"How did you know?" Claire demanded, relinquishing her phone to Aldovich. Dr. Inger rubbed her eyes. "That is... a long story."
"You can tell it here or in a prison cell."
Gavrill let out a soft chuckle. "A proud threat, Mrs. Grady. You wear it well."
"Are the embryos here?" Henry's eyes swiped the lab as they entered. Dr. Inger took Claire's phone, fiddling with the keys. "Of course they are... Mrs. Grady, any photos or videos of Maisie, I'll need added to our research archive."
Claire gaped at her as Henry pointed at the cooler room. "What were you thinking, stealing InGen property?"
"That it wasn't stealing." Dr. Inger flustered. "My mentor managed Hammond and Lockwood's findings, I cleared all resources in and out of that building for twelve years! I have as much right as anyone!" She reined herself in with a deep breath and glare at Gavrill. "And it turned out to be a justifiable move."
Gavrill shrugged, preoccupied with the tip of his cane. None of which concerned Claire. "And your reason for stealing a ten-year-old girl?"
"Don't act so innocent," Dr. Inger slammed her phone on the counter. "This' no ordinary child!" She looked back at Henry. "Sir, she's a product-"
"She's a kid!" Claire exclaimed. The next instant consisted of Dr. Inger grabbing Aldovich's gun and pressing it through Claire's bangs. Her eyes were afire; a fire Claire recognized. It's all out of control and she refuses to accept that.
"Edwin Hall." Dr. Inger spit out. "A brilliant man, one of eight. Benjamin Lockwood gave them the mission of conquering death and they did it! I don't know how Lockwood kept them quiet, but I refuse to stand aside like they did. Now; unlock your phone!"
Gavrill's chuckles grew louder. "I do love how quickly Americans show their passion."
"Glad you can take this so nonchalantly." Claire told him, a new awareness of the dinosaurs only a few yards from them.
"...the research you've risked, most likely contaminated," Henry was ranting now at Dr. Inger.
"It was either that or lose it entirely. The government has gridlocked everything outside of this lab!"
Henry's face relinquished some of its rage. "And the child, Dr. Inger?"
"She's the key to InGen's future. You think people will give two thoughts to a dinosaur when we've perfected human cloning? Wilmut, Rainbow, they've all been leading to this. Who would you rather be in charge of it?!"
"Bringing us to the matter of damage control." Mr. Aldovich threw in. Dr. Inger, repossessing Claire's phone, nodded. Claire's brain clicked with her actions as Mr. Aldovich grabbed her. "What, stop! Get off me!"
"Once we find Maisie and the raptor, we can continue our work." Dr. Inger was addressing Henry again, ignoring their struggle. Claire flailed, kicking the counter. It hardly stopped Mr. Aldovoich from dragging her to the cooler room. Claire felt the drop in temp as the doors opened, goosebumps traveling up her arms. Mr. Aldovich shoved her in and Claire spun as the doors shut. She spied the intercom and crowded up to it. "Please, don't! Maisie's not a science experiment! She's a little girl! She..." Claire held the shake from her voice. "She listens to Katy Perry, wants to be a pilot!"
"Claire, I'm sorry." Dr. Inger answered back, avoiding eye contact through the glass. "But she's too important to risk a normal life on."
Claire hit the glass, eyes piercing Inger, then Henry. He looked shock, but turned his head as Mr. Aldovich worked some buttons on the wall panel. The coolers increased their humming, then cold air began blasting from the vents. This reinforced Claire's goosebumps, yet increased her rage. She about screamed into the intercom. "Your idea of a life is going to kill her!"
"You know what you're killing by trying to hide what Lockwood, Hall, and the others discovered? It's now possible to bring back loved ones, replace failing organs..." She shook her head, the possibilities flying behind her eyes. "You're going to be that selfish?"
