Sorry for the delay. I ran a scene in this chapter by a reader to see if it works, if it sounds real. I got the green light ten minutes ago :)
Thank you, Tamuril2!
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Her shoes clicked loudly on the hard floor, announcing her presence before she was even around the corner.
Claire Dearing hadn't been to Medical all too often since she had become park operations manager, thank god, but when she had had to be here, it had mostly involved serious injuries or her friend Owen Grady.
This time it was connected to Owen, but he wasn't the one in an examination room, bleeding, with broken bones or worse. This time it was an intern.
Mason Green. Son of Henry William Green, self-made man who had worked hard getting to where he was today, founding a successful chain of restaurants called On The Menu. Claire had been to one or two, found the food tasteful and affordable, the menu small and changing every day according to what the chef had found on the markets.
Henry was a reasonable man, aware where he had come from, and a friend of Masrani. His son wasn't. The boy thought money defined the world, made him better, gave him power. There had been several complaints about him already, especially since he threw his nonexistent weight around.
Interns were treated the same wherever they came from, whatever their parents did for a living, how much money they had. There was no VIP treatment.
Carter was at her side, a black-clad, silent shadow, still armed, still looking like he was about to go into battle. He was only wearing his side-arm, not the assault rifle, but even without any visible gun he would be fear-inspiring. He commanded respect through his posture alone, and he radiated silent threat.
Right now Claire was all for that image. While she projected calm composure, inside she was screaming mad. In the time it had taken to get here, Carter had briefed her on what had really happened at the raptor paddock, too. She had wanted his opinion and he had given it to her, without showing her footage.
Then the footage had come in form of brief video clips on a tablet.
And Claire had wanted to physically drag Mason Green off the island herself. By his ears, since grabbing him by his private parts might be considered sexual harassment.
"Maybe I should have acted sooner," she murmured.
"Complaints are normal," Carter said matter-of-fact. "You get them from everyone who starts working here, probationary or as an intern. We followed up on them and Mr. Green's complaints were unfunded. Especially concerning his treatment by his supervising trainers. He complained about a lack of respect and their inadequacy. No one else lodged complaints. Maybe he should have been pulled off the list for the raptor program the moment he stood out this negatively. I heard DD is a good way to get back at morons like him."
Claire almost laughed. DD was dung duty, which meant cleaning up after the animals. Mucking stables was never fun, especially when it concerned predators. And the Aviary was the worst.
"Annika," she greeted the doctor who was waiting for them.
Svensson looked serious, rather grim, and from the crossed arms and the steep line between her eyebrows, she was in no better mood than Claire. She simply showed it openly.
"Hello, Claire. Mr. Carter." She nodded at the chief of security. "Your men have already taken up positions. While I would normally protest such posturing, right now I want to just hug you."
Carter's eyebrows climbed. Claire found herself smiling despite the situation.
"How is Mr. Green?"
"Aside from a few bruises and maybe one pulled muscle, he is completely fine. I've seen keepers and trainers with worse after getting bowled over by an enthusiastic baby. Mr. Green seems to think he is dying and only stopped his screaming and crying when security showed up. Good choice, Mr. Carter. Where did you find them? A steroid lab?"
Carter smiled humorlessly. "He's naturally big. And predestined for such jobs."
"My niece cried less with a scabbed knee. She's three. That guy… he'll be out of here the moment my signature is under the release."
That bad. Huh. Well, Claire figured it eased her job, though.
"He won't be kept here over night," Annika went on. "I can't guarantee one of my nurses or doctors wouldn't sedate him just to stop the words coming out of his mouth." Her face reflected nothing but distaste. "I should stay neutral as a doctor, but I know Owen Grady, I know his work, I know what he does to ensure everyone at the paddock is safe. I'd like to sedate Mr. Green, too. And you never heard me say that, Mr. Carter."
"I keep getting this ringing in my ears," was Carter's dead-pan reply.
"I'd like to talk to him," Claire stated.
"I think he'd like a bunch of lawyers to sue our asses off. I think there will be yelling. If it gets too much, let me know. We have a good psychiatrist who might just lock him away for delusions and whatever disorder we can find," Annika told her with a nasty tone to her voice. "Room 3. Have fun."
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"I want Grady fired!" Green screamed the moment Claire walked into the examination room.
A mountain of a man, clad in the black security outfit, nodded at her and Carter. He was at least two heads taller than Claire, with dark hair and dark eyes, and looked like a professional surfer. His square features didn't so much as twitch at the outbreak from Green.
"Mr. Green," Claire greeted him calmly. "My name is Claire Dearing, if you might recall. We met the first day you were hired as an intern by Masrani Global."
