There were few trees around, only enough along the slow hump of a ridge to hide their cars. Wind howled from over the ridge, adding to the ominous tone Owen already felt looking it over. The rifle and scope had been left in Zia's car but thankfully he hadn't had to ask her to bring it out. Owen followed the line of the ridge; it'd be their best bet of getting any closer.

"What's the plan?" Zia spoke up first, eyes shining in eagerness. Dr. Wu continued to stretch his legs from the drive. "Yes, I'm dying to hear it."

Owen's patience continued to wear thin with this guy. "Franklin, come with me. Zia, he gives you trouble-"

"Shoot him." Zia gave a merry salute. "Aye aye."

Owen nodded at Franklin to follow him. The kid didn't hesitate, though he stumbled every third step at not much of an incline. Owen steered them to a clump of trees and bushes. They were on the cracked edge of Death Valley and lucky to find that much. The InGen facility rested on a salty bed with even less vegetation. It was barely a footnote of a building with a parking lot and electrical shed out back. Knowing InGen, most of their square footage would be found underground; any labs built beneath to forego the valley's sweltering heat. Another advantage they had with dusk getting closer and closer. Owen found his rhythm of breathing, staring down the scope of the rifle at the three cars and van idling in the lot. "That's Gavrill's entourage."

Franklin was at a loss. "Sergeant Terry's car too." He glanced at Owen, voice low in uncertainty. "This means... what?"

Owen gauged the cars as he thought. "You found separate files that Terry was keeping. He share them with anybody?"

Franklin thought a moment. "A strip of code showed he sent them to one other computer." His eyebrows raised over his glasses. "You thinking these guys?"

Owen nodded, checking what few power lines ran from the building to the shed. Still nothing that could confirm Maisie's whereabouts-

Franklin coughed into his sleeve. "If... if we're going on coincidences here and Blue was the intended target, he couldn't get to her alone."

"They couldn't get to her, period." Owen grunted; then tilted his head. "My clothes."

"What?" Franklin eyed the army drags Owen still wore.

"They took my clothes!" Owen scooted back, leaving a flustered Franklin to crawl with him. "Knowing where Blue was, they closed in on her with my scent."

He was so frustrated with the all the aces that they weren't holding! "Say Dr. Inger, Terry, and the Russians are in there. Why? Why would they need Blue and Maisie both?"

Franklin paused, then charged back down to the cars. "I know."

Okay. Owen hastened after him, curious. Claire looked up expectantly, but Franklin continued to Zia's car, pulling his laptop through the window. "I told Colonel Placer that Terry's been tracking Blue's movements and that's true." He gestured Owen over, Zia and Dr. Wu already crowding in. "When I first downloaded them though, I realized why and just... haven't had a chance to share them yet."

"Of course he's going after the raptor." Dr. Wu sighed. "She's the last of her kind, a highly valuable behavioral specimen-"

"We know!" Franklin snapped at him. "But everyone's been waiting to see proof of it."

"Blue showed intelligence from an early age." Claire stated. "InGen put spotlights on her from the beginning."

"We needed a little more then her performing parlor tricks for rats." Dr. Wu put in with an eye flicker at Owen.

"Here." Franklin clicked one of the many URLs he'd brought up. A gray-scale video popped up and started playing. It showed two elderly people roughly pushed onto a patio by a third figure. The couple, likely the homeowners, were made to get down on their knees.

"What is this?" Claire looked at Franklin; and missed the blur that knocked the third person out of the frame. Owen's breath caught at the heavy scaled tail waving to and fro as the attacker made its kill. "That's Blue."

Franklin nodded. Transfixed, they watched the feed show Blue leave, trail back to the patio, where the homeowners still trembled. She hovered on them a moment, cocked her head, then darted away. Owen wasn't given the chance to process it as Franklin opened another video. "That was from a home security system six days ago. This was the next sighting, one town over."

