"Wake up, Kuzan! Wake up, you're almost late for your meeting!" I was awakened by the banshee screams of my sister, acting more like an alarm clock than a sibling.
Thus, I decided to silence this alarm by throwing a pillow at its head.
"Ow!"
"Just five more minutes..."
This alarm seemed to be of the latest model, as instead of shutting off, it poured a bucket of water over my head.
"Hehehe," the little 'angel' in question chose to run away as quickly as possible, in fear of retribution from the 'Lord.'
"I guess it's good to be back."
[30 minutes later...]
'Hopefully this goes well.' I continued to replay the different scenarios that could occur over and over in my head, not yet fully confident in my success.
'There's simply no way to get the necessary 'evidence' and come back here in time. I'll need to use what I've got to convince the man somehow that I'm not crazy.'
I finally arrived at the meeting location, a lab by the looks of it once I entered the building. 'Cool.'
Still, all the many wonders of this lab couldn't compare to their creator, the genius, world-renowned scientist who was such a pain to meet...
"Mr. Albert Payne, it's so very nice to meet you." I shook the man's hand despite his apparent lack of excitement about the meeting.
"Nice to meet you too, Kuzan. I've heard great things about you from Mr. Tokugawa. I hope that you won't disappoint."
'Looks like it's off to a decent start at least.' I had already informed Mr. Tokugawa in some cryptic words to get him prepared for his arena's new 'guest.'
"Yes, Doctor Payne, I have some very interesting information for a man of your stature who truly appreciates the wonders of science." I introduced the topic of discussion as we made our way to our seats.
"Although currently I can only provide some limited evidence on such short notice and put my reputation on the line for my claim, I truly hope that you would at least not dismiss my claims without giving them some thought."
I could tell the man was already getting bored of the conversation, but it was necessary to lay the groundwork before moving forward.
"I have found the greatest scientific wonder of our history to date." It seemed my statements finally caught the man off guard.
"I'm sure you're aware, Doctor Payne, that humans existed long after the age of the dinosaurs, but what if I told you I had proof to the contrary?"
"What if I told you that I have real evidence of our coexistence?"
"You're speaking nonsense, boy!" It seemed the scientist was already starting to doubt my sanity.
"I'll put my—no, the Rosen family's reputation on the line to validate my discovery if that's enough to convince you to at least hear me out."
"Fine, kid, I'll trust my gut. Spit out whatever you've got to say, otherwise don't waste my time, I'm a busy man!"
"A primitive man from the Cretaceous era preserved perfectly in a saline rock formation."
It seemed the man didn't find my "joke" funny at all, as he decided to literally show me the door by pointing to it.
'I knew you'd be like this, you old folks refusing to acknowledge new things even when they appear on your doorstep.'
Luckily, I was prepared, as just last night after dinner, I was informed by our team's discovery of the 'fossil.'
'Thank God Aunt Elizabeth was able to assure me of their trust and ability to keep a secret, otherwise, I'd much rather have been there myself for the initial discovery.'
Right now, there were only a few people in the world who were currently informed about this discovery, all being either members of my family or our trusted subordinates.
Actions speak louder than words; thus, instead of continuing to argue with the man, I decided to slam a picture of the great specimen on the lab's table.
The man seemed interested and took a quick glance at my supposed 'evidence' before grabbing it with both hands with a swiftness not matching his old age. He looked with widened eyes at the picture, refusing to take his eyes off analyzing the specimen.
'Can't blame him, he's even shown up a few times in my dreams since his excavation.'
"As I'm sure you've figured out, this photo is not doctored in any way. This is truly a photo taken in the state of Colorado, at a Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, 701 meters underground within a rock salt layer 1000 meters thick, which was formed over 190 million years ago."
"And that's not all, Doctor..." I showed the man another photo, this time having it grasped right out of my hands before I could even put it on the table. "This is a picture of what he was fighting, his last 'opponent,' a fully grown Tyrannosaurus Rex."
The man now seemed to be hanging onto my every last word, already too excited to stop shaking in his seat.
"I'm sure you know the value such a find can already bring to the scientific community, surpassing even the archeological field. But what if I told you I could give you more data on the man than you could ever hope to collect from his body alone?"
This time, I could partially hear the man's heartbeat rising and thumping hard in his chest at my next words. "The water trapped within the salt formation, when tested, contained living microbes."
"This time you'll have to take me at my word, Doctor, but..." the man was fully red in the face, finding it hard to even breathe in his excitement, placing both of his hands on my shoulders in anticipation of my next words.
"I'm sure that with your help, we can wake this scientific marvel from his slumber."
The man seemed lost for words, trying to consider the feasibility of my statements ringing true. To any other man I must have sounded nuts, but to him, at least he would hear me out before kicking me out the door. 'Regardless, I'm sure I've got him hooked by now.'
I stopped the man from asking his plethora of questions as he jumped between the 5 W's with amazing stride.
"Stop, please wait for me to finish my proposal, Doctor."
"First, I would like you to understand that although I wouldn't consider myself a man of science, I have tremendous respect for your work, thus I understand the importance of making such a discovery public."
"Believe me, I understand, anything less would be close to traitorous to the entire human race."
"However, there are certain arrangements we must make before revealing the man's presence to the public."
