Chapter 22

In a break from meeting with Mr. Lockwood, Claire found herself wandering through the Library. Her original plan had been to take a walk through the grounds, but it had started raining not long after she'd arrived at the Estate that morning and hadn't let up. She didn't actually have anything against taking a walk in the rain, (she'd had to get used to rain living on Nublar), but she also wasn't properly prepared to go out in it today, her clothes and shoes likely to be ruined. So, instead, she'd decided to go inspect the dioramas that were set up and take a closer look at the model of Nublar.

Claire had been about 11 years old when the original incident had happened at Jurassic Park. She had a vague recollection of rumours about dinosaurs from that time, but she had been too young, and there had been too much of a coverup happening for it to really mean anything to her. However, she had clearer memories of the San Diego incident a few years later. She, like pretty much everyone alive at the time, had been glued to their TV screen watching the footage of the T. rex barreling through the streets and wrecking havoc.

She couldn't say that the San Diego incident had made her want to have anything to do with dinosaurs. To be honest, the whole thing had actually terrified her, the idea of these, well, monsters, escaping and running loose through her neighbourhood. The way that nothing seemed capable of stopping them. Up until that point, she'd lived a pretty sheltered life. This was all back before the ubiquitousness of the internet, afterall. Back before news would spread around the world in mere seconds after anything happened, before everyone everywhere was always immediately informed.

While the news about San Diego had persisted for several months, it had been simple enough to ignore and Claire had easily retreated to her sheltered life. Afterall, there was school to attend, tests to study for, and guys to gossip about. She hadn't thought twice about dinosaurs for the rest of high school. It wasn't until an internship opportunity had popped up while she was an undergrad, that she even thought about them again. And even then, she hadn't actually known the job had anything to do with dinosaurs when she'd first applied. The whole job posting had actually been pretty vague, really, but it was through the career center at her college, so she'd trusted that they'd vetted it and it was legit.

The first dinosaurs she'd ever seen (not counting the videos from San Diego) were a couple of Triceratops grazing in the area that had eventually ended up being the golf course. The park jeep driver, she couldn't even remember his name now, had stopped, as Claire and the other interns who'd arrived with her had gaped in astonishment as they stared out at their first real sighting of a dinosaur. The Triceratops hadn't even glanced at them, just continuing to slowly munch their way across the field. Even though Claire had lived around dinosaurs for over a decade now, it still blew her mind that they were no longer an extinct species.

Standing in the Library now, staring up at the Triceratops skull, it felt odd to try to reconcile the idea of this one being millions of years old with the actual living Triceratops she had seen just a couple of days earlier. Pushing aside the memories of her original arrival at Jurassic World, she continued past the skull and over to the model of Isla Nublar.

She was in the process of slowly circling around it, taking in the layout of the park, when an odd sound caught her attention and she paused, standing up from her slightly bent position, her head cocking to the side. A moment later, she was sure she heard the sound again. One that sounded eerily like what she was used to hearing on Nublar, but not anywhere else. Was that a dinosaur? Standing still for a minute, Claire listened intently, but the sound didn't repeat.

She must be mistaken, she concluded. After all, why would she be hearing a dinosaur here of all places? It was probably just her mind filling in sounds from home as she stood there surrounded by so many fossils and dioramas of the creatures she was more used to seeing alive, than as figures frozen in time.

Bending over again, she refocused on the various paddocks dotted across the model. Most of them contained toy dinosaurs, indicating what species was designated to go where. One, however, was sitting empty. She wondered what species was missing.

"The Stegosaurus," a small voice answered her, and Claire almost jumped. She hadn't realized she'd spoken her thought aloud. Turning, Claire saw that Maisie, Mr. Lockwood's granddaughter, was now in the room with her, the Stegosaurus in question clutched in her hand. Claire hadn't even heard the girl come in. "I needed her for my adventures today," Maisie added, before reaching across the model, placing the toy back in its home. "But I'm done now."

"Oh," Claire said, not really sure how else to respond. But before she could say anything else, there was another sound that sounded exactly like a dinosaur snarling. She spun in a circle, trying to locate where it came from, before she remembered Maisie's presence. Feeling sheepish, she turned back to the young girl, expecting her to ask Claire what she'd been doing.

"You heard it, too?" Maisie was staring at her, her eyes wide. Claire nodded slowly. "I told grandpa that something's been roaring, but he doesn't believe me. Said it's all in my head." Claire had to stifle a smile at the girl's petulant tone. "I knew it was real."

