We are really getting in the thick of things plot-wise. But next chapter will be a break from the seriousness, and I'm really super pumped about it.
Bridgette frowned at her laptop. Something was wrong. None of the cameras from the harnesses were uploading to her computer, and that put them behind tremendously. How were they supposed to control something they couldn't see? Even the security feed had been spotty lately, like it was projecting to too many computers at once, which made no sense because Bridgette had the only functioning computer on Isla Nublar.
Or so she thought.
To make matters worse, the microchips were starting to malfunction, and Bridgette didn't know why. Wu was no help; he was overly confident in his ability to innovate, convinced that his inventions could never fail. Well, they were failing, whether Wu wanted to admit it or not. She couldn't get some dinosaurs to do exactly what she wanted, like the other day when she tried to make one of their stegosaurs attack an old Jurassic World triceratops, and it had dug its heels into the ground, resisting the temptation coming from its own mind.
Worst of all, Hunt had made her abandon the control room, where most of her tech stuff was, because he didn't like to stay in one place for too long. They had relocated to the raptor paddock, staying in the same pit that the redhead and that hot guy had slept in for a few nights.
They had left the place a mess, too. Blood everywhere, first aid supplies strewn all over the place, and even a badly torn shirt. Bridgette supposed this was where Claire had nursed the guy, whom Bridgette had scratched up real nice with the claws of their Indominus. Bridgette smiled. That had been a fun day.
She sighed, looking out at the raptor paddock. Hunt was out there, experimenting with Alice. He wanted to see how far he could push her without killing her, and so far, Alice was growing fiercer, more dangerous. Maybe Hunt was being cruel to Alice, but that didn't particularly bother Bridgette. She wanted to see Alice kill that other raptor. In with the new, out with the old. That was the goal.
But if those stupid microchips kept acting up, there might not be a new to replace the old. In which case, it would finally be time to test the 'K' in Project K.
And really, that was all Bridgette wanted.
…
"Why do you always come back with those…bruises on your neck whenever you two are alone? I do not need to see that, Claire," Lowery said, cleaning his glasses on the old Jurassic Park t-shirt he'd purchased from eBay.
Owen hid his smile by pressing his face into Claire's hair.
Lowery was looking at them in disapproval. "You guys need a chaperone or something. Seriously."
"Okay," said Claire, attempting to change the subject. "We overheard a conversation between Hunt and Wu, and they mentioned something called a shock-switch. Have you heard of those?"
Lowery scratched his head. "Not that I can think of."
"I know it has something to do with these," said Owen, holding up the Project K files covered in math problems. Claire glared at the pages, mad at them for not stating their purpose clearly. She hated bad organization. "These numbers mean something, but I bet we won't know what until InGen wants us to."
Claire felt sick. Why had anyone allowed InGen to sign on with Jurassic World in the first place? They had always been a shady company with too much power for their own good.
She sat down, no longer having the strength to stand. Owen followed suit, laying his hand on top of hers to remind her that she wasn't alone.
"How far up does this go?" Claire wondered aloud, looking from Owen to Lowery. Her head was spinning; she felt as if she was falling apart. "Is the Board corrupt too? How many employees were secretly working for them?"
"And why?" asked Owen. "Why are they here? Why does Project K exist? What purpose does it have?"
"Not a good one," said Lowery, stating the obvious.
Claire looked at Owen. "You said you knew Hunt from the military?"
Owen nodded, running his fingers across the small, circular scar on his chest that Claire figured came from a bullet. "He was a jerk. Always pounding on the new recruits, telling them they were worthless. He hated the fact that I had been promoted above him. He didn't like listening to people; he's one of those guys who shouldn't be in charge, but thinks he should be."
Claire frowned. "What about the girl that's with him? Who is she?"
Lowery rolled his chair back with a squeak. "I think I might know." He gestured to his computer screen, which was showing a list of InGen employees. Owen was on there, to Claire's mild surprise. She had forgotten that he technically worked for InGen.
Lowery scrolled down to the very bottom, past the pictures of Hoskins and Barry, the other guy hired to work with the velociraptors, until reaching a photo of a skinny blond girl with weirdly pinched features.
"Bridgette Trakowski," read Owen. "I've never heard of her."
"Me neither," said Claire. "I never really paid much attention to InGen; they didn't draw attention to themselves."
"Now we know why," said Lowery. "They were too busy being devious." He clicked off of the InGen website, going back to the security feed. Claire saw the ruins of what used to be Jurassic World flashing onscreen.
She sighed, wanting to go home, to have just one day where she didn't have the weight of the world on her shoulders.
"I need a break," Claire said. "I can't go on like this anymore." She gestured to herself and the dirt that covered her body. "I feel disgusting, I'm hungry, I…I need a shower."
"Well," said Owen slowly. "We could go to my place. There's food there, and water."
