

"I don't think so. Where did they take them?" Alan demanded.

"To Isla Norte."

"Where is that?" Ellie asked.

Malcolm knew. He answered before Hammond could.

"The third dinosaur island. It's near Mexico."

Alan threw his hands up in the air. He hadn't heard the name of the third dinosaur island until that moment.

"Well, isn't that just great!?" He yelled.

He started to nervously pace back and forth. Ellie went to him and tried to calm him down. She was able to stop him from pacing. She managed to get him to look at her.

"Alan," she whispered. "She's going to be okay. You need to calm down. Please, just calm down. We'll get a plan together to save them. Please, just try to breathe."

As Ellie continued to relax Alan some, Malcolm walked up to Hammond.

"So, what's the plan? Another rescue mission?" He asked.

"Yes. I have brought together three mercenaries to bring back the innocent children."

Alan interrupted.

"So, how long have you known this, John? Before you came to see me? Before Malcolm? How about Ellie? Before her, too?" Alan asked. He was beyond angry.

"Please, I assure you, I knew nothing of this until 4:30 this morning. I got here just as soon as I could. I'm very sorry."

"You're sorry? You're always sorry," Alan said, staring at Hammond. "When do we leave? I want to get underway as soon as possible."

"The men should be here within the half-hour," Henry offered.

"Does Richard Grant know his daughter is missing?" Alan asked.

"No, he doesn't. Not yet. She is enrolled in a private school and isn't due home for three weeks," Henry answered.

"So, the school knows?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, the school knows and has been cooperating with us," Hammond said.

"What did you do, pay them off, too?" Alan snapped.

Ellie grabbed his arm.

"Maybe we should take a walk. Okay, Alan?"

"You guys really shouldn't wander around the hotel with your gun-wielding husband on the loose," Malcolm said.

Hammond looked at the three scientists in a puzzled manner. He hadn't known a thing about Ellie's husband. He made a mental note to himself, to check into that.

Ellie hadn't thought about Mark since she walked into the conference room. Malcolm made a good point.

"The conference room next door is unoccupied, if the two of you would like to go there," Henry offered.

Ellie nodded.

"Yes. That's a good idea," she said. She looked at Alan. "Come on. Let's go next door."

She didn't give Alan a chance to answer. She pulled him toward the door and out of the room. When they were inside the other conference room, Ellie just stood back and let Alan take out his frustrations on the furniture. He threw several chairs around, pounded the table with his fists, and then hit the walls over and over again. After a few minutes of this, he finally settled down and collapsed into one of the chairs that was still upright. Ellie knelt down next to him.

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" She whispered.

He looked up at her. She noticed his eyes were watered up. He stared at Ellie for a bit, as a million thoughts ran through his head. He finally spoke.

"I have never even met her," was all that he could manage to say.

"Jodie?"

"Yeah."

Ellie leaned toward Alan and embraced him.

"She's going to be fine because you and I are going to get her out of there."



Chapter 9: Welcome To The Island


70 Miles West of the Baja Peninsula - Daytime

Jodie Grant was sitting quietly in a helicopter. She had only been awake for about 5 minutes. She looked around the helicopter, trying to get her bearings. She counted four dark dressed men in the helicopter, plus two pilots. Behind the pilots, sitting in separate bucket seats, were two of the men. In the rear, in a bench-like seat, were the other two men. Jodie was also in the rear, in between the two men on the bench-like seat. As far as she could tell, all of them were armed. She was understandably scared. She looked at the man to her right.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked the stranger.

He looked at her, with a blank expression on his face.

"No talking," he simply said.

Jodie obeyed the man. She just sat there, trying to figure out what had happened.

She had been whisked away in the middle of the night by some strangers. She had been sound asleep in her dorm room, when two men came crashing through the 4th floor window, into her room. She was startled out of bed and quickly tried to run to the door. She was met by two additional men there. There were three other girls in the dorm room with her, and all of them, including Jodie, had been screaming. One of the men had come very close to Jodie and had injected her with something. She had instantly felt wobbly and sleepy. That was the last thing she remembered. Now, as she woke up, she found herself on her way to some unknown destination.

The man on her left looked down at her.

"You have no idea why you are so important, do you?" He asked.

Jodie shook her head. She could feel herself shaking.

"Where am I?" She asked again, hoping this other man would be more helpful.

"You're in very good hands, don't worry," he answered.

Jodie was growing tired of the confusing questions and answers.

"Who are you?" She asked.


"I will be your only friend on our little journey, so don't act up," he said.

Jodie was about to temp fate, and ask another question, when the co-pilot interrupted.

"Jacob. ETA five minutes."

Jacob looked away from Jodie.

"Thank you, Frank," he said.

He looked back at Jodie.

"I think that in about five minutes, a lot of your questions will be answered," he said, smiling.

