This one's for my road dog Saint-Brooke-Lynn

Two hours and 10 files later I was utterly convinced if an incident were to occur on this island we were all going to die rather horrific deaths. These guys weren't qualified to defend a Baskin-Robbins, much less an isolated island inhabited by prehistoric dinosaurs. I settled my elbows on the table placing my head in my hands wondering how legally binding my contract actually was. There were always legal loopholes, right?

"This doesn't look good," Hamada said, striding into the room taking a seat across the table from me.

I took a deep breath, counted to 10 and then to 20 before leaning back in the chair, crossing my arms over my chest. I pointed to a stack of nine folders sitting to my left, "Those nine either need to be put on a boat and shipped out of here immediately or shot." Personally, I was leaning toward the shooting option. I pointed to the solitary file on my right, "That one might have what it takes. Maybe."

"One out of 10? Really, Jo? They can't all be that bad." Hamada was up and pacing behind the desk now.

"Listen, you asked for my opinion I'm giving it to you. Those nine are not ready, will never be ready." I tracked him as he made his way back and forth across the room. "Did you know one of them was arrested for arson and still lives in his mother's basement?"

"What?!" He stopped pacing, staring at me with his mouth open and eyes wide. "That was in his file? How could we have missed that?"

"You didn't miss it. It wasn't in his file. He told me."

Hamada was speechless, utterly speechless standing in the middle of the room looking very much like a man who was questioning his life choices. I knew the feeling well.

"Why would he tell you that?" Now he was back to pacing. "These guys went through multiple polygraph tests and interviews. Why would he just volunteer this now?"

"That's not the only issue; two of these guys falsified almost everything in their file. It's like a bad work of fiction," I told him, ignoring his question digging through the pile of folders. Hamada stopped pacing, and leaned against the wall shaking his head back and forth with his hands on his face.

I felt bad for the guy. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to make this harder for you than it already is, but you asked me to take a look and these are the facts."

"I believe you Jo. It's just a shock. I thought InGen was better than this. Thanks for doing this, I'll let management know about the results." He gathered the files in his hand as we walked out of the office making our way to my Jeep.

"I'm sorry Katashi, really. I wanted them to not suck too. Between the two of us I'm sure we can come up with a short list of people crazy enough to come here. Just let me know if you need any more help."

"Sure, where are you headed off to?"

"I'm going to go see some dinosaurs," I answered excitedly, climbing into my Jeep.

I was slightly disappointed to find out Velociraptor paddock wasn't pre-programmed into my GPS, but I was able to get a general idea of where to go from some of the onsite security personnel outside the building. According to them, the raptor paddock was located on a secure part of the island separate from the park itself overlooking the ocean. I got the distinct impression not a lot of people ventured out there, and by the look on this guy's face he were convinced I shouldn't either.

"It's highly restricted access ma'am." The rent-a-cop was eyeing me through my Jeep window with a doubtful expression.

"I wouldn't worry about that. I have a permission slip." I flashed my all access backstage employee badge tearing out in the direction the guard had pointed to for the raptor paddock. The roads were mostly dirt, and it was relatively slow going with the twists and turns in the road weaving through the jungle. No wonder Owen drove a motorcycle. I'm pretty sure I could have walked faster than I was driving.

It took 45 minutes, but I finally saw the raptor site come into view. It was an impressive setup with what looked like office type buildings off to the left and the paddock for the raptors directly in the center. The paddock looked to be made of solid concrete reinforced with steel beams at steady intervals. Above the enclosure was a crisscrossing metal walkway leading to stairs that led down at various points around the paddock. There were several pens and holding places scattered around area. I pulled to a stop next to Owen's bike, killing the engine.

I stepped out of the Jeep, squinting at the sun overhead. It was the heat of the day on Isla Nublar and the sun was oppressive. I adjusted my sunglasses and the leg harness for my gun. I'm mature enough to admit I put it on because I thought it made me look badass, and a part of me wanted to look really badass when I saw Owen. Especially considering the hysterics my job title seemed to send him into last night.

I wandered closer to the raptor paddock inspecting the site, taking mental notes of all the security measures in place.

"Can I help you?" Turning to the left I saw a tall, dark skinned man with a bald head, and an athletic build approaching me. He was wearing loose fitting board shorts, and a wife beater topped with an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt. His accent was obviously French. He approached me with friendly curiosity.

"Hi, I'm Jo King, I'm here to take a look at the raptor paddock and hopefully get a look at your girls." I reached out to shake his hand.

"Barry, I work here as a trainer with the raptors." He shook my hand and motioned for me to follow him. "I didn't know anyone was coming to inspect us today, but feel free to have a look around. The girls are currently in containment."

"I'll start on the outside of the structure then take a look inside with you or Owen if that works for you?"

"You know Owen?" he asked, clearly surprised.

"Doesn't everyone?" Owen replied from the stairs leading down from the catwalk. "Well, don't you look official today," he smiled, gesturing to my outfit.

"I debated leaving my weapons in the car considering I often have the inclination to shoot you, but decided to risk it just for today."