Mason looked pale, had a bruise on his forehead, but otherwise there were no visible marks. The rest was hidden underneath the unflattering hospital gown. Claire had no idea who the nurse in charge of Mr. Green was, but she wanted to shake her hand and laugh with her. The gown was bright pink with yellow duckies on it.
"I know who you are!" he huffed. "And I want Grady's ass fired! He nearly killed me!"
"That is not within your power to demand."
"He sent those monsters after me!"
"Mr. Green, you broke into a dinosaur paddock. The raptor paddock, to be precise. You encroached on a wild animal's territory after explicit warnings given to you multiple times. That is breaking and entering, coupled with animal endangerment."
"The only one endangered was me! Those things wanted to eat me! And Grady gave us the access key!"
"Mr. Grady has done no such thing. We have the access logs. You used an InGen emergency override."
"Which he gave us!" Green whined.
"Most certainly not." Claire nodded at Carter. "Mr. Carter is the head of security. You might remember him from the basic orientation courses. He is in charge of those emergency procedures. Who has access to the overrides, Mr. Carter?"
"Myself, my second-in-command, Lieutenant Hamada, and yourself, Ms. Dearing."
Mason looked even more pale, but that could be because of his shocking morning.
"So for you to have this code to access a locked gate with a cycling security code only known to Mr. Grady himself, you must have stolen it. That would be theft with a good side of industrial espionage."
He gaped. "No! I didn't… I got them from someone else. I didn't steal anything."
"Who was that person then?"
He seemed to think hard and fast for a second. "Tomasz. Gregory Tomasz. He knows someone and he got the codes to me."
"Why would he do such a thing?"
Mason shrugged. "How should I know?"
Claire's eyes narrowed a little. "Let me rephrase that question, Mr. Green: you were the one who entered the raptor paddock, unaccompanied. You typed in the code. You claim Mr. Tomasz stole the codes and gave them to you. Why would he give the code to you? Did you pay him?"
"No! He just… he just gave them to me. Just like that, right?"
Her expression didn't shift and Carter's brows lowered a little. "We will investigate your claims, Mr. Green, and let me reassure you, the truth will come out. False accusations are not to be taken lightly, especially with the already long list of offences you have committed. You either hacked the system personally or you had someone do it for you," Claire stated coolly. "Breaking into a private corporation's network, stealing access codes, and who knows what else you downloaded while you were in there, that is industrial espionage."
"It wasn't me! I told you! Tomasz was the one!"
"Maybe it was you. Maybe it was someone else, someone you paid. We will find out which it is. But even if Mr. Tomasz acquired the codes illegally, it was you who entered the paddock without a certified official accompanying you. Unlawful entry. You signed a contract when you started here. It states that no intern, student or working student is allowed inside the dinosaur enclosures without an official present. No exceptions."
"Grady allowed us to go in there!"
"I have statements from several of your colleagues that contradicts that sentence. Even if anyone of my people had said so, it would be up to you to follow the rules and not enter. You should not keep digging your own grave deeper than it already is, Mr. Green."
"I'm seriously hurt! I'm going to sue this park and ruin it!" Green yelled all of a sudden. "I might be dying!"
Claire wondered if he would start frothing soon. He looked like it. Mason Green was becoming more and more of a spoiled child.
"You have bruises," she told him, matter-of-fact.
"I could be bleeding internally. Those animals are vicious and need to be put down!"
Carter's expression remained stony, as did the troopers who was still guarding Green. Claire wanted to slap the guy and she knew she was probably showing it.
"If the velociraptors had truly attacked, you wouldn't be here complaining. We might not even be talking ever again. A velociraptor doesn't take hostages. You were told about the raptor paddock, the dangers and the correct behavior. You, like every intern and student, participated in mandatory safety training. There was an equally mandatory extra segment about velociraptors."
"No one told me about that!"
"I have your signature."
"Faked! I was never told…"
Claire silenced him with an icy look. "Six witnesses place you in that training. As well as electronic logs required as you sign in every day. Please, Mr. Green, be reasonable."
"I'll sue!" he exclaimed. "You will go down! Hard!"
"I'm looking forward to seeing you try," she replied neutrally.
"My parents will hear about this!"
"They already have."
He flinched. "W-what?"
"You contact information in case of an emergency or an accident lists your parents. I called them, gave them detailed information on what occurred here. Your father is a very reasonable man, I have to say. He asked very specific questions and finally expressed his disappointment in your."
Green was pale as a sheet now.
