Thanks to Elise-Collier for jumping in with some line suggestions for the two spots where I had comments of "I hate this line." They're much better now and the story has a better flow.

Oh, I made a minor edit to the last chapter - changed it from "Back off, Wu!" to "Back off, Henry!" as I was re-watching JW and realized Claire said to Hoskins "Where's Henry?"

Chapter 14

After watching Lowery and Zia enter the second building, Claire and Owen continued to the third. From the outside, the building was dark, and so they pulled open the front door and slipped inside. Similar to Zia, Owen pulled out his headlamp and flicked it on, keeping the light aimed low to guide their path. It wasn't as necessary in this building as it was in the other. While there weren't any lights on, the doors to the various rooms all had windows, and through the windows they could see bits of glowing light coming from the various machines and computers in the rooms.

Owen led them straight for the room that was labelled "Embryo Storage." Inside, he started pulling open the first freezer he came too, yanking out the samples and dropping them onto the ground where he stomped on them.

"Owen!" Claire exclaimed. "We're supposed to be gathering evidence."

"And sabotage," Owen huffed, stomping on another pile he'd dropped. "If this is ever going to end, if Wu's ever going to be stopped, these samples can't exist."

"But–" Claire wanted to disagree. She had built her entire career off the backs of these dinosaurs. She still believed that everything Hammond and Lockwood had done was incredible. And she wasn't quite ready to dismiss it all; at least, not so easily or readily as Owen appeared able to do. Starting with the original cloning experiments of Hammond and Lockwood before Jurassic Park and continuing up through Jurassic World, the scientists – specifically, the geneticists – had made undeniably impressive gains. They had pushed the boundaries of known science and broken through to a new frontier. She didn't find it easy to just throw away all that knowledge.

"No, Claire," Owen paused, turning to face her and shaking his head. "This has to stop. Wu, InGen, Mills… they aren't the only people who are guided more by money and ego than anything else. If this stuff still exists? There will always be someone else. Someone with too much money and dreams of playing God. Someone who just wants to see if they can, not caring if they should. This knowledge will never be safe."

"The end of the dinosaurs," Claire said softly, watching as Owen started pulling out samples from the next freezer and stomping those ones as well.

"They went extinct for a reason," Owen said. "They had their time. It wasn't right for us to bring them back."

"And Blue?" Claire asked, her gaze shifting towards the general direction of Blue's paddock.

"Blue, and the others that are still alive…" Owen sighed. "I wish there was an easy answer. I worry that keeping them alive is equivalent to keeping these samples. But… they're alive."

"We created them, how can we abandon them?" Claire smiled wanly. At Owen's furrowed brow, she elaborated. "It's one of our slogans at the DPG."

Claire watched as Owen tried to hurriedly, yet systematically, move through the freezers and destroy the samples. She couldn't bring herself to help him, but she didn't try to stop him either. It took a few minutes more, but soon Owen was satisfied enough, that he was ready to move onto the next room.

Across the hall was the room containing the "nests." They paused, looking in through the window in the door. "I don't think I can stomach destroying the eggs," Claire whispered. "We don't know how close they are to hatching."

"What if there's an Indoraptor in there?" Owen asked. "Can we really afford for that to be born?"

"We don't even know for sure if they've started making one. Or how far along they are," Claire argued. "If they need Blue, and her DNA, I don't think it can be that far yet. Are we going to condemn a creature before birth? Let's deal with the other areas first."

Owen gave one last look at the eggs sitting clustered in "nests" before nodding, and moving away. They continued down the hall, stopping where there was the short hallways off to the sides, one leading to Wu's office. Their plan was to gather up any lab notebooks they could find to create a fire as a distraction for their getaway. But, that was the last step. First, they needed more evidence. Proof that Wu and his fellow scientists were up to no good. Even better, if they could find documentation also pointing the finger at InGen and Mills.

Turning together, they headed straight for Wu's office. Claire moved to flip on the light switch, but Owen grabbed her arm lightly to stop her. "There's a window," he reminded her, pointing at it and Claire let her arm drop back to her side.

Moving more fully into the room, they both headed straight for the computer. Quickly wiggling the mouse, they waited impatiently for the screen to flicker back on, only to see the login screen.

"Really?" Claire sighed, "This is where they actually put a password?"

"He's probably afraid of the other scientists taking credit for his work," Owen shrugged, moving away from the computer towards the cupboards under the window. He pulled open the doors and started looking through the contents. It looks to be used as a storage cabinet for some lab supplies as well as user manuals, likely for the various machines they had seen in the other rooms. Nothing useful or incriminating. He moved on to the next set of drawers, sparing a glance over his shoulder at Claire, who was sitting at the desk, staring at the computer thoughtfully.

"If I were Henry..." Claire was saying softly, her gaze looking from the computer to the items on the desk.

"If you were Wu–" Owen started to reply, but he cut himself off, as they heard the outer door opening followed by the sound of footsteps. He quickly turned his headlamp off, but the light from the computer, still sitting on the login, shone brightly, a beacon to whoever had entered the building.