"Do you know what's making it?" Claire asked, although she wasn't surprised when Maisie quickly shook her head no.

"I think it's coming from the basement," the girl admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. Maisie pointed towards the elevator doors on the other side of the model.

"The basement?" Claire repeated, following Maisie's gaze. She recalled Eli on her first visit to the Estate telling her that the first cloned dinosaurs had been created right below their feet. Could there be dinosaurs still there? No, she immediately dismissed the idea. There's no way they'd have been able to keep a dinosaur alive in the basement these past almost 30 years without anyone knowing. Still, she couldn't help but ask, "Have you gone down and looked?"

There was a pause, and Claire wasn't sure if she'd asked the wrong question or what, before Maisie let out a frustrated sigh. "I tried. But the elevator has a code and I don't know what it is. I asked grandpa, but he said I'm not allowed down there."

"Huh," Claire said absently, staring at the elevator.

o-o-o

Lying on his bed, Owen had his hands tucked under his head and his phone resting beside him. He was waiting for Claire to call. She had said earlier that she wasn't sure when she'd get back to her hotel, but that she'd give him a call as soon as she did, unless it was too late. He'd told her to call no matter how late. Getting to talk to her was the highlight of his days, and he didn't want to skip it. Not when everything else still seemed to be a mess. And not with Hoskins now talking about maybe putting an end to IBRIS once and for all.

It wasn't really unexpected, Hoskins comments. Not considering that there'd been absolutely no progress in over two months, and instead it all just felt like a complete backwards slide. Owen had always known that InGen wouldn't be happy to keep paying if nothing improved. But, Echo and Charlie didn't care. And it was not like he could reason with them, tell them that they were on the verge of possibly becoming a park attraction. Although, he didn't really think that would happen. With their current mood, they'd be a terrible attraction. No, the more likely outcome was that they'd both end up being put down. But that was something he didn't want to contemplate at all.

He just needed Claire to phone him so he'd have something to actually distract him. Picking up his phone off the bed, he checked the ringer setting again, confirming that it was on and that he hadn't missed a text or call, before placing it back down beside him. He hoped she'd call soon.

It was just as he was starting to drift off that his phone finally did ring, startling him so badly that his arm swung out, knocking the phone off the bed and halfway across the room. Scrambling up, he dove after it not wanting to miss her call.

"Hello," he said, standing back up and turning around to go back to his bed, only to walk directly into the chair he apparently hadn't pushed back under the table earlier, stubbing his toe. "Fuck!"

"Owen?" Claire asked, her voice worried. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," he said between gritted teeth. "Just stubbed my toe, that's all. Damn chair leapt right out at me."

"Right, it's the chair's fault," Claire said, and he would've been annoyed, but her light laughter that accompanied the comment just made him smile.

"Completely," he agreed, before quickly switching the subject as he lay back down. "So, tell me about your day. How was the Estate? See any ghosts?"

"Ghosts? Where do you think I went?"

He could still hear the smile in her voice, and could picture her rolling her eyes at him as she spoke.

"Hey, you're the one who said that was the birthplace of all these dinosaurs. I'm sure plenty died there during all that experimentation. The place must be teeming with dinosaur ghosts," he joked back. He was surprised when she didn't quickly follow up with a quip of her own, and actually didn't say anything. He waited, wondering if something else had caught her attention, but he couldn't hear her moving about or anything. "Everything okay?" Owen finally asked, his concern growing. "You didn't actually see a ghost, did you?"

"No, not a ghost," she replied. "More…"

"What?" he asked when she trailed off and fell silent again.

"It's probably nothing. Actually, I'm sure it's nothing," she said after another long pause. "Of course, Maisie—"

"Who's Maisie?" Owen interrupted, trying to recall if Claire had mentioned that name to him before.

"Lockwood's granddaughter. She lives there, too," Claire explained, before starting to ramble. "I was in the Library when I heard something. I thought it was my imagination. I mean, there I was surrounded by all these dinosaur skeletons and dioramas, it makes sense that my mind would just bring forth the sounds I expect to hear when I see dinosaurs. It's ridiculous to think that they'd be real."

"You heard dinosaur sounds?" he asked, confused. "Like what kind of dinosaurs? What kind of sounds?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "It wasn't super clear. And, like I said, I thought I was imagining it."

"But you don't think that anymore?"

"I do, sort of," she equivocated. "Except that Maisie showed up and then I heard it again, and from Maisie's reaction, she did, too. But… just because something sounds sort of like a dinosaur, doesn't mean it is. I mean… where would they have gotten a dinosaur? I can't imagine Lockwood okaying keeping one in the basement."