Barry shook with laughter, eyeing Owen closely. "It was nice to meet you Jo. I'll be inside finishing up those reports if you're good here Owen?"

Owen nodded and Barry retreated back to the offices. Owen and I started making our way around the paddock with me asking the occasional question and him supplying the answer. Once we were done outside we made our way inside the paddock.

"The girls are in containment so we can take a look inside," he said as he pushed a green button opening the steel cage doors from the ground up. We repeated the action once more before stepping inside the paddock. Owen waved his hand forward, bowing slightly, "After you."

I nodded and stepped into the paddock pausing a few feet in to look around myself. It was a fairly large enclosure and pretty damn impressive. "How many raptors do you have?"

"Four." I nodded, continuing my walk around the perimeter.

"How old are they now?"

"A little over six months, and growing like weeds."

I made my way around the entire paddock, stopping from time to time to examine different points. "You need to keep the underbrush cut back. They may not be attempting it now, but once they are older they could use it for leverage against the wall."

"You think they would climb a tree to get out?" He sounded like I had just told him Santa Claus was real.

"The raptors at Jurassic Park were observed learning to open doors after only seeing it done once. Are you really willing to take the chance your girls don't figure something out?" I walked on leaving a contemplative Owen in my wake.

He jogged to catch up, "Do you have experience with animals?"

"No, but I can read." The events at Jurassic Park were well documented, and I would be a fool to ignore the books as a resource once I accepted the job here.

"Alright, we'll make sure the grounds crew keeps the area directly in front of the wall cut back."

I nodded, turning to face Owen as we stood in front of the gate we had entered through. "So, can I meet your girls?"

Owen smiled brightly, if not a little mischievously, and told me to follow him. We exited the paddock and two security gates before walking around to the containment units. Only the raptors heads were visible as we entered. They were restrained using a pressure harness, which immobilized their jaws from above leaving them unable to do more than growl and shake.

"These containment units are built to withstand more than triple the pounds per square inch the raptors will be able to exhibit once they are fully mature," Owen explained, walking into the unit.

I followed him inside getting my first look at a dinosaur. I couldn't believe I was standing next to previously extinct animals. It was amazing. The raptor directly in front of me had vibrant blue streaks down either side of her head that traveled the length of her torso. Her yellow eyes were locked on me as I approached.

"This is Blue, she's the oldest," Owen said as I continued staring at Blue. She struggled briefly in her restraint as I approached, and Owen touched the side of her head whispering assurances to calm her down.

"She's beautiful. Can I touch her?" I asked Owen, stepping closer to Blue. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't look away from Blue.

"Sure."

I stepped on the other side of Blue placing one hand under her jaw the other on the side of her face. Her skin was softer than it looked. I thought it would feel leathery or scaly, but it was soft as silk under my palm. Blue thrashed slightly in her pen, and I mimicked Owen uttering a quiet, "Shhh, easy girl."

She seemed to relax and I swear I could see her emotions flashing through her yellow eyes. This animal had the eyes of a hunter, a killer. She was intelligent, a leader, and most definitely in charge of this brigade. Her steely gaze never wavered from mine as she took in my presence struggling to determine my purpose here. I saw a subtle change in her demeanor right before she started thrashing violently in her pen. Blue had made up her mind, I was officially a threat.

I dropped my hand, taking a step back, turning to face Owen. He had a bewildered look on his face.

"What?"

"I've just never seen anyone walk in here and pet a raptor without so much as a tremble of their hand before."

I shrugged, "Maybe she's not the scariest thing I've ever seen." I turned to the other containment units. "What are their names?"

He didn't answer right away. He seemed to be studying my face looking for an answer he clearly couldn't find, it seem to frustrate him. "That's Echo, Charlie and Delta," he explained, pointing to each one as he went.

If I had any doubt as to whether Owen was military it was gone now. I smiled as I looked back at him. "Original."

"Shut up," he snapped as we made our way out of the containment units just as Barry joined us. "Is there anything else I can do for the Director of Security Protocols and Behavior Assessment or can we all get back to work?"

"There's no need to get your panties in a twist just because I said you lacked originality." Barry seemed to be fighting a losing battle with not laughing today. "I'm sure a lot of people find the phonetic alphabet poetic."

"Wow, dress you up like G.I. Jane and you get all kinds of mouthy," Owen threw back at me, tilting his head to the side contemplatively. I freaking new all this shit Hamada gave me was overkill. I smiled sweetly at him as I turned to walk back to my Jeep. Halfway there I stopped calling out to Owen.

"Oh, there is one thing. I'd keep an eye on Blue. She's the Beta in the pack, but Echo is going to make a play for the spot. If you aren't careful one of them could really get hurt." I turned on my heel continuing to the Jeep. I had just shut the door when Owen ran up to the window.

"How would you know that about Blue? You spent two minutes looking at her? You haven't even seen them all interact, and you barely glanced at Echo."

I cocked my head to the side and started the engine. "Fifty bucks says it happens by the end of the week. I mean it, keep a close eye or you might lose one of your girls before it's all said and done. Drop the money off at my house when you lose."

With that I put the Jeep in reverse leaving a bewildered looking Owen in my rear view mirror.

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