This was a daytime shot of a residential street, a few cars parallel parked. A woman was putting her child in the back of one, buckling them up. Blue jumped out of nowhere, screeching form the roof of the car. The mother reeled back onto the sidewalk, where she froze, terrified. Claire's own breath hitched as Blue eyed inside the car, where the kid was no doubt crying. Blue looked back at the mom, back in the car. Then she squeaked again and ran off.

"I get the feeling I'm missing something." Zia said as the video ended.

"For once," Franklin threw out, closing the videos. "I've got twenty more, showing Blue's discernment in what she eats, who she interacts with."

"Something none of the other dinosaurs are doing." Owen finished for him. "They see food or a threat, they eat it."

Dr. Wu stepped back, his mind traveling somewhere beyond their conversation. "That's where the girl comes in."

"What?" Claire looked past Franklin, her shock still with the video. Dr. Wu hesitated, a glance going over his shoulder at the building. "This needs to be discussed with-"

Zia moved with Owen, blocking his path to the facility. "We can discuss it here."

Dr. Wu shook his head. "Like you could understand any of it. All you people want to do is take what Hammond and Lockwood created and sweep it under the rug!"

"Back on the merry-go-round." Zia muttered, leaning back on her heels. Dr. Wu held up a hand. "Hear me out. Dr. Inger's actions are indeed short-sighted. Hammond's falling out with Lockwood happened before my time, but it's obvious his research continued. If great minds do think alike, there must be overlaps, in the steps he took to create Maisie, and the steps Hammond took to create dinosaurs."

Claire paled, leaning on the hood of the car, while Owen refused to be phased by the thoughts assaulting him. Dr. Wu, on the other hand, wasn't phased at all. "Dr. Inger- any reasonable scientist- can't ignore such a feat. She would need samples from both streams of research to compare them."

"To what end?" Owen threw in. "Even Hammond wouldn't touch human cloning. The man was rich and stupid, but he knew the limits. And respected them."

"And Lockwood dared to think beyond them," Dr. Wu enunciated. "The new frontier he's opened..." he eyes glowed in an admiration that put Owen on edge. "We're insulting ourselves to ignore such progress."

"Maisie never asked to be that progress." Owen's hand flexed over the rifle. He had them out here arguing when she was just yards away! "You may be able to explain away the exploitation of these animals, but she's a living, breathing, human girl. She'll make her own choices about how she wants to do this."

Dr. Wu fought to keep his bearings under Owen's glare. He glanced over to Claire. "You'd waste years of advancement until she's ready? You're willing to be that selfish?"

A low rumble jerked them out of the conversation. Owen caught a few birds taking flight beyond the lone structure. In the next second, nothing moved or breathed. Another rumble followed. Then voices spilled out from the building. Owen grabbed Dr. Wu, making him duck with the rest of them behind the cars. Owen leveled the rifle again and watched around the fender. His Russian pals were outside, looking in the direction of the rumbles. Kolov and Aldovich.

"The t-rex." Claire needlessly said. Owen hmmed in reply.

"Colonel Placer mentioned they were ending their battle with it tonight." Franklin hissed from where he hunkered- and shivered. "If they're tracking that thing-"

"We might have some back up." Owen finished, watching Aldovich order Kolov inside. Kolov then commensed pacing on the other side of the door. "Or a distraction at least."

"Maybe we make it two." Zia joined the whispering. "That shed...Franklin can mess with their system, like at the mansion."

Franklin huffed. "Assuming I can find what signal they're using."

"You've been combing every IP in this state for a week." Owen pointed out, lowering the rifle as they stood up. Franklin pinched his nose. "You really think it's that simple?"

That was enough for Claire, new life jumping into her eyes. "Get on it. I'll text you when we have Maisie."

Owen wheeled on her. "No."

"Owen," Claire marched past Dr. Wu. "I've spoken to this woman for two years-"

"Claire, I'm not putting you between a mad scientist and trigger-happy Russians."