Her last word stilled Claire. There was some selfishness under the responsibility she and Owen felt toward Maisie. But Claire neither denied or embraced it as the whole reason that little girl meant so much. Claire resisted rubbing her chilling arms. "It's Maisie's decision of when she'll tell people."
"Maisie's a product of bio-engineering. She doesn't get a choice." Dr. Inger stated, releasing the intercom button, going back to the phone. Claire backed up until her shoulder bumped one of the coolers. It was frosted. This brought awareness to her numbing fingers; and her breath fogging in front of her face. Owen!
}{}{}{}{
Owen wiped Kolov's blood off before dust could stick and watched the t-rex mosey down the road, sniffing for its next meal. He leaned against the demolished wall, eyeing up at the bushes where Zia was. He thumbed up and she stood. He could see her eyes bulging from here. He shrugged, motioning for her to head down. He was trying to catch a full breath, still expecting the earth to shake, rattle, and roll. But as the t-rex got farther off, he found more focus. And started searching the ground.
"Owen!" Franklin skidded up, gaping at the hole before gaping at him. "... you ok?"
Owen eyed him grudgingly. "I'm covered in dead man blood and t-rex spit, my jaw aches, and pretty sure the entire right side of my ribs are cracked."
"So... not really."
Owen nodded, locating his gun; and Kolov's. "Wait here for Zia. I need to get down to Claire."
"Alone?" Franklin moved his laptop to the only upright desk.
"Any backup would've been here by now." Owen checked both guns. "Maisie got away. So did Blue."
Franklin gulped, needing no further explanation. Owen analyzed the walkie talkie from Kolov's belt. It was a Motorola, so there was at least a thirty-mile range. It had several channels... better to have it then not.
"I still need several minutes to-"
"I'll need five." Owen told him, bypassing the elevator for the stairs.
}{}{}{}{
"Future heavyweight champion, ladies and gentlemen!" Owen Grady announced, passing another log into Maisie's arms. She already carried four and the weight was obvious, but she kept walking. Through the phone's lens Claire followed them, toward a lake. "This'll be exciting, right?"
"I've roasted marshmallows before, just never outside." Maisie laughed, wavering. Claire's hand appeared to catch her, but Maisie shook her head. "I got it."
More was said, and the camera followed Maisie, half-dropping her logs to the ground. Henry watched each second in the new light it deserved. The first human clone, interacting, bonding, laughing. Normally, he'd be taking notes, marking down the emotions and stimuli conductive to the subject, to be filed away and reflected on later. So why was Maisie's pointed, determined expression all he was seeing? Why did she remind him... of him?
"It's back under control!" Dr. Inger breathed out. Henry looked up, as did the Russian men. Dr. Inger indicated the call she'd just ended. "Maisie ran right into the army base! Terry has her and is bringing her back here."
Mr. Aldovich glimpsed the cooler room. "We should meet him halfway. Kolov isn't answering and if they let others know they were coming-"
Oh right, Henry looked back at the video, even though it'd ended. I didn't tell them about the others, Zia and Franklin.
Why hadn't he? Henry looked over Claire's phone, to see Claire hunkered by a cooler, fighting to stay warm. A colleague and a fellow visionary, both in the park and with the DPG. She'd changed, but her grit hadn't. Much like Sorkin and himself, before the ideas of dinosaurs became a reality. A reality only when we cut corners.
Had the board gone with Sorkin's method and waited on a pure genome, would they even be here?
"I'm so sorry this was put on hold, Dr. Wu." Dr. Inger approached him, the stress lines significantly less in her face. "But we can move forward as planned. Once we're re-settled, we'll be amazed by the new heights-"
"This isn't the way." Henry put the phone down, keeping his voice low. Dr. Inger, oblivious and smiling, leaned in. "Pardon?"
Fortunately, Mr. Gavrill and his friend were in their own huddle near the hall. Henry's tone stayed even. "They have no qualm with killing, but... I do. I believe that you do too."