"He has arranged for your flight home. You'll be on the first ferry out of here. Mr. Ahulani here will accompany you to the dock, and wherever else you might have to go in the meantime. Even the bathroom. He will eat with you and he will sleep in the same room. He is your shadow. Your personal belongings will be packed and shipped separately."
"You can't do this! I'm the victim here!"
Claire gave him a thin smile. "I believe that there have been victims here, but you are not one of them. The intern program has been officially cancelled for the time being. They have to thank you for that, Mr. Green. Your security clearance has been officially revoked. You will get a review of your time here in the mail."
He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, no words coming out.
"Your medical file will be sent to your personal physician for possible later treatment. Please be aware that everything that happened in the paddock has been recorded. All medical procedures following your removal from the raptor paddock have been reviewed by three separate individuals and signed. The file is tamper-proved. I wish you a good journey home, Mr. Green."
"You can't do this!" he screeched.
"I already have."
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When the door closed after them, Mason's personal guard still inside and not leaving him out of their sight, Claire expelled a sharp breath.
She looked at Carter.
He smiled humorlessly. "Yeah," he agreed to her unspoken expletive. "He'll be a handful."
"I think your guys can handle him."
"Roy has five kids, ranging from six to seventeen. He knows how to handle a brat like him."
Claire chuckled. "That's special training," she agreed. "I'll have someone pack up his belongings. I'd like to have two witnesses present to make sure we don't get a complaint about broken or missing things."
"I'll have Hamada be there."
"I think one of the conservationists can be bothered with it, too. They might just be standing in line. Thanks, Dan."
"You're welcome. And, Ms. Dearing? Well done."
She inclined her head at the praise.
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Claire left Medical after a brief nod at Annika. She felt in need of a stiff drink.
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Alan was there the next morning, looking grim, holding out a breakfast bag from Winston's. At seven in the morning, Owen had been up and about for two hours now, running on three cups of coffee and a cream cheese bagel.
"How bad is it?" he asked as he pulled out Winston's version of an egg-and-bacon muffin. It was huge, very tasty and probably unhealthy as fuck.
He didn't care.
Alan shrugged. He had a large to-go cup in one hand, munching on a plain croissant. "Claire is unavailable. Carter is holed up in the control center, probably combing through the evidence. Security is extremely tight. I needed to show my credentials to just get onto the road leading here."
Owen chuckled.
"How is the pack handling it?" Alan asked.
"Good. Really good. Then again, for them it was nothing extraordinary. They defended their territory and put an usurper of the alpha's rank into their place."
Grant's eyebrows rose a fraction. "They defended your place with them," he echoed, not even adding the question mark.
He shrugged. "Yep."
There was a scuffle from the paddock, then a bellow.
"Delta is spoiling for a fight," Owen explained. "The moment Carter gives me the green light we'll be out there and running. They need to work off the energy."
"No kill," Alan murmured.
"It's not about the kill. It's about pent-up aggression without an outlet. They would never have killed him, but he fainted and robbed the pack of some bullying."
Alan gave a breathy laugh. "So you five are stuck here at the moment?"
"For twenty-four hours. After that I'm taking them for a hard run. They need this, Alan. Actually, I need this, too."
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The cameras had come down. Installed only because of the interns, students and working students, Owen disconnected them from the live feed, then took down the whole construction. They had served their purpose.
At the time it had been a matter of safety concerns and security. Strangers would be traipsing around the paddock area and Carter had been less than amused about the lack of general surveillance. He had understood Owen's concerns, but he had been adamant.
So the cameras had been installed.
Five months.
Owen was only too happy to take them down and pack them up.
Barry had been a silent helper, leaving the paddocks to Owen as he took care of the property around it.
"Good thing they were there when they were needed," Devoe finally said when they closed the lid of the trunk.
Lorenzo would pick up his precious cameras and he had promised to look into reconfiguring them for the restricted area.
Owen grunted.
Yes, it had been a good thing, but he hadn't really felt well with the general idea of getting recorded doing what he did. Carter had promised him the feeds would be on a separate server, that no one would watch live, but the feeling had remained.
"Okay, done." Barry straightened and looked around the property. "All clean and back to normal, hm?"
"Can't say I'll miss them," Owen growled.
Barry raised an eyebrow. "Not all were bad."
"Nope. But the bad ones stand out and remain in your memory the longest."
"One guy destroyed the chance for a dozen others to study raptors. Too bad."
"They have twenty other species. The moment Carter renews their security clearance."
None of the interns were currently allowed anywhere other than where normal tourists could go. Owen had no idea what the fall-out of the whole fiasco would be, but he would make damn sure his girls wouldn't suffer for this idiot.