Dr. Wu rubbed his eyes with disbelief. "Has it occurred to either of you-"

"No." Owen and Claire cut him off. They stared off, Claire raising an inch in her tennis shoes. "You really think you'll change my mind?"

Owen shrugged. "I like to think I have some influence."

"Okay," Zia broke into their off-beat flirting. "But let's at least be smart about it." She switched out Owen's rifle with her .45 sidearm. "You cover the sprint, I'll cover the marathon."

Owen checked it, nodding. Given the hornet's nest they were stepping into, it wouldn't hurt. He pointed Zia to the bushes from before, then laid in the back of his car. With Dr. Wu and Claire in the front, Owen signaled Wu to make for the building. They were expecting him, that'd buy him three seconds of surprise. His heart, taught like a spring, counted the rotations of the tires until Wu stopped. Sure enough, Kolov stepped out and up to the car. "Who's-"

Owen imagined the shot seamlessly leaving the rifle, timing Kolov's fall perfectly. He kicked the car door open and was up, weapon sighted on the Russian's chest. His left shoulder bled from the rotator cuff, but he still went for his gun. Owen stepped on it, an eye on the front doors. "Any of your ugly friends inside?"

Kolov just laughed. "Enough to kill you and the little woman."

"Get up." Owen ordered, Wu and Claire out of the car. Kolov continued to look amused, shuffling up from the dirt. He looked toward the ridge. "In my country, it's good manners to know who shots who."

"Interlock your fingers." Owen went on. He pushed Kolov forward, checking the door before going into an office space that went out in the nineties. Claire and Dr. Wu followed, clearing his throat. "Is a Dr. Patrice Inger here?"

Kolov started whistling. Owen kept his barrel on him as Claire darted around the desks. "There's an elevator; it needs a keycard!"

Dr. Wu beat Owen to checking Kolov's belt, finding a sleek, silver card. He walked it over and Kolov took advantage of the space. "You, how do you say, got the drop on me, huh?"

"One wrong move and your right shoulder matches your left." Owen promised. He moved him up against the wall. "What floor are they on?"

"You here for that little girl?"

Don't react. Owen told himself, even while his finger whitened on the trigger.

"We're here to talk to Dr. Inger." Dr. Wu tried again. "I'm not with them, I simply fell into their company."

Claire grabbed the keycard from him and swiped it, starting the rush of the elevator.

"Doc was looking forward to slicing her up." Kolov's smile turned vile. "Too bad she can't."

Claire turned as the doors opened. "Why!?"

"Slippery little thing ran away."

}{}{}{}{

There were no roads, no trails. Just bushes, rocks, and slopes. Maisie scrambled over all of them, putting distance between her and the facility. She sensed Blue's restlessness and knew she was going too slow. The raptor kept several feet ahead; she didn't help Maisie, but she wasn't abandoning her either.

She doesn't seem to know what to do. Maisie looked at Blue as she leaned on a rock. She held herself against the cool, shadowed side, trying not to feel so weak and small against it. She was tired and the pressure in her head was back. And was her body getting heavier? I'm tired, I'm thirsty... but I have a raptor and a pen.

"Maybe... I jumped the gun on this, huh?" Maisie admitted to Blue. She wiped the sweat from her forehead, watching Blue's nose lift into the wind. Was she really this close to a dinosaur again? An eerie reverse, as Blue was killing other people and not her. Maisie closed her eyes to forget the insane jump where Blue had taken down the man who'd tried to stop them.

"Maisie, don't!" Dr. Inger's voice had continued through the PA system. "There's nothing for miles! You're sick-"

Maisie hadn't cared, getting her and Blue out the back door. The sun had blinded her at first, but she had followed Blue since. Maisie raised her head, knowing she needed to get up and keep moving. I'll get out of these mountains and there will be a road. Somewhere.