"You'd need a pretty fortified basement to contain one, too," Owen mused. "I wouldn't think an old Estate would be able to handle that."

"Well," Claire started before pausing again and Owen waited her out. "Actually, if there's one place outside of Nublar — and Sorna — that is designed to contain dinosaurs, it would be the Estate. It's where they had their first successes with bringing them back, remember?"

"Huh, well, you're headed back there tomorrow, right?" he asked, and she hummed her agreement. "Can you take a look around again?"

"I could," she said slowly. "But… like I said, where would they have gotten a dinosaur? There's no way one's just been hanging out in the basement all this time. There's probably a simple explanation to all of this, and it probably doesn't involve an actual dinosaur. Maybe it was simply old pipes, or something."

"Maybe," Owen agreed as he sat up. He felt too tense to remain lying down now. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

He didn't respond at once, slowly exhaling as he gathered his thoughts. "We do still have missing dinosaurs, you know. You said there wasn't any trace of the others where the baby raptors were found. They have to be somewhere."

God, Owen could feel hope rising in him, even though he knew the whole idea was stupid to even consider. There was no way the missing dinosaurs would have ended up at the Lockwood Estate. What would be the odds that Claire was invited to the one place stolen dinosaurs were being hidden?

"Let's pretend it was a dino I heard," Claire said. "If it was down in the basement, I'm hearing it through the flooring and who knows what other layers. None of the babies are loud enough to be heard through that."

"Right, the babies aren't. But Blue's missing, too. And she can be plenty loud when she wants to be." He held his breath, anxious as to how Claire was going to respond to that. He didn't know if he wanted her to call him crazy or to side with him.

"Owen…" her tone was cautioning, but he couldn't stop.

"Maybe this is the lead we've been waiting for. And, I mean, it's not like they would be completely random people. Didn't you tell me before that Eli knew about Sorna? It's not that illogical, not really. This could be Blue, Claire," he said. "What if you've found Blue?"

"Ugh," Claire groaned. "I know this is all insane to even be considering it, but… I just… Did I ever tell you that I saw Hoskins and Eli talking one day?"

"You what?" Owen was thrown by the sudden shift in the conversation. He felt himself go rigid, his heartbeat spiking instantly. "When? You meant at the opening reception?"

"No, before then. A few months earlier, I think. I can't quite remember. It was on Main Street. They were just standing off to the side. Looked like they were arguing, actually."

"What were they talking about?"

"No idea. I was in a rush to get back to my office, and Hoskins stormed off barely a minute later. He looked pissed off."

"Do you think that means something?"

"No, probably not," she said. "Just… the one thing Simon and I keep coming back to with the whole break in — and something that the investigators seem to think is likely too — is that there must have been someone on the inside. Someone who shared details about the layout and what was on Sorna. They were too efficient to be random treasure hunters or environmentalists. They knew what they were doing."

"Efficient? They pretty much destroyed the lab, didn't they? That doesn't seem efficient."

"They did," she agreed. "But the thing is, part of why we don't actually have a solid idea of what was taken or not is because of that. It was actually a smart move of them. It's left us somewhat blind as to what's really missing."

"Wait, how come you've never mentioned the possibility of an inside person before?"

"The investigators told us to keep it quiet, they didn't want to raise any suspicions."

"But–" Owen felt sort of offended over the news. He wasn't just anyone, after all. He was her boyfriend. Did she think he could've been involved? Before he could push her on it, she was talking again.

"I would've told you, but… Owen, you already can't stand Hoskins. I didn't want to give you more reasons to doubt his motives. Or anyone's motives — you don't really like any of the scientists either. It's not that I don't trust you — I do — I just… I thought it'd be better if you didn't know. If there is someone involved, they'd know that you and I are dating. You'd have felt on guard at all times, wondering who it may be. And we've never had confirmation that anyone was involved. So far, none of the digging has turned anything up."

Owen turned her comments over in his head for a long moment. He still felt sort of hurt over it all, but he could also understand where she was coming from. He didn't always manage to keep the best reign on his emotions, especially when riled up. But… the topic did remind him of what had happened earlier that day. It was his turn to change the subject. "Hoskins brought up ending IBRIS today."

"Really? Why?"

"I've sort of been waiting for him to say something," Owen admitted. "Really, the project's pretty much toast now that there's just Echo and Charlie. I think Hoskins was holding out hope that we'd get Blue or the babies back. But, once Pepper and the others were found, well, it seemed like it was just a matter of time before he brought up ending it."