The light in the hallways turned on, and – moments later – Wu was in the doorway, flipping on the office light, gaping at the two of them. "What the–? How the–?"

Owen barely managed to suppress his chuckle, he had never seen Wu lose his composure before. The few times he had interacted with him, he'd always thought the guy was a bit of an egotistical jackass. He'd walk around with his perfect posture, acting like he was above everyone else. Owen knew, especially from conversations with Claire after the Jurassic World incident, that Wu did actually believe that. After 30 years of being on the leading edge of genetics research, from saving animals on the edge of extinction, to bringing back dinosaurs, and to now doing very specific gene manipulation to create hybrids, Owen also knew that Wu believed he had earned the right to be treated and seen as almost God-like.

Wu took a deep breath, before starting over. "Ms. Dearing. Mr. Grady. Why are you in my office? And how are you on this island?" He took a step further into the office.

Claire stood up from behind the desk, standing tall, and Owen moved to stand just slightly behind her. As much as he wanted to reply, he knew Claire would have a much smarter response than him. But he wanted Wu to be very clear that he was right there, fully supporting her.

"Why? One guess. How? By boat," Claire smiled sweetly back at him, knowing her response would just annoy him.

"You're not allowed on this island," Wu tried, taking another couple of steps closer, until he was standing on the other side of his desk. "It's private property."

"Then I guess we're trespassing," Claire rolled her eyes. "I think that should be the least of your worries. We know what you're up to."

"I'm sure you think you know what's going on," Wu brushed her comment aside, picking up the amber paperweight off his desk, "but I have no doubt that you're wrong."

"Hey, put that down," Owen said, taking a step closer to the desk and Claire.

"What, this?" Wu held up the paperweight, before rolling his eyes at Owen. "What do you think I'm going to do? I'm not some neanderthal."

"Don't test me," Owen growled, raising the gun he'd been carrying.

"Owen," Claire said warningly, reaching out with one hand to push down lightly against the arm holding the gun, encouraging him to lower it.

"You should listen to her," Wu nodded, before taunting Owen. "The "boss" doesn't like to be challenged.

"Back off, Henry!" Claire yelled angrily, knowing he wasn't helping the situation. She was surprised when almost immediately, the sound of footsteps echoed through the building again. Wu looked pleased at the sound, and Claire's heart dropped. Who was coming now?

"Whoa!" Lowery came to a sudden halt in the doorway, gaze jumping between Owen's gun and Wu. His stop was abrupt enough that Zia crashed into him, causing the two to stumble a couple of steps into the room.

Claire wasn't sure if she should be relieved or annoyed by their presence. She had been expecting to see some of the other workers on the island, which she knew wouldn't have been good for her and Owen. She had been hoping that Lowery and Zia would've been able to get out of the compound and call for help (preferably from the safety of the boat).

Wu, on the other hand, was definitely not pleased by their presence. The room only had the one entrance (unless you counted the small window), and they were both blocking it. Once Zia came to a stop, she grabbed the gun Owen gave her and now had it training on Wu, following Owen's lead.

"Really?" Wu looked put out. "Is all this pageantry necessary?" He glanced between Zia and Owen, before calmly putting the paperweight back down. "I have to say, you have more faith in my abilities than I do, if you seriously thought I could take you out with a paperweight while you have guns."

"People can do impressive things when backed into a corner," Owen shrugged, not lowering his weapon.

"Well, now you've got me surrounded," Wu said. "What's your plan? Walk me out of here at gunpoint? There's more of us than there are of you."

"I just don't get it," Claire replied, still focused on everything they had learned that day. "You've been involved since practically the start. You know what happened at Jurassic Park and Jurassic World. And what's happened right here, at Site B before. Your first hybrid destroyed this island. Your second took out Jurassic World. Why would you ever even think of creating a third?"

Wu chuckled. "Oh, Claire," he shook his head, almost with a fondness. "Never able to quite see the big picture, are you?"

"I've seen the big picture," Claire disagreed. "I feel guilty for what went down on Nublar – I was part of the chain of events. But I've learned from my mistakes. I'm not trying to repeat them."

"I'm not repeating mistakes," Wu looked offended. "Every dinosaur I've made has been an improvement on the last. And the Indoraptor – it will be my finest creation. See," Wu looked particularly pleased with himself. "We solved the problems we had with the Spinosaurus with the Indominus. And while you may see the Indominus as a failure, I focus on the successes. Like its ability to camouflage and hide from the infrared tracking system. And its intelligence! I mean, Mr. Grady here opened our eyes to just how intelligent the raptors are, but the Indominus? The raptors never managed to pull tricks anywhere near the level of the Indominus."

"That's what you think," Owen muttered and Claire shot him an angry glare.

"But, that's not all," Wu was on a roll now and fixed his gaze on Owen. "Your raptor research has opened the door so much wider. Not only did you demonstrate that raptors could be controlled–"

"We never had them under control. Jesus, Wu! Here you're trying to tell us to learn, and you're still missing the main lesson from my work." Owen couldn't hold back any longer. "How many times do I have to say, it was a relationship!"