Blue stopped her planning as she backed up, teeth bared. She growled softly. Maisie tensed, expecting one of the men to suddenly appear. Instead, the ground shook, sitting her back by the rock. Another followed, and something moved up the slope toward them. Maisie's throat closed. The tyrannosaurus rex! It... was here? Blue backed up to the other side of the boulder and stayed there, her eyes and chirps weary as the t-rex ascended toward them. Likewise, Maisie pressed into the grainy rock and fought the urge to run, scream, make any motion. The t-rex lumbered closer, jolting her body to where the rock scraped into her back. Maisie swallowed and closed her eyes against the panic welling through her stomach and into her throat. The stomps came closer, heavier. Until they shuddered through every sound the land might otherwise make.

Then came the roar! Maisie's eyes popped open as it vibrated through her brain. Her palms smacked over her ears, but the drone still bore down on her, stealing her breath. She began to think it wouldn't end, but it finally eased off. Maisie's ear buzzed as she looked up the brown, three-toed foot only a yard from her. It moved, sending another earthquake across the ground. Maisie eyed the paler underbelly, the t-rex's small, folded arms, and its thick neck. Her gaze rested on the deep jaws, until the t-rex moved its head. Even from so far down, Maisie caught the amber of its eye, searching... for food?

The t-rex didn't linger, rather continued in the direction Maisie and Blue had just come from. Maisie stayed still and quiet, until the massive predator had disappeared and there was only the echo of its feet. Maisie looked over as Blue rose, head erect. Maisie searched for the same motivation to pull herself up. But her legs were so weak...

She looked up and started, finding Blue practically next to her. Maisie remained weary. Unlike the Indoraptor, Blue didn't have that menacing feel about her.. but she was still a dinosaur. Instinct was one of Owen's favorite words, and he'd told her all the DNA coding in the world couldn't erase what came naturally to creatures like Blue. Maisie held eye contact, her pen at the ready. Blue watched her, lowering her head to take a whiff of Maisie's scent. Could she tell that Maisie was sick? Maisie matched her breathing to the rise and fall of Blue's nostrils. "Watch what happens... I show any sign of weakness."

Maisie moved her hand, inch by inch through the dusty air. Blue barked and darted off then, leaping over a bush perpendicular to their rock.

"Blue!" Maisie pulled her hand back, freaked that it hadn't been bitten off! She waited, then cringed at the sand that flew up and the squeal as an animal died beyond the bush. She looked away, putting her mind on the sky darkening overhead. The land had been hills up to this point, but it was widening... into a valley maybe? She didn't want to get farther out, where there'd be no roads, or shade. Through heavy eyelids, her raised her thumb to the disappearing sun. "West."

Blue reappeared then, following the line of Maisie's arm. Maisie got up so she could look out behind her. "East."

Oddly enough, this was calming her. Maisie moved her arm 90 degrees. "North."

She was about to name south, when a gleam caught her eye. A light? Maisie pushed off the rock, moving a few feet closer. She cupped her hands around her eyes. It was! Strength returned to her legs and Maisie clicked once, then twice. Come.

Blue stayed behind Maisie as she made for the light. It grew closer and Maisie could make out shapes... tents! In her excitement, Maisie missed the ground flattening out and she stumbled down an embankment. Her jeans ripped at the knee and Maisie bit her lip at the sting. She pushed herself up, wiping at her palms. The wind blew, bringing an interesting smell. Salt?

A salt pan. Maisie realized. She'd read about them in geography. Head pounding, Maisie got up, now seeing that the light was actually several, outlining a circle of tents. She could make out people moving between them and her hope grew. They'd have a phone! She could call Claire!

"Blue." Maisie looked back to see the raptor lingering at the top of the embankment. Maisie clicked the pen. Come.

Blue didn't. She squawked, taking a step back.

"C'mon." Maisie urged. "It'll be okay."

Blue took off into the hills, vanishing faster then Maisie could realize. The wind picked up again, drumming in her loneliness. Maisie stayed frozen another second... waiting for Blue to come back?

She won't. Maisie knew and pushed herself toward the tents.