Jodie didn't say anything. Jacob looked out the window and she followed his gaze. There was nothing but ocean and a small island coming into view, in the distance.

The five minutes went by quickly. Jacob leaned forward and shouted to the co-pilot.

"Frank. Let's not land right away. Let's show our . . . guest . . . the, what should I call it? The scenery," he said.

"Yes, sir," Frank said.

The helicopter flew North and started to make a circle around the island in a counterclockwise direction.

Jacob was looking below, when he smiled and looked back at Jodie.

"Look down there," he said, pointing.

Jodie did what she was told. She wasn't sure what she would see when she looked down there. One thing for sure, she wasn't prepared for what was down there. She exhaled in awe at the unexpected creatures below. The helicopter was flying very low, so Jodie could get a good look at a few herds of prehistoric creatures. There was a herd of Brachiosaurus grazing, just below the helicopter. As the engine and propeller noise got closer, one of them lifted up its head and almost came up level with the helicopter.

Jacob watched Jodie's reaction carefully.

"This is Brachiosaurus Cove. This is where all the plant eating dinosaurs are contained," he explained.

Jodie was clearly very interested.

"Are we on Jurassic Park?" She asked, never taking her eyes off the dinosaurs below.

"No. We're somewhere much better than Isla Nublar," he said. "Welcome to Isla Norte."

Jodie was starting to figure out what all of this might be about. It must have had something to do with Alan Grant, and her relation to him. Why else would she be looking at dinosaurs right now? She also knew that it probably wasn't about something very good. The way she was brought here was proof enough of that.

As she was still trying to grasp what she was seeing, something else caught her attention. Something in the water, just beyond Brachiosaurus Cove. She was sure that she saw something break the surface of the water, and then submerge again. Jacob noticed it, too.

"That's our most prized possession. Elasmosaurus," he said proudly.

Jodie didn't really know what that was. Jacob saw the blank look on her face, so he explained.

"You know. Loch Ness Monster . . . Nessie. It's quite an eater, too."

Jodie nodded and continued to look for it, but it didn't show itself again.

The helicopter gained a little altitude, and then accelerated toward the Southeast corner of the island. Jodie watched, as they flew over a very big bridge and over another smaller portion of the island. It looked like the dinosaurs were contained on the left portion of the island only. She also saw a large runway, just to the right of the helipad. It was located right on the eastern coastline.

The pilot made a completely smooth landing. The two men in front of Jodie opened the doors on both sides of the helicopter and quickly made their way out. Jacob motioned for the other man, sitting to Jodie's right, to get out. He did so, leaving Jacob and Jodie alone in the back area.

"Time to get out," he said.

Jodie nodded and began to get out. Jacob followed her. She turned to ask another question, but Jacob put a finger to his mouth.

"No more questions. Just follow them," he said, pointing ahead at the other men.

Jodie frowned and continued to follow the other men.


Chapter 10: Mercenaries For Hire

Alan and Ellie were standing in the office of the Henderson Executive Airport, waiting for Hammond to join them. Hammond had assured them that this smaller airport would be a much better place to get the mission underway. It was only about a 10 minute drive from the Vegas strip. Alan had been very quiet, since finding out about Jodie. Ellie was next to him, holding his hand. He found that to be very comforting.


Ian was sitting in one of the many chairs lined up in the office. He was very quiet, too. He couldn't believe it, but he actually felt bad for Alan. He understood, all to well, how it felt to have someone that you care about on an island infested with dinosaurs. His former girlfriend, Sarah, had volunteered to go there, of course, but it still brought up the same feelings.

Ian began to think about Sarah, and just how much he had messed up that relationship. If he had only decided to listen to, at least one thing Sarah would say, they might have had a chance. But Ian's top priority had always been himself. It was a very hard quirk to change. Sarah finally decided that changing Ian would be impossible, so she left him. That had been about four years ago. Ian hadn't had another serious relationship since then. And now, the beautiful Ellie was brought back into his life. He certainly thought that was a blessing, although it seemed to him that she and Grant were getting closer. He did have a certain amount of feelings for Ellie, but he knew it would never go further. It was just a matter of time, maybe only weeks, before Grant would win her back from her abusive husband. He was sure Grant had no clue, though. Grant didn't seem to be all that keen on relationships. Ian figured that Grant would be totally surprised when Ellie would want to rekindle whatever they had. He looked over at them and decided to take a little walk. He got up and walked up to them.

"I'm going to take a quick look around, maybe try to find a vending machine. I'll be right back."

Alan nodded.

Ellie took the opportunity to talk to Alan, while they were alone.

"Alan, you okay?"

"Yeah."

Ellie decided to change the subject.

"Do you know when our luggage was brought to us? I don't remember Hammond making arrangements."

"About 10 minutes ago. You were in the restroom."