"Huh," Claire said, drawing out the word.

"You know, if he's involved with the thefts, he could be setting up something else," he offered up, as a new thought crossed his mind. "I know he's always felt constrained by InGen. Getting out from under them? Well, he'd have a lot more freedom if he was the one in control."

"Except, if that was his plan, you'd think he'd have kept the baby raptors. They're still young enough he could probably have got them a new trainer."

"Yeah," Owen sighed, his hand raising up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache rising from all the stress that thinking about any of this brought on. Letting out a slow breath, he offered up: "This is a depressing topic. Let's talk about something else, like how you can find out what's in the basement."

o-o-o

After hanging up with Owen the previous night, Claire had laid on the bed in her hotel room trying to convince herself that she and Owen were both being crazy with their theories. And then, when that hadn't worked, she'd tried to sort out how she could find out if anything was going on. After all, it was not like she could just go up to Lockwood or Eli and ask (although she had spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out if it would be possible to do that). And the elevator had a passcode, so she couldn't just happen to use it (nor did she have any idea how she'd even explain what she was doing if she used it and was caught).

She'd never come up with a solution, and had ended up with a restless night, her mind terrorizing her with all sorts of outlandish scenarios. She'd had to double her regular amount of coffee that morning trying to wake up fully and find enough energy to power through a second day of meetings. Claire was really glad she would be heading home tomorrow, even if it may mean not figuring out where the odd sounds were coming from. But… Blue had been missing for over two months now. Surely if she was being kept at the Estate, Lockwood or Maisie or someone would've caught on by now.

There had been a text from Owen when she'd got up reminding her to let him know what she found (as if she wouldn't). She'd simply replied with a thumbs up.

The morning had been busy. When Eli had first suggested she come out, she'd thought she'd stop by the Estate for a couple of hours, and then essentially turn around and fly home. Then, when Eli had actually asked her to plan on staying for a couple of days, she'd wondered how she was going to fill that time. However, it turned out that Lockwood had a lot of questions he wanted to ask. Generally good questions, too, with insightful suggestions on new areas to explore and helpful solutions to current problems.

They probably could've gotten through everything Lockwood wanted to talk about in one day if he was younger. But he needed more frequent breaks to deal with medications, and he also needed a short break after lunch before he was able to continue on. Today, she was looking forward to that break, as it was during that time yesterday that she'd been able to explore the library.

It wasn't until she was being driven up the long driveway to the Estate, her gaze admiring the landscaping, that she was finally able to come up with a plan on how she could do some poking around. Thankfully, the weather was being more cooperative than the previous day, and it was bright and sunny (if a little windy and chilly), and so she decided she'd use the time to explore the grounds just as she had planned yesterday. Perhaps, a walk around the building would provide insight (or access) to the elusive basement.

The morning had felt like it had dragged on forever, and by the time they were finally finishing up lunch, Claire was more than a little bit antsy. After Lockwood excused himself and Maisie went skipping off to play, Eli turned to her, and Claire suddenly worried that he would actually want to meet with her now and she wouldn't get the opportunity for some unaccompanied exploration. However, her fears were unfounded, as Eli admitted he had a business call he needed to take, and asked if she'd be okay for the hour or so, or if she'd like him to have the driver take her back to her hotel for a bit. She'd had to hide her enthusiasm, but she'd quickly waved away his offer, telling him she had hoped to explore the grounds yesterday and since the weather was behaving today, if he didn't mind, she'd do that. He'd accepted her explanation easily, and said he'd come find her as soon as he was finished.

After collecting her jacket, Claire left via the front doors, walking down the wide stone staircase, her gaze sweeping from side to side. At the bottom of the stairs she paused, trying to decide which way to go, before deciding to start off by following the advice that Iris had given her — that she should go around to the left and check out the gardens there. If something was going on, and if anyone happened to be watching her, worried as to what she may see, it would be good to look like she was really doing what she had said.

As Claire started off around the building she checked her phone, finding a few missed messages from Owen wondering if she'd found anything yet. She quickly replied, No, not yet. But I'm about to walk around the outside. Maybe I'll find a way into the basement from here. He responded almost immediately with a thumbs up.

The grounds really were beautiful, she thought, as she slowly wandered around the side of the Estate. So much so, that she actually really did get caught up in just enjoying them for a while, forgetting her "mission." Reminding herself of her purpose, she looked around to see where she was to discover that she had circled almost halfway around the Estate. Claire decided to continue her loop as nothing had jumped out to her so far, and so if there was anything to discover from the outside, she hadn't found it yet.

