married to her microscope?
– Yeah-ah-ah… Years go by, but your humor doesn’t change.
– Sorry. It’s just that for the first time in a whole week I woke up without diarrhea, so my mood is on the rise this morning.
– Actually, I said that your jokes don’t change, but I didn’t say that I don’t like them.
– Got it. My mistake.
Through the phone, it was noticeable how high Miguel’s mood was.
– Well, since you haven’t lost your sense of humor, maybe you can answer the question?
– Which?
– Are you still wearing the third, or have your twins grown to the fourth?
– I don’t know. I have no complaints about the gravity yet.
Miguel appreciated the joke with a loud laugh. After waiting for it to fade, Kayla asked:
– Am I not distracting you from anything there?
– Not really. There are traffic jams in the morning, so I have to walk to work. So everything’s fine. Tell me what you got.
– Listen, I’m calling to say thank you for recommending me to Frost.
– Sorry, I didn’t hear! Dump trucks passed here! Can you repeat it again?
– I say thank you for recommending me to «Best Technologies».
– What recommendation?
– What do you mean «what recommendation»? Frost came to see me today. He said you recommended me.
There was silence on the line for several seconds. Miguel then said:
– Brown-eyed, you are confusing something. I don’t know any Frost.
4. TUCKER HUGHES
With unprecedented bliss he got out of the SUV and headed to a bar near the beach thirty-five kilometers from the city of La Plata, anticipating rivers of rum and whiskey. Forty-five-year-old paleontologist Tucker Hughes spent almost a month in Argentina, leading a group of archaeologists. Over the heading of twenty-three days, they carefully dug up the remains of Megaraptor. Now he, along with his colleagues, planned to get completely drunk and relax to the point of disgrace.
The bar was located on the ocean shore, from where the breaking of waves could be heard beautifully and the sounds of the ocean, together with the moonlight, created an atmosphere especially favorable for parting with a sober mind slowly and in small sips.
Tucker was accompanied by his colleague, a junior researcher at the Department of Paleontology, Jan Vogel, and an employee of the Paleontological Museum in the city of Trelew, Fernando Rivera, who, in fact, reported on the possible find and asked the authorities for permission to involve foreign specialists with great expertise in the excavations.
Hardly had the group of archaeologists completed extracting the remains of Megaraptor when Tucker, Jan and Fernando immediately set off to the coast in unison, leaving behind their work clothes, which still had traces of sand on them.
The waitress took an order for a bottle of rum, a bottle of cognac and three bottles of beer as an aperitif.
Looking towards the arriving waves, Tucker said, keeping a dreamy grimace on his face:
– If in this world you could choose the moment when your life would end, I would choose this one. What could be better when you have the sounds of the surf in your ears, the moon and starry sky in front of your eyes, and a glass of excellent rum in your hand?
– Yes – Fernando confirmed. – Even the loss of virginity cannot be compared with this.
A shadow fell on the table from behind them. They turned around, expecting to see the waitress and their order on the tray.
– Gentlemen, good evening.
It was a stranger, dressed in white trousers and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.
– Are you Dr. Tucker Hughes? – asked the stranger.
– Yes, it’s me.
– Stephen Frost. Very nice – with these words Frost extended his hand and shook Tucker’s hand. – Mr. Hughes, if you don’t think I’m being intrusive, can I distract you for a moment and discuss something privately?
Tucker didn’t even try to hide his surprise. The stranger spoke clear English, and this definitely indicated that he was not from Argentina, or from this continent at all. The accent was very British. Tucker found it difficult to even imagine that someone had flown across the ocean to talk to him about something. It was even more difficult for him to imagine the subject of conversation for which the stranger had crossed such a distance. He looked around, looking for the waitress with the order. Not finding her, he rose from the table and said, extending his hand to the other end of the bar’s veranda:
– Sure. Let’s pass.
Sitting down at a free table in the very corner, Frost asked:
– How is your fossil doing?
– Apparently, it was a large individual.
– Do you regret that it will remain here?
– Do I regret it? – Tucker Hughes said in an indifferent tone. He answered this question while maintaining an absolutely calm face. – No. I was given permission to work with the remains. I can fly here later and continue working on the skeleton at any time. I don’t really care that British schoolchildren won’t be able to see the skeleton of a huge prehistoric monster. In this regard, I am an egoist and a sociopath. Nothing can be done about it.
– I would say a very practical approach to business.
– So – Tucker said, offering to get down to business.
– I represent the company «Best Technologies». Our company is organizing a research expedition to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. We are recruiting a group of scientists. At the moment there is only one free place left. This is a vacancy for a paleontologist. We need a reputable specialist with extensive experience and knowledge of his field.
– You said «to the bottom of the ocean», right? – Tucker asked with some doubt, narrowing his eyes.
– Absolutely right.
The waitress approached the table. Tucker refused the order. Frost wanted a glass of cold mineral water, and then handed the Hispanic woman with the golden tan a fifty-dollar bill, asking her to bring the order when he left the table.
After the girl left, Tucker continued the conversation:
– Of course, I’ve heard a lot about your breakthrough technologies and therefore I won’t ask how you are going to overcome