"Who brought it?"

"Henry."

"By any chance, did Henry mention if Mark was still up there?"

Alan looked at her.

"He didn't say. You want me to go find Henry?"

"No, that's all right."

Alan took a good look at Ellie. Her face was slightly swollen, where Mark had obviously hit her that morning. Her lip was cracked open, too. He reached up and gently touched her face.

"I'm sorry I've been so hard to handle for the last hour. I was so caught up in my own life problems, I managed to put your problems in the back of my mind."

"I'm just hoping that Mark doesn't follow us here."

"Did you call your kids again?"

"Yes. I talked to them and to my mother. She's going to take them to Florida for a week. The kids are very excited about the vacation. I'm just glad they'll be away from Mark."

Alan smiled.

"What is it?" Ellie asked.

"You warned me about Mark, but I was still shocked about just how big he was. The guy is a mountain."

Ellie managed a smile, too.

"I told you."

"I'm pretty sure that he could kill me," Alan said.

"I know."

Alan laughed.

"Well, at least we're getting very far away from him, although I don't think man-eating dinosaurs are going to be much better."

"I agree," she said.

As Alan and Ellie were talking, Ian came back. He was looking past them.

"Well, it looks like the cavalry has arrived," Ian said, pointing.

Alan and Ellie turned. Henry was walking toward them. There were three very mean looking men walking behind him. When Henry and the three men reached them, Henry made the introductions.

"Doctors Grant, Malcolm, and Sattler . . . this is Craig Parker, Pete Johnson and Tilk."

They were all taken with the name Tilk. Of course, Ian had to say something.

"Tilk? Tilk? What is that? Is that short for something?"

Tilk was the biggest of the three men. He was 6'7" and 270 pounds. He stared at Ian, but didn't say a word. Craig spoke for him.

"Tilk is his name. End of story."

Ian backed off. Tilk may have been the biggest of the three, but the other two men were still taller than Ian.

"Oh, okay, then. My apologies there . . . Tilk."

Tilk took a few steps toward Ian, physically backing him up. Alan cut in.

"Okay, okay. We're all working together here, so let's not get carried away."

Tilk was right next to Alan now, as he had Ian backed up way past Alan and Ellie. Tilk slowly turned his gaze toward Alan. He stared at Alan. Again, he didn't speak. He just stared. Alan felt very intimidated. Twice, in the same day, he felt that his life was being threatened.

"That will be just about enough of that," Hammond said.

Alan and Tilk, along with everyone else, turned to see Hammond in an airport wheel chair. Henry had brought him in. Tilk turned back toward Alan and stared again. Then, he finally went over to Hammond. Alan started to breathe again. Ellie grabbed his hand.

Hammond smiled.

"Okay. I think everything is ready to go. There is a helicopter waiting for you on the tarmac. Private, of course. Private . . . and unknown," Hammond said. Then he added. "Spared no expense."

Alan nodded, and then shook his head. Hammond continued to talk.

"Oh, and these three men have enough fire power to go around. I made sure to pay for extra, for the three of you."

"Thanks," Ian said.

Alan shrugged. Guns were probably not going to be all that much help against the dinosaurs, but they would be useful against the humans. He watched the three mercenaries leave the office and go outside. Henry had helped Hammond get right up next to Alan.

"Alan, I'm not coming along. I would only hold things up, I'm afraid."

"That is completely understandable, John."

Hammond gripped Alan's arm.

"Please, bring them back. Bring them all back."

"I will, John. I will," Alan said.

Alan began to look through his bag, but then stopped when he thought of something to ask Hammond.

"Oh, and John?" He asked, and then he whispered. "I would love to know why on earth you would invite Ian Malcolm."

Hammond started to answer, but Alan stopped him short.

"You can tell me when we get back."

Hammond smiled.

"Very well, then. I wish all of you good luck and a speedy return."

Alan smiled. He quickly dug through his bag and found his lucky hat. He put it on and slung the bag over his shoulder. He picked up his suitcase and began to follow the mercenaries, from a distance.

When Ellie saw him put the hat on, she smiled at him. She knew how important little things like that were to Alan. She had her own little lucky blue pendant that she kept with her at all times. It was something Alan had given her quite a few years ago and she had just always kept it. She had it in her pocket right now. She grabbed her suitcase and followed Alan.

Ian was right behind them. He caught up to Alan and began to laugh. Alan looked at him.

"Nice hat," Ian said.

Alan smiled. He looked at Ian, who was wearing all black, right down to his sunglasses.

"That's a nice little gothic number you're wearing, as well. Do you own anything with color?"

Ian smiled at him.

"Okay, boys, let's stop fighting. I don't want to have to ground both of you," Ellie said.

They continued to make their way to the helicopter.


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"JP: New Beginnings-Chapters 11-15"