Hey Hoskins, payback's a biotch!
I can be a glass half full kind of person when I need to be, so, since there wasn't too much positive happening in the tragedy that was today I choose to focus on the good news that resulted from the situation. Mainly, Simon being too traumatized by the cannibalistic dinosaur to pilot the helicopter back to headquarters. Thank god for small mercies. Once Simon re-emerged from his catatonic state he began to lobby for my involvement with the I-Rex.
"I need you to do this. You can be my eyes and ears," Simon said as we sat in his office.
"My eyes and ears aren't going to mean shit. I told you my recommendation, you need to kill that fucker," I told him bluntly. I know I told Owen I could do delicate, but that was before I watched a dinosaur go all Jeffrey Dahmer on its sister.
Simon shook his head vehemently, "I can't do that. What's done is done and we need to see how we can salvage the situation. At least think about it and let me know."
Sure, I'd get right on that.
Whether I was involved or not made very little difference from my vantage point. What was I supposed to do, take it for walks, paint its toenails, ask it nicely to not eat anyone?
I told Simon I'd let him know and made my way down to the shooting range in the basement. I was constantly amazed every time I found something else stashed away down here. It was like an adult Toys "R" Us.
I was the only one in the indoor gun range. I took my time loaded up the paper targets using the remote control to transport them downrange then put on my eye and ear protection picking up my Glock from the table. The only thing more relaxing for me than fighting was shooting. Most people probably did yoga or meditated, but my version of yoga involved wearing yoga pants while drinking.
I quickly unloaded a magazine of bullets into the target then reloaded, repeating the cycle as I mulled over Simon's offer to keep an eye on the I-Rex project. I forced myself to swallow down the bitter taste the idea left in my mouth. It was probably the best solution, all things considered. If he didn't plan on terminating the dinosaur my only real option was to be involved. I knew myself well enough to know I wouldn't be able to keep my nose out of other people's business when it came to this. I may as well accept a formal invitation to the party; that was easier than constantly sneaking around. I had to tell Owen about everything that occurred today, and let him know I'd be spending time with a bloodthirsty dinosaur in the future. I couldn't wait to have that conversation I thought removing my ear protection.
"I've never seen you look so peaceful."
What's a girl gotta do to get some alone time around here? Hoskins was like an STD, always popping up at the worst time.
I put my hands on my hips eyeing him critically. If this guy thought it was a good idea to corner me in a room full of loaded weapons he was too stupid to live.
"Is there something I can help you with Hoskins?"
He smiled walking towards me, "I thought it was time you and I had a conversation."
I raised my eyebrows at him in response. That made one of us.
"You seem confused about who is actually running things here. I would like to clear that up," he stated patronizingly. "See, Simon may own the company, but he's not in control. There are forces working behind the scenes you can't even begin to imagine."
"Like the dark side of the force?"
He frowned, "Joke all you want, I can have you removed anytime I like."
I flashed him a small smile, "Say for example, trying to feed me to the raptors?"
"How many times do you think it will take until you aren't able to pull a rabbit out of your hat?" he asked.
That was an excellent question. I tilted my head watching Hoskins. He may eventually succeed in feeding me to a dinosaur, but not before I ensured he got what was coming to him.
"You had better watch your step or you might not be the one who pays the price," he sneered, "It appears you and Owen are quite close these days."
Hoskins had made a lot of mistakes since I'd met him a short time ago. Threatening Owen was so far over the line I could hardly see it in the distance. Trying to kill me was one thing; threatening those close to me was suicidal.
It's a little known fact that about seven pounds of pressure will snap a collarbone, and the entire arm on the associated side will drop like a sack of potatoes, utterly useless. Plus, it hurts like hell.
I moved quickly using Hoskins surprise to my advantage. I placed my left hand under his chin wrenching his head backwards. He made a startled sound, reaching for my shoulders in an attempt to steady his balance. I moved quickly as his neck, collarbone, and chest were exposed. Closing my right hand into a fist I swung down delivering a vicious hammer fist strike that connected brutally with the left side of his collarbone. The bone snapped instantly with an audible crack, and I released Hoskins letting him fall to the ground. He crumpled against the wall, struggling to breathe through the pain as his left arm hung limp and awkward at his side.