"Don't Hunt and that Bridgette girl know where you live, though?" asked Lowery.
Claire frowned. The Indominus had found them at his bungalow first, but they hadn't seen it since the raptor paddock, and the idea of actually being clean was so tempting that Claire couldn't resist.
"I'm going to try for it," said Claire. "Owen? You coming?"
"Of course," he said, standing up and strapping his gun onto his shoulders. "Lowery?"
Lowery glanced up at them, and then back at his computer. "No thanks. I value my life."
Claire shrugged. "We'll bring you back some food."
"Keep an eye on my raptor," said Owen. "I don't want anything entering that paddock without my knowing. Something wounded her out there, and I have a feeling it isn't finished yet."
…
"I have a bad feeling about this," said Owen as they walked across the park towards his little house. They were going around the raptor paddock, steering clear of the woods where the Indominus had slashed Owen.
As much as she hated to admit it, Claire did too. "I know. I don't like not knowing where Hunt is."
Lowery had been keeping Claire updated on the security feed, telling her that Bridgette and Hunt were not in the control room, and he hadn't found them on any other cameras yet. It made Claire nervous; they could be anywhere right now, laying in wait with an army of flesh-robot dinosaurs. It was a terrifying notion, but one that was entirely possible.
"When we get this place up and running again, I am shutting down InGen. Or at least disconnecting them from Jurassic World and taking down all of their little 'side projects'," Claire said, putting her hands on her hips, her eyes flashing in anger.
Owen laughed. "Just look at them like that and they'll run away with their tails between their legs."
The corners of Claire's mouth turned up in a small smile. "I could fire you, you know. I'm your boss."
Owen looked down at her, his eyebrows raised. "You wouldn't fire me."
"And why not?"
"You love me," he teased, sliding his arm around her waist.
Claire smacked his shoulder, enjoying their lighthearted banter. It kept her mind off of Project K and those mysterious switches.
That was when they heard the gunshot echo across the small clearing they were crossing. Claire would've screamed, but Owen clamped his hand gently over her mouth to keep her silent. She looked around wildly, her heart beating out of her chest, but there was no visible threat anywhere.
"What-?" Claire whispered, not knowing what to ask.
Owen was standing straight up, listening intently to something. Claire figured her ears were still in shock from the gunshot; all she heard was a weird ringing noise. It took her a moment to figure out that what she was hearing was actually a very high-pitched hiss, almost like a teapot whistling.
"It's a raptor," Owen whispered, looking back towards the paddock curiously. It was a ways behind them now, but Claire could see the outline of a man standing on the observation bridge. He was holding something that Claire supposed was the gun. "Come on."
He pulled her into the shadow of the trees surrounding the clearing, taking advantage of the setting sun. They sneaked over to the very edge of the cage, getting as close to it as they dared. Claire saw Hunt, who was definitely holding a rifle in his left hand, and a small remote control in his right.
He was laughing, a deep, unnatural sound that made the hairs on Claire's arms stand up. She gasped quietly when she saw what Hunt was laughing at; a velociraptor, smaller than Blue but much more colorful; its scales ranging in color from vivid green to a rusty red color. It was lying in the grass, blood seeping out of a small hole in its forearm, looking evilly up at Hunt.
"Get up, Alice," Hunt said, pressing a button on the remote. The raptor, which Claire guessed was Alice, slowly stood, glaring up at Hunt like moving was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had no choice. Claire saw small scars all over its body, particularly its back and forearms, most likely from one of the electronic prods ACU used for emergencies.
Abuse. Hunt was taming his raptor by abusing it, forcing it to acknowledge that he was boss. It was the exact opposite of how Owen treated Blue; there was no trust, no respect. This was fear and control.
"He's already got a microchip in it," said Claire, gripping Owen's arm. "Why is he hurting it?"
Owen was staring at Hunt in silent fury. "He wants to make it completely submissive. He wants it to obey him without the microchip."
"Why?" Claire asked, staring at the poor raptor that was now limping through the grass to retrieve a rat Hunt had thrown at it.
"So he can fight with it without having to bother with a remote. That raptor is what hurt Blue."
"He's training it," said Claire, her eyes widening in shock. "Why?"
"I don't know," said Owen. "They won't be able to do anything for a while. He's got to let her heal, recover from her injuries, once he's sure she's completely submissive."
"But they're going to attack us with it?" Claire asked.
"We're the only people standing between them and all of Jurassic World," said Owen, confirming her fears. "Question is, why are they using a raptor when they could use the Indominus?"
Claire looked back at the injured raptor and then at Hunt, who was pulling a shock-prod out of a small bin at his feet. "Come on," she said. "I can't watch any more of this."
Owen gave Hunt one last dark look and followed Claire back to the clearing, shaking with anger.
AN: Slow chapter, I know. Sorry! I had trouble with this one. But be prepared for fluff, laughter, and joy in the next chapter. Yay!