"They all understand." Barry's expression was serious. "I talked to some in the last hours. They're mad as hell at Green. Almost all stepped forward to vouch for you, how you handled protocol and safety."
Owen gave him a tiny smile. "Yeah, well, thanks."
They carried the trunk into the shed and Barry accepted a cold drink. Sitting together, watching the raptors mill around or just doze in the shade, Owen felt some of the tension drain away.
He had his paddock back.
Even if it had happened through a harebrained accident that might have repercussions just yet.
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Barry left an hour later after receiving a call from Carter for a follow-up statement of events.
"You'll be okay," he said before he got on his ATV. "All of you. I know it."
Owen nodded and shook his hand. "Good luck."
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He spent the rest of the day going through the camera logs from there restricted area, distracting himself from thinking about Mason Green and his still-burning anger. Two were down with no feeds coming in. Another was graying out. A third was on and off, like a loose wire.
He would have to take a look at that.
Everything else was looking normal. The usual birds, monkeys and lizards. Now and then a compy could be seen nosing around.
He yawned.
Well, Owen would take the pack for a prolonged visit to check on the downed cameras soon.
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Simon Masrani called him late in the afternoon.
"I heard what happened," he said.
Impeccably dressed, tie as always missing, the billionaire sat in front of the screen in his office, looking part concerned CEO and part even more concerned investor.
"And you know the consequences."
"You have one more month, Owen."
"No. It's over. It was a trial period and it got shot down a month early. I'm not negotiating another student-intern-whatever visit. My pack, my rules. You gave that vote."
Masrani inclined his head. "I did. You are the alpha and I have to defer to your judgement here."
"You saw the tapes, I believe?"
Masrani sighed. "Yes. A very stupid mistake to make."
"Not a mistake. He wanted to impress his friends, show off and discredit me. He didn't take this seriously enough. We're talking predators here, Simon!"
"Very clever predators," Masrani agreed.
"Wherever you wanted to put him, don't. He's a show-off. He wants to shine, be in the limelight. And Mr. Mason Green takes no advice from seniors. Worst mistake ever."
"I agree. He has already been removed from the possible candidates list. I believe he might be filing a lawsuit against us."
"Let him."
Masrani chuckled. "Yes, indeed. He has signed enough papers that whatever he claims he is entitled to, won't be what he gets. The material collected is without doubt. The raptor enclosure was locked. He was recorded entering a code that changes daily. According to Mr. Carter's computer expert he didn't use your code, Owen. It was a safety override, only known to InGen and only accessible for the team leaders. It seems Mr. Green came well-prepared. He was also on site without permission since he didn't have work that day. There are very clear and detailed recordings of what he did in the paddock and how the pack reacted. My lawyers are having a field day. They have won more with less, and this material is plenty to make a water-tight case. You and the pack are safe."
Owen breathed a tiny thank you of relief. "Who gave him the code?"
"That is still under investigation. I believe Mr. Green is under the delusion he can make a deal, as he claims, giving us a name in exchange for dropping all other charges." Masrani's expression was cool, business-like. "He cannot. There will be no deals."
"And the program has ended," Owen stated.
The billionaire nodded. "For you and the velociraptors. Mr. Carter is currently busy checking backgrounds on all other remaining participants of the program. The moment he has cleared them, they'll be back working in the park. May I ask, what about Mr. Devoe?"
"Yes to occasional assists. No to a permanent position. He's good, Simon, I agree to that." Owen drummed his fingers onto the desktop. "He's not talented. Not a preternatural."
It wasn't even a question. He knew the man was not preternatural. Owen had gotten good at recognizing fellow talented people.
"And if he was?"
"Not even then. Too dangerous. Despite their connection to me, the girls have primal instincts. As the alpha I have a direct line to them, able to get to them, but it's no guarantee that I'm safe, Simon. Not even me."
He raised his eyebrows.
"I can keep them at bay, but the risk is too great." Owen leaned back and sighed. "No one works with us but who I say can. I'm the alpha."
"You are. It's back to square one then?"
"I wouldn't say square one. We now know that students and raptors don't mix. Give them the flyers or the rex. Or push them off to the petting zoo."
Masrani chuckled. "I just might."
"What happened to Patricia? Miss Fisher?"
"Her access has been revoked like all the others, but she is currently restricted to office work on the mainland until we have cleared her of any pending charges in connection to Mr. Green. Would you recommend she return?"
"Not exactly the best time to ask me that, Simon. Ask whoever she worked with before I kicked her out. I might think about her review in a few days."
Masrani laughed softly. "I will."
Owen signed off after a little small talk and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
Owen?
"I'm good," he mumbled. "And we will be, too."
tbc...