With You On These Beaches
Cassandra leaned over the metal railing of the pig pen, resting her elbows atop it, the sun still as ruthlessly beating down on her head as ever. She stared down at her phone screen, ignoring Claire who was shouting at her from across the yard, making the men stare at her again. She'd already attracted an alarming amount of attention as it was, attention that ranged from disapproval to desirous, Cassandra too distracted to care or be discomfited.
"Cassandra!"
Biting her lip, Cassandra hunched her shoulders, resisting the childish urge to clamp her hands over her ears. She had no desire to become caught up in a showdown between Claire and her erstwhile beau, Claire having become increasingly on edge as they'd neared the training enclosure. To make matters worse, they'd walked the entire way in the boiling heat, bypassing various buildings and yards as Claire led them across the security compound, Claire loudly complaining they should have just taken a car and be done with it, Cassandra snapping back why hadn't she done it then.
Despite everything, Cassandra had been impressed against her will over how much power Claire wielded, everyone they encountered acknowledging them with a nervous deference that bordered on terror. Which was exactly why Cassandra didn't want to be anywhere near Claire and Indiana Jones right now, figuring Claire had finally met her brick wall, somebody she couldn't cow into submission, Cassandra simply not wanting to be party to the consequences of such a confrontation.
"Hey there, lil lady," a voice said from behind her, making Cassandra turn around against her will, only to be confronted by the sight of a thickset man watching her. As she frowned at him, he struck a casual stance, still staring at her whilst hooking his thumbs through the loops of his black denim jeans.
"Hi?" Cassandra hazarded, arching an acerbic eyebrow.
"Hi," the man echoed, his gaze shamelessly raking her. "You new around here?"
Cassandra eyed his little goatee with disdain. "Maybe," she said evasively, eyes narrowing.
"I hope so," the man grinned, "my workforce could do with being a little more good looking." He let this sink in, enjoying seeing Cassandra stiffen. "I'm Vic Hoskins," he then said, holding out his hand to her, Cassandra reluctantly taking it, "Head of Private Security."
"Oh," Cassandra said stupidly, making Hoskins grin even more mockingly. "Are you going to escort me off the premises, then?" she then said, recovering herself. "I promise I'll come quietly, sir."
"No need for handcuffs, then?" Hoskins said lightly, taking a step closer to her, his gaze flickering over her again.
Cassandra stood her ground, even as her first instinct was to back away. "Nope," she said just as lightly. "I think my sister would have something to say about her guests being roughhoused."
Hoskins pointed at her with both hands. "Claire, right?" he smirked. "Should have guessed, what with the sassiness and the ginger hair."
"You got me," Cassandra said from between gritted teeth, pointing back at him with both hands as well.
Hoskins just nodded his head, before glancing around them, brow furrowing. "Your sister is a little occupied with Owen boy," he then said, scratching his goatee. "How does an iced boba while you wait sound?"
Cassandra hesitated, only understanding the iced part, which sounded like manna from heaven. "It sounds good but I'm not sure," she admitted uneasily, "I'm really just waiting for Claire to be done here and then we're heading back to the hotel."
"C'mon," Hoskins pressed, putting on puppy dog eyes, "one drink, that's all."
Cassandra bit her lip, sensing one drink was going to lead to an interrogation, not fooled one whit by his flirtatious manner. "Sure, why not?" she then said, forcing a smile, knowing Claire was going to kill her for getting caught like this, even as she wasn't sure if Hoskins was higher than Claire in the hierarchy around here.
"Great! My office is just over there," Hoskins said, jerking his head behind him. "We can take a shortcut over the training enclosure," he continued, gesturing for her to follow him, "but don't worry your pretty little head about getting too close for comfort to the raptors. They've just been secured so I'm not breaking any of the rules – well, my rules." He smirked at this little sally, Cassandra forcing another smile, playing along. "So, what are you doing back here?" he asked, buzzing her through a gate. "How come you're not seeing the sights?"
"I had a meeting with Mr. Masrani," Cassandra said reluctantly, even more reluctantly following him up a flight of metal stairs.
"Masrani?" Hoskins said sharply, glancing over his shoulder at her, taken aback. "Really?"
"He wants me to paint his portrait."
"McLynn, tell Ms. Dearing her charming sister is with me in my office," Hoskins fired at a passing workie, who nodded, glancing askance at Cassandra as he went by. "Sorry," he then said to Cassandra, stepping aside to let her go ahead, "you were saying?"
"Mr. Masrani wants me to paint his portrait," Cassandra reiterated, struggling to stay civil, especially when Hoskins leaned past her to buzz her through yet another gate, his bulk deliberately brushing her body.
"Really?" Hoskins said deadpan. "How fascinating." He then led her out onto a footbridge before striding ahead, Cassandra trailing at his heels.
"Mr. Hoskins, Barry wants a word," one of the other workies said as he hurried up to them, too distracted to spare Cassandra more than a frazzled glance. "Says it's urgent."
Hoskins rolled his eyes. "Give me a moment," he said to Cassandra, before stalking off, leaving her hanging.