"However you want to word it," Wu dismissed Owen with a wave of his hand, "it resulted in the same thing. Raptors who followed commands. Who you were able to hunt with. Who gave you loyalty over the Indominus." Wu shifted his eyes back to Claire. "All of this information, it's making each iteration better. The next one, the Indoraptor, will be smaller. We understand the socialization needs better, and this one will have a mother. It will learn, the same way Mr. Grady's raptors learned."

"You don't get it," Claire sighed, looking down for a second, gathering her thoughts. "You're still focused on the wrong things. You've never stepped back and just asked yourself, why? Why are you making these? What is the point? What are we gaining from all of this?" A movement from the corner of her eye caused her gaze to shift from Wu to Lowery, who was facing her with his tablet and giving her a giant thumbs up. What was he up to? She didn't have time to consider it, as she turned back to Wu. "I've had these conversations. And I still do believe the work of bringing back these dinosaurs has been hugely important. The knowledge we've gained alone makes it worth it. But," Claire stood up straighter. "But there has to be a line. And the Indominus crossed it. And this?" She waved her hand around, gesturing to the room and compound. "This is way over the line. You're not being driven by some higher goal, some altruistic end. You're doing what you're doing for you alone, damn the consequences."

"Now wait a second," Wu took a step forward, his hands coming up in defense as Owen and Zia raised their guns, which they had allowed to drop over the course of the conversation, at him again. "We are saving the dinosaurs here. You were on Nublar. You must know what's happening there. They're not thriving. At least we're protecting them. So much for your little group." Wu scoffed. "All you've done is arts and crafts. We're doing real work here."

"Hey!" Zia exclaimed. "We've done way more than that."

Claire had to stifle a smile, she'd been wondering how long Zia was going to be able to remain quiet. She ignored Zia's line, still focused on Henry's idea of "protection." "You call trophy hunting 'protecting the dinosaurs'?What world do you live in? You're not saving anything. You're putting fish in a barrel and letting people pay you millions to be allowed to shoot them."

"Trophy hunting is a known conservation tool," Wu offered as a defense.

"That line is old and tired," Claire sighed. "It's been debunked over and over again. Giving a portion of the money to charity and conservation efforts is merely a way to reduce some of the guilt. Trophy hunting drives exactly what you're doing. Raising animals in captivity just for people to kill. It's not about helping them. You raise them around humans so they're less likely to kill the hunters. You use what you taught them against them. It's sick."

"You can act all high and mighty, like you're above all of this," Wu replied. "But you were at Jurassic World since it opened. You clawed your way to the top of the ladder there, and I witnessed your meteoric rise. You can't hide from me what you did or didn't do over the years." He chortled as his eyes glinted mischievously. "Remember, I was there."

"I never said I haven't made mistakes," Claire said tightly. "I don't pretend that I didn't play a role in the Jurassic World incident. But I'm–"

"Hey! What's going on in here?" They were all startled by an interloper shouting. The five of them had been too focused on what was going on in the office they had all missed the sound of the door opening and heavy boots on the floor.

Behind Lowery and Zia, in the small hallway were a couple of the workers. Owen vaguely recognized them from Nublar. The moment they caught sight of Owen and Zia's guns, they raised their own. Owen kept his own gun aimed at Wu, but Zia shifted targets.

Now that Lowery had turned, Claire could see that he was recording a video on his tablet. She was happy he'd thought of that. Despite clutching her own phone in her hand, the idea hadn't even crossed her mind. She hoped he managed to record most of Wu's speech.

"Put down your gun," one of the men demanded of Zia.

"Why?" Zia questioned. "So you can shoot me? Lower yours!"

"What are you doing in here?" Wu questioned the two men.

"There's a helicopter," the first man explained. "We weren't expecting it and wanted to know if you were."

"A helicopter?" Wu looked confused. "At night?"

"Yeah, and it's got a big searchlight on it, like it's looking for something," the second man added. He was looking nervous. "No one knows why it's here. It's not yours?"

"No," Wu replied slowly, his own confident stance slackening.

"Wait, then who would be here? And why?" the first man asked frantically, just as they heard, again, the front doors open. It was followed by the sound of many boots rushing into the building.

"I want everybody to freeze!" A deep voice yelled.

Claire's gaze darted towards Lowery, who was smirking. He raised his tablet, aiming at the two men in the hallway. Moments later they could see the new people, and Claire recognized the uniforms as U.S. Navy. What were they doing there? She turned back to Lowery, who caught her eye as he slowly panned the tablet around the room. He then said with a beaming grin, "Wave to everyone watching – we're live!"

This chapter and the next were a huge struggle to write. Although, re-reading them as I edit, I like them more and more. One of my first ideas for this fic was to have Franklin (before I changed him to Lowery) to do the live-stream. I wanted to give his character more of a role.

I really hope you enjoyed it! Only one more chapter and an epilogue left! I feel like time has flown by.