Dr. Inger's face changed. "What other way is there, sir? Claire and Owen Grady will try to steal this from us, from InGen. They could go public before we've had proper time to study and prepare for the new directions this will allow us. You realize what this does for genetic engineering alone!"
"Of course I do." Henry dared her to question his intelligence farther. "But we'd be starting from scratch."
"No." Dr. Inger's voice lowered as well. "Edwin Hall kept journals. That's how I found out! That's how we can carry InGen to the forefront of the world! My name, your name won't just be linked to dinosaurs."
Every word she spoke was an argument Henry had made himself over the years. So many years, building new species, setting standards for new ecosystems, and the balance of one gene against another. He still lived for it, rejoiced in the sprouting of life, tempered and revealed to respond as expected.
"Perhaps I can live with that." Henry said. Dr. Inger looked as dumbfounded as he felt. "You're supposed to be my alley! As a fellow scientist-"
"Maybe," Henry caught the Russians looking their way. "I've been a scientist too long. I'm being sure we ask the right questions."
"Are you?"
Henry nodded as the men came closer. "The little girl will question it. What do we tell her when she does?"
"Only what she needs to know." Mr. Gavrill joined in. Henry distanced himself, eyeing the cooler room again. He moved past them, toward the controls. "We can't cut corners on this, gentlemen. And we can't kill."
"Yes we can!"
Henry didn't know what he was expecting; perhaps that random gray area, that statistical anomaly that baffled every generation before and after him. Somehow though, he hadn't expected Dr. Inger to send a bullet into him.
}{}{}{}{
Claire stared over the room for anything that might give her an escape. Ice was forming beneath the frost along the sides of the coolers. Claire tilted her head up; the motion hurt her muscles. Frigid air as pumping out from somewhere. She could block it maybe, she could... her mind was becoming an icy bog, the thoughts slow to gather through. I can't... I'm NOT dying like this... OWEN!
As if on cue, the flash of a gun caught her attention. Owen burst through the doorway as Aldovich pushed Gavrill down, returning fire. Claire's chin quivered and she gripped the desk to keep standing. The coolers held samples at -80 degrees Celsius. The generators had been ground level at the park, but this building was on the old system. The pipes-
Claire started as a bullet lodged in the glass. Owen had dove near the cages, unbolting them as Aldovich fired away. Where was Henry and Dr. Inger? Claire eyed the intercom again, then the rest of the room. They were using the cold to kill her, but maybe it could save her. Claire staggered to the utility cabinet. The doors squeaked with cold, revealing tool bags and spare parts for the coolers. Claire grabbed a bag, slapping herself for enough coherency to search for pliers. Okay, okay...
The ruckus outside elevated. Claire looked back and saw the pterodactyl destroying the room. It fought for its footing and an escape... giving Owen the 'cover' to give Aldovich the first punch. Claire dropped the pliers as it rammed the glass. Or did they fall from her stiff, shivering fingers?
Stay moving, stay alive. Claire told herself, getting to the cooler closest the sealed doors... and the glass with the bullet hole. Claire moved around the cooler and found the two thin pipes that fed liquid nitrogen inside. They were thin, but solid nonetheless. She'd have to remove the top brackets. Claire's brain said this, but her body took forever to find the screwdriver she needed. She berated herself to go faster.
}{}{}{}{
Owen slid in beside Dr. Wu. He seemed painfully unaware of what was happening, shallowly breathing over a blood-stained chest. Owen didn't ask. A mere counter separated them from the mad pterodactyl, smashing beakers and overturning equipment left and right. The woman- Dr. Inger most likely- had bolted when the shooting started. Maybe this wasn't the brightest thing he'd ever done, but Owen needed Aldovich's attention divided. He pulled the doctor close. "Where's Claire."
Dr. Wu blinked, trying to put away the pain from his bullet wound. "C-Coolers."
Owen risked a look up and sure enough, spotted her. What was she doing?