"DON'T TRY TO HIDE YOUR GREED, YOUNG MAN!"
"I can see it in your face, trying to trick me with your honeyed words," the man continued on with a small sigh.
"I've dealt with spoiled little brats like you before, wanting to even gain benefit from such a discovery, such selfishness is disgusting young man. The correct governmental bodies must be informed as soon as possible!"
As I expected from the start, the man seemed irritated by my refusal to relay this information to the United States government.
"I can assure you that it would only be for the benefit of the prehistoric man. I've decided to nickname him 'Pickle,' by the way." I interrupted the man's outburst with a calm tone and professionalism befitting such a discussion.
"Although I am unable to tell you exactly how I've come to this information, I can assure you of its validity. For instance, the prehistoric man is a very proud hunter. If we are able to revive him, we would be forced to maintain his diet with endangered and starved Siberian tigers, for instance, after his last meal runs out."
"Otherwise, the man would rather starve to death. Thus, I would like for you to first find a way to, for lack of a better word, 'clone' his last meal as a sustainable food source before he awakes."
The man seemed extremely suspicious, finding it hard to believe my crazy statements one after the other.
'Yes, yes, I know they're illogical to you, old man, but I have no other choice. I wouldn't have even mentioned anything other than Pickle's existence if I didn't get the necessary proof from our excavation team last night. Plus, no matter how crazy my statements might seem to you right now, I'm sure you won't be able to let go of this opportunity no matter what.'
"There are a number of steps that must be taken before the man can be 'uncovered' truly. I can assure you, Doctor Payne, that I'm not speaking out of greed nor out of self-interest."
The man still seemed unconvinced by my half-truth, so I decided to push a little more, recognizing that my next statements might anger the man more if taken the wrong way.
"If we wanted to use this opportunity to gain even more benefits, I can assure you that we wouldn't be having this conversation right now." I phrased my next words with caution, afraid of upsetting the man further.
"The Rosen family has already filed the necessary legal claim to the findin—"
I was forced to stop in my next 'grand reveal' by blocking the man's slap to my face.
"Please, Doctor, I know you're angry, but I think it would be more beneficial to talk with our words rather than with our fists, don't you think?" I informed the man while feeling a bit of weirdness at the situation, especially considering it was a martial artist telling the scientist to 'think things through'.
The man took my words in review, considering he was rather forced by the situation, especially considering his size relative to my own.
"Speak out your proposal in full, boy, without stopping."
'Finally.' I thought with jubilation at having won half the battle.
'Okay, Kuzan, time to reel him in...'
"The Rosen family, with your collaboration of course, will deal with the necessary negotiations with the United States government in regards to the find when the time comes."
"However, first, as I said before, we have a lot to do, such as the food issue I mentioned before. We will collect all the necessary data on the man before 'waking him.' Only then will we reveal his existence to the public as a national treasure of science."
"I would even be willing to take the man on a world tour myself, as he is a treasure for the whole human race, not just for us."
The man thankfully waited for me to finish before asking questions of his own, which was a common instance in any negotiation.
"And what if I refuse, young man? I'm sure you understand the necessity of revealing his existence to the world as soon as possible. Your insistence on keeping it hidden could very well be taken as treason to the state itself?"
"Why wait? Why not inform them of it right now? What does Pickle being 'awake' have anything to do with it, even if such a thing is possible?" It seemed as if it required all of the man's remaining patience to maintain his seemingly calm state to ask his most crucial questions before 'exploding' once again at my 'selfishness'.
"I can assure you that there is a very important reason for all of it, but I think it would be better to answer your questions after you've seen him in person first."
"I'll send you over a proposal and an NDA to sign if you are willing later, along with some of the information our team has been able to dig up on the man after his discovery once we receive your signed copies of the documents." I said my last statements of my proposal while snatching back my photos and buttoning up my suit to leave.
"I'm sure that you have a lot to think about, Doctor Payne, but I can only wait a day for your decision about whether you're on board. I truly hope that you consider my proposal thoroughly before making a decision."
"Depending on your answer, I might have a similar meeting with Captain Strydum tomorrow that I'll need to prepare for and attend."
"Oh, and Doctor, one last thing..." I turned to the man one last time before exiting his lab, speaking in a low tone as I did so.
"If I find out that you've gone behind my back and decided that your duty to the government is more important than your duty to the field of science..."
"I can assure you that you'll—no, the whole world will never get to see even a glimpse of Pickle ever again," my words hanging in the air after being let out within the now silent lab.
"I look forward to your call, Doctor Payne." I relayed my last 'threat' to the man while handing him a business card from within my accompanying suitcase that completed my look as a professional businessman before exiting the discussion.
'Hahaha, that went perfectly, Kuzan, let's gooo!' I was unable to hide my excitement at the scientist's last reaction to my words. 'He was practically terrified.'
'Now, I just have to wait for his call and everythin—'
"Wait, young man!" It seemed the scientist was much more decisive than I initially expected.
I did my best to hide my widening smile that would be enough to scare Claudius into admitting to his crimes.
I slowly turned around, needing to utilize my [Face Mask] skill to the extreme to hide my expression as I did so.
"Yes, Doctor?" I asked the man, mimicking the sweetness of my sister Melissa as I did so, as it only befitted such a victory of psychological warfare.
"I accept."