I squatted down next to watching him hiss in pain. "Never assume the reason I'm peaceful is because I've forgotten how to be violent," I told him all traces of humor gone. "If Owen, or anyone else for that matter, so much as gets a paper cut you and I are going to have a real problem."
He glared at me unable to formulate a response through the haze of pain caused by his broken collarbone.
I stood up moving towards the exit, "Oh, I wouldn't bother trying to pull the camera feeds for in here. I heard they were malfunctioning. Kinda like what happened at the raptor paddock that day. Weird coincidence, huh?"
I left a fuming Hoskins in my wake as I took the elevator back to the main levels. He and InGen were becoming more of an issue with every passing day. Simon had no idea how bad the evil undercurrent within his company actually was.
I puttered around headquarters for the rest of the day attending meetings I didn't need to be at, pretending to check email so Claire would delay my execution, and killing time with Lowery. Around six o'clock I headed home dreading bringing Owen up-to-speed on today's events. He wasn't going to like the potential outcomes for either his girls or the I-Rex. I saw Owen outside on the porch grilling and bypassed my house. Whatever he was cooking beat the Lunchables in my fridge hands down.
Exiting my Jeep I made my way onto the porch just as Owen closed the lid to the grill obscuring my view of the tasty morsels.
"Any of that for me?" I asked hopefully.
His jaw tightened, "I got an interesting phone call today."
Oh crap.
"Really, about what?" I said trying to sound casual. Maybe instead of worrying about the raptors and the I-Rex I should have been worrying about Hoskins and his delicate bones.
"Seems Hoskins ended up at the clinic with a broken collarbone," he replied dryly. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"
I leaned against the porch railing examining my nails with interest. Maybe it wasn't too late to just go home and eat my Lunchables.
"Um, I can neither confirm nor deny anything."
Owen ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, "This is your idea of delicate?"
"In my defense he pushed my buttons, and his bones are brittle," I said grimacing. I was reaching, but let's not forget the man had tried to kill me.
"What happened?" he asked.
I had to give Owen credit in the patience department. I wondered if it would hold through the night. He didn't even know the really bad stuff yet.
I walked over to a chair sitting down, "Just Hoskins being Hoskins. Threats, violence, intimidation. Normal day at the office."
I sat down in the chair letting my head fall back against the headrest, closing my eyes. Suddenly, I wasn't real hungry anymore. I just wanted to take a shower, and wash today's ickiness off me then promptly go to bed.
I heard Owen sit down on the coffee table in front of me. He placed his hands on my legs as they sat nestled between his, "You ok?"
"I'm fine. Hoskins on the other hand is going to need a few weeks before he's back in the saddle."
Owen laughed softly lightening the mood, "Well, at least it will never be boring. We're gonna have to work on your temper."
I gave him a half-smile. He had NO idea. I didn't think I had a temper. I thought I had a lightning fast reaction to bullshit.
"That's not even the best part," I told him. "I had a pretty interesting conversation with Simon."
Owen sobered instantly his focus entirely on me. I outlined my entire conversation in Simon's office. As expected, Owen did not take the intended outcome for the raptors well. The only thing that calmed him down was the fact Simon didn't see the project outcome having a very high probability of success. On this island, it's the little things that make all the difference sometimes. I just wondered how long funding for a program with no success would continue to roll in? Plus, Simon obviously lacked some operational control and that was a problem.
"What about the Indominus Rex?" he asked.
I scratched my head, "That's a little different story. We were right, they aren't purely theory. In fact, up until about six hours ago there were two."
I wonder if I looked as shocked as Owen when I saw the I-Rex's for the first time because he looked downright befuddled.
"You saw them? Up close and personal?"
"A little too personal," I uttered.
I told Owen everything I could remember about the I-Rex's appearance, behavior and stature. He peppered me with questions as we tried to make educated guesses regarding their genetic code. I had a ton of theories, but the only thing I was 100% sure of was it had some T-Rex in it. Everything else was purely speculation, and knowing the scientist could have used any genetic filler they wanted made it hard to narrow down the possibilities.