Pulling a pained face, Cassandra wandered over to the viewing platform for lack of anything better to do, before leaning over the railing, clasping her hands together. As she glanced around, she saw the training enclosure was octagon-shaped, with a set of four intersecting catwalks linking it altogether. Down below was just empty space, the foliage rustling in the faint breeze, the sight strangely disquieting. Biting her lip again, she pulled her phone out of her pocket. For a long moment, she stared at her phone screen, before deciding to bite the bullet. Within moments, she sent Zach a blunt text telling him to get over himself, only to instantly regret it.
"Shit," Cassandra muttered under her breath, realising too late she was meant to be the mature adult in all of this, "and double shit." She knew that whilst Zach shouldn't have said what he'd said, she'd goaded him into saying it, having been baiting him from the moment she'd first set foot in Karen's house. But then again, wasn't she just treating him like he treated Gray? Didn't he deserve a taste of his own medicine –
"PIG LOOSE!"
Cassandra started violently, her phone slipping through her fingers. She threw herself forwards in vain to catch it, only for it to fall out of sight into the wilderness below. Panicking, she tried to catch her balance, barely aware of the shouting behind her, only for something to slam into her, knocking her over the railing. She fell too fast to scream, the world whirling past, her body colliding with thick foliage, only to then hit the ground with a sickening thud.
Head spinning, Cassandra just lay there, the wind knocked out of her. All she could do was stare mindlessly up at the patches of blue sky hanging high above, just beyond the tall plant fronds waving in the breeze, almost obscuring it from sight. Beneath her, the sunbaked ground was a brutal mixture of hard earth and rock, burning her bare flesh. Suddenly there was movement in the nearby bushes to the left of her, jolting her body back into being, Cassandra instinctively jerking upright, sending a fresh shockwave of pain shooting through her.
The leaves rippled as whatever it was began to move towards her, staying out of sight. From far away she remembered there were raptors here, real life actual goddamn raptors. Don't worry your pretty little head… Well, she was beyond worrying now, beyond almost everything. Something then shifted on her right, also picking its path towards her, closing in. With great difficulty, she crouched down, a whimper escaping her throat, unable to believe this was actually happening. Hands fumbling, her fingers closed around a rock, almost seeking security in its solidity. Clutching it to her chest, Cassandra dazedly crawled through of the melange of trees and bushes she'd fallen into, her body still screaming in protest as she moved.
Unexpectedly, she tumbled into open space, the bracken dry and brittle beneath her aching bones, Cassandra landing heavily on her skinned knees. As she awkwardly caught herself, scraping the heels of her hands in the process; the rustling increased, swiftly followed by the sound of springing feet. Slowly raising her head, she froze as four raptors arraigned themselves in a row in front of her, a mere six feet separating her and them, their heads tilting in unison as they appraised the intruder in their territory. Cassandra stared at them, her mouth hanging open in shock, the raptors staring back at her, Cassandra realising they were trying to work out what she was, threat or food.
Then the biggest of them suddenly moved, lunging at Cassandra with bared teeth. Cassandra screamed, throwing the rock at it, her hand moving at its own volition. The rock collided with the side of its head, stunning it, throwing the raptor off course, making it fall back with a shriek, and then suddenly there was a man standing between them, hands held up like a cop directing traffic, his broad shoulders braced for whatever came next.
"Cassandra!"
"No, hold your fire!"-
-"Cassandra, baby, you need to come to the gate" –
-"I said, hold your fire! Do not fire! Put twelve amps in these animals, they're never going to trust me again!" –
-"Owen, are you insane!? You're going to get the both of you killed!"
"Blue, stand down!"
"Cassandra, I'm coming in, okay; I'm going to get you out" –
-"Claire, back off!" -
Dazed, Cassandra just knelt there as the man asserted his authority over the raptors, signalling with his hands as he spoke, his voice sounding like a half remembered song she'd once heard before long ago. Then there were other hands, soft shaking hands that were somehow as strong as steel, dragging her across the bracken. As the hands then hauled her through the gate and to safety, Cassandra collapsed back onto the ground, tears coursing down her cheeks, worried faces spinning in circles high above her, whispering in a bewildering mixture about shock, doctors and heads rolling.
"Owen, get the hell out of there!"
"Close the gate."
"What!?"
"Just trust me, Barry!"
" Merde!"
In vain, Cassandra tried to sit up, hands pushing her down again as the gate behind them crashed shut with a harsh clang, the sound ringing through the air. The brief silence that ensued was brutally broken by the roar of the raptors as they flung themselves against the bars, screaming with frustration. Starting violently, Cassandra screamed hysterically in return, desperately dragging herself across the ground like a broken doll to escape.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," a voice said, the voice that had sounded like an old song, making Cassandra fall still against her will, "you're safe…" Somebody grabbed her shoulders, gently but firmly forcing her to face them, making the voice trail off into shocked silence, a silence that span out for what felt like several years, all the years he had missed. " Miss.Jones?" the voice then said in disbelief, making Cassandra look up, only for her gaze to crash into grey eyes, Morgan's eyes, eyes as grey as the sea where she stood on the shore, watching the waves come in, breaking over her head, drowning her in darkness.
You lose your way
Just take my hand
You're lost at sea
Then I'll command your boat to me again…