The pterodactyl shot upward suddenly, hitting the ceiling, knocking one of the lights out. The madness had pushed Gavrill to the doors, but he struggled to open them. Owen ducked back down as the pterodactyl landed on the counter. Its wings grappled for the room they sought, claws scrapping for firm footing. It chirped its frustration, causing Dr. Wu to look up. Owen aimed his gun, but the pterodactyl screamed, reeling back. One compie and another piled onto it, until the dinosaurs disappeared. Aldovich had released them? Fighting fire with fire? Owen took the distraction, sidestepping Dr. Wu and dashing for the cooler room. Owen reached the glass, feeling the bite of the cold on the other side. If it was this cold, it'd be brittle. He could break it-
At that, the glass shattered like ice.
She read my mind! Owen shook the shards off, caring little of the scraps he got pulling Claire through the hole. "Hey! I gotcha."
"Worked." She gripped his shoulders and fought to stay up. "Uh, y-y-ou're wa-a-rm."
"Always with the compliments." Owen rubbed at her arms. "How'd you do that?"
Claire focused her green orbs on him. "Bent a pipe... s-s-so the cold air would- Owen!"
Owen turned and with a single shot stopped the compie from leaping onto his back. The rest of the pack paused from their meal; then thankfully returned to it. He looked around for Aldovich and his boss... they were gone.
Later. Owen drew his mind from it as the compies hacked into the pterodactyl. The reality of these creatures rolled around in his stomach like a bad meal. The reality that it went beyond California, beyond Gavrill, and even Dr. Inger. It was one battle tonight; tomorrow, the rest of the war.
"Maisie-" Claire clutched his arm. "The valley-"
"Yeah, c'mon." Owen deviated to where he'd left Dr. Wu. The scientist continued to fight for breath as they propped him up. "Can you move?"
"Slowly." Dr. Wu seethed.
They needed to be faster then that. The compies had taken notice, eyes and purrs following them as they made for the doors. Was it because they were still hungry... or because they wanted out of the door as well? Did it matter? Owen leaned Wu onto Claire, giving him room to level his gun on them. This alerted the tiny dinosaurs farther. They were stepping over the pterodactyl, ignoring the human remains.
"Here." Wu held up a keycard. Claire swiped it and Owen never broke eye contact. They were out in one shuffle, the doors locking before the compies had a chance. Owen dropped the gun and helped to prop Wu against the opposite wall. Owen grimaced at the bullet's dark entry.
"Sergeant Terry... found Maisie." Wu stated, pressing a hand to his wound. Owen shared a look with Claire.
"The army set up a base in the flats." He lifted his hand again; this time with Claire's phone. "Executive decision to kill the dinosaurs there."
"The ones not selected for Lockwood's 'sanctuary'." Owen mentioned as Claire took the phone. "What?"
Owen shook his head. "Later. Where's the base?"
"Dr. Inger will take the 136," Wu said. "I don't know to where, but that's... what she told Terry."
Owen blinked, almost missing the elevator dinging behind them. "You're telling us, why?"
The pretentiousness returned to Wu's eyes. "It was more then your persuasive conversation."
"Help him," Claire addressed Zia as she entered with Franklin. Sweaty and dirt-streaked, she tossed the rifle to Owen. One look at Wu and she paled. "With what?"
"T-They'd keep a first aid kit on every floor." Franklin broke from his gape at the carnage in the lab. "I'll find one."
Owen looked Wu over, until Claire grabbed his arm. He caught her eyes, as desperate and tired as his. "It's all we have to go on."
Owen's focus shifted back and he got up, handing Claire the handgun. "Maisie ran off, but we've got a location on her."
Claire examined her weapon. "There's two bullets left. Zia, do you have extra mags?"
"Trunk." Zia threw her her car keys, putting attention and pressure on Wu's bloody chest. Catching them, Claire tore for the elevator. "Let's go."
There's the fire I married. Owen followed her, rifle in hand.