"Want to hear the part that will give you nightmares?" I asked him gearing up for the grand finale, "The bigger one ate the smaller one."
Owen just sat there, completely immobile on the coffee table. He had a faraway look on his face, and his eyes appeared glazed over. I waved my hand in front of his face checking for brain function.
"You ok?" I questioned.
"It ate the sibling?" he said dismayed. I shook my head yes and he stood up returning to the grill. I agreed it was troublesome behavior, and then some.
"Simon wants me involved," I told him. He was furiously turning the chicken over on the grill. I was no BBQ expert, but I was pretty sure you were supposed to turn it once then let the grill do its thing. Owen was flipping them like they were a Rubik's Cube he was trying to solve.
"What did you tell him?"
"I told him he's fucking crazy if he doesn't blow that thing up before it eats everyone on this island."
Owen looked at me like a man who 100% believed me. It was scary how fast he had come to terms with my admittedly outrageous personality. He may think I needed adult supervision most of the time, but he truly listened to what I had to say and made a conscious effort to see my point-of-view in most things. I felt like I could tell Owen in order to save the world we needed to buy a Duckbill Platypus, and he would give it some serious consideration. That's commitment people.
"I think it's probably a good idea. We need to know what's going on and that's easier if I have a seat at the table," I told him in all seriousness. I wanted no part of the I-Rex, but if they weren't going to kill it someone needed to play babysitter.
"Yeah," he said sounding resigned. "It's going to get a lot worse, you know that right?"
I nodded my head in agreement. It was bound to get to post-apocalyptic levels of bad before this played out, but fingers crossed I would get to feed Hoskins to a dinosaur before it was all said and done.
Frosty Autumn: Wow, where to begin? Thank you for reading, and for the insightful review. I'm over the moon you are enjoying the story, and appreciate all your constructive criticism. You're right...I want the story to be as good as possible so I will take your observations into consideration as I go forward. FYI, I'm planning a companion piece to this story that will feature Owen's POV for some of the more critical chapters. Hopefully this will shed some light on what Owen is thinking during all this. Plus, it will give a different perspective on Jo which could help solve some of the issues you pointed out. Thanks for reading/reviewing and hope you continue!
Storylover00: Thanks again! Hope you liked this one as well :)
Malfoy-Whitlock-21: Hello again :) Glad you enjoyed how the last chapter played out. Describing the I-Rex was tougher than I thought it would be b/c I wanted the reader to be horrified, and as it turn out, that's harder than it sounds. Hope you liked the newest chapter!
sarahmichellegellarfan1: Great! I am so glad...I wanted that scene to make an impression. Thanks for reading!
Twilighterheart xxxx: Why yes, as a matter of fact she will tell Owen :) Hope you liked how that played out...thanks for reading/reviewing!
Lady-Finwe: Thanks so much for the compliment! It means a lot! Hope you enjoyed this installment and thanks for reading :)
angelicedg: I thought Jo definitely needed to tell Owen...too big a secret to keep for any length of time. Plus, Owen would totally know she was holding back. Hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reading!
jahoney: Thanks for the great review! Glad you liked the chapter and have stuck with the story. Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
Desert Vulpes Zerda: :) I'm glad you enjoyed it...thanks for reading/reviewing!
localsamurai: Thanks, I love Jo too :) Thanks for reading!
AngelLove1728: I'm glad you are excited about the Owen POV story...me too! I have some ideas floating in my brain and if my kids corporate I might even be able to get some down on paper. LOL about Claire and Owen in the movie! I would gladly accept putting Jo in the movie...maybe she could make an appearance in the Jurassic World sequel? My schedules open :)
BlueEyedPisces: Want to hear something funny, I have the hardest time remembering how to spell Pisces. Which is ironic considering I'm a Pisces. It's like that word is my archenemy or something. Anyways, I'm glad you love Jo's character so much. She's a handful, but adds a little spice to this explosion mixture. Thanks for reading and reviewing!