As she continued forward, she made a point to keep an eye on the Estate. If there was outdoor access to the basement, there'd either need to be a staircase down, or the ground would need to start sloping downward itself, to allow for a level exit. Just as she had that thought, she turned around another corner of the Estate to find the ground starting to slope downwards. Feeling pleased that she may actually be making progress, she quickened her pace, now eager to see what she might find next.

It wasn't what she was expecting. Although, she wasn't actually sure what she'd been expecting. Just… not another part of the driveway, this one leading up to what looked kind of like the loading bays you'd see at the back of large stores, the type designed for a semi-truck to back up to in order to unload cargo. While it made sense that the Estate would need a garage somewhere on the property (there definitely wasn't anywhere to store vehicles out front where she'd been dropped off), and while she'd expected to come across a multi-bay garage, this sight caught her off guard.

There actually was a multi-bay garage on the far side of the driveway she realized. She could see the black Rolls Royce that had picked her up that morning parked inside. Ignoring it, she focused on the loading bays. There was a short staircase just to the side of the first bay, where the door was wide open. Claire looked around, but she didn't see anyone and so she walked across the driveway to the bay and peered in. At the back she could see large metal doors, but there was no hint as to where it led. Glancing around again, and still not seeing anyone, she climbed up the stairs.

As she walked through the loading bay, towards the metal doors, Claire decided that if anyone asked what she was doing, she'd just say that she needed the bathroom, and was hoping that this would be a shortcut back to the main area of the house. That, and she was going to just walk in confidently like she was meant to be there. People rarely questioned you if you looked like you knew exactly what you were doing.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door and stepped inside. She found herself in a short hallway. Unlike the main part of the Estate, where everything felt like old money, full of rich hardwoods and polished marble, the area she entered looked more like something you'd expect in an old warehouse, constructed primarily of concrete and steel beams. It was well-lit and filled with a hum that she instantly recognized — the sound of people at work, moving about, conversing quietly, as machines chugged along. Claire was trying to place exactly what the area reminded her of as she continued to walk forward when she heard a loud snarl followed immediately by a screech.

This time, without all the distance and flooring between her and what was making the sound, Claire immediately recognized it for what it was. A dinosaur. And not just that, she was actually pretty positive it was a snarl she'd heard numerous times before, both in person, and in the background when she'd talk with Owen. She could feel her heart starting to race, her palms going sweaty as she realized that their outlandish theory just might actually be correct. She may actually have found Blue.

Her steps quickening, she tried to follow the sound. She could see a railing ahead. A she reached the end of the hallway, she found that it spilled out onto a walkway. The railing circled an open inner area, exposing a lower level. Approaching the railing, Claire looked down to find that the area below appeared to be divided into cages, based on the metal bars and gates she could see. Another snarl had her gaze snapping down to the left, where she saw a raptor, was standing by the bars in one of the cages. A raptor who turned her head, maybe hearing Claire's gasp of shock, and looked up at her. A raptor with a very familiar blue stripe running down her neck.

"Blue," Claire whispered.

"Hey, what are you doing down here?" A voice called out suddenly, just as a hand clamped down on her arm, spinning Claire around. She looked up to see a large man glaring down at her. "This area's restricted."

"What's going on?" Another voice chimed in, but this time it was one she recognized — Eli. "Claire? What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing with Blue? How did you get her? What the hell is going on?" Claire replied, her voice rising in volume as she spoke.

Claire had been so focused on the snarl, and then on Blue when she'd spotted the raptor, that she hadn't actually looked around the level she was on. Now, looking past Eli, she saw that on the outside of the walkway, there were large windows and doors leading into various rooms. Through the windows Claire could see what looked like a replica of the lab on Jurassic World or the one on Sorna. Stopping on one window, she realized she could see eggs nestled in an incubator, a heat lamp shining down on them.

"Wait, are you breeding dinosaurs?" she gasped, incredulous, her gaze swinging back to Eli. "Are you crazy? Is this–"

However, Claire didn't get a chance to finish what she was saying as something large and heavy connected with the back of her head, the world immediately going black.

And now stuff really gets going. :) Hope you're ready!

On a more somber note, it was really sad to read that Irrfan Khan died yesterday (the 29th). He's the actor who played Masranii — which is only 1 of his 151(!) acting roles on imdb. Whoa!

Finally, as always, I hope you're staying healthy, safe, and sane. And if you're struggling with any of those, and if there's a way I can help, let me know.