Chapter 19: Cytokine
A/N: Another long one, but I was having a lot of fun with this one and it kept coming.
Nods to EOC. Just know that most of Owen and Claire's background stuff comes from deep dives I've read (thank you internet sleuths who did all the info gathering, especially early life), so most of their stuff is based from that. One of the reasons I was excited at continuing this was being able to dig more into these two and understand how they tick.
As always, enjoy!
Light smut warning ahead in case you need it :)
They had all gathered on the flight deck at dawn the following morning. The raptors were in their transport cages, screeching and chirping at all the activity. The people leaving were running around, throwing bags into holding areas and giving hugs goodbye. Claire was off to one side hugging Karen as Owen spoke to the boys
"You guys stay here as long as you can. This is the safest place to be right now." Claire said as she pulled away. "You can come stay on base with us once you are able to get off the ship."
"Scott's making a stink about wanting the boys home. I'm really torn right now." Karen replied, looking over at Sam who was saying goodbye to his father.
"Wisconsin might be far enough away from all this. We're basically at ground zero anyway." Claire shrugged, not wanting to think about her sister so far away.
"Maybe. But maybe not for long..." the elder sister worried.
"You could always convince Scott to come here. Of course with Sam, that might get a little dramatic." Claire said, rolling her eyes.
"I've got a few more days to figure it out. You just keep yourselves safe." Karen said, leaning in to hug her sister again. "I love you, baby sister."
"I love you, too." Claire replied, squeezing her tighter. She saw Owen pulled away from a hug from Gray. He turned to her and reached out his hand for her to take. Gray ran to her and gave her one more tight hug. Claire was trying desperately not to cry. She leaned down to kiss the boy on the top of his head. "I'll see you soon. I promise." Gray nodded and stepped over to his brother as his mom was saying her final goodbyes to Sam.
Owen led her toward the back of the transport helicopter where his father was standing.
"Dad."
"Son. I love you." Thomas said simply. "You take of yourself." He leaned in for a hug, "And you take care of my daughter over there."
"I will." Owen replied, pulling back and trying to hold in his emotions.
"I'll see you soon." his father said finally as the transport engines kicked on.
Owen just nodded, before leading Claire to the ramp. She stopped him to lean over and give Thomas one last hug.
"I'll keep him safe." she said into his ear. Thomas just nodded, getting teary himself as they both finally stepped onto the ramp and into the transport.
The area they had been given was located on the southeast part of North Island. Owen wasn't sure how the girls would deal with the jet noise around them, but it would have to do for now. There was a huge open field that seemed to go on for a mile, but he could see a wooded area off in the distance.
He saw an older gentleman standing near the fencing and looking out on the field. He walked over, clearing his throat so as not to startle him.
"I think you're the man I'm looking for." Owen said.
"Name's Lieutenant MacNamara, but you can call me Mac. I run this facility."
"Owen Grady. Animal behaviorist and strike team commander. I'm just checking things out ahead of time. Can you tell me about the facility?"
"Sure! We were finding that we were seeing a number of large exotic animals coming in from Coast Guard drug raids, so we built this facility to house them until they could arrange relocation. We had a LOT of tigers." Mac laughed.
"Are those outdoor fences electrified?" Owen asked, hopefully.
"They can be, but we found the animals didn't really bother with them." the older man replied.
"What's the power at?"
"About five thousand volts when activated."
Owen thought briefly for a moment, "Can it be boosted to ten?"
"TEN! Are you crazy?! No animal needs that much shock! What the hell are you bringing in here?" he asked, horrified.
"Mac, has anybody gotten you up to speed on what's going on?"
"No! I just got my usual orders to prepare for incoming, Granted the activity was a little more than typical and I noticed guys doing more reinforcing, but I figured it was just some updates." he answered honestly.
"Oh, boy..." Owen puffed out, "Okay... Mac? I should probably tell you..."
Before he could finish his sentence, there was loud rumbling as large trucks began to approach. Both men turned to look and Mac received the surprise of his life as he watched what were clearly two cages carrying dinosaurs being transported to his facility.
They were still quiet a moment after the vehicles had passed. Mac just turned to Owen with a dead straight face, "Are you fucking serious?"
Owen smiled wide. He liked the older man. "Come on. I'll introduce you to your newest residents." he said, wrapping an arm around Mac's shoulder to guide him.
Claire had stayed with Henry as he ran his checks on them, while Owen went on ahead. She was now riding in the truck carrying Echo as they arrived at the facility on the island part of the base. The truck backed up the fence, ready to unload and stopped. Claire jumped down from the tall height of the seat and slammed the door behind her. Walking to the back, she found Echo wide awake and pacing.
"Hey girl. You ready to get some freedom at last?"
Echo chirped, almost excitedly. Out of nowhere, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and a face buried into the side of her neck.
"I bet she is." Owen mumbled into her shoulder. "That took a while."
"Miss me?" she laughed.
"Only a lot." he said squeezing her tighter.
She reached up and ran her fingers into his hair as she looked over at Echo again, "Henry wanted to take as many samples as he could while they were still unconscious. He's attempting to make a vaccine."
"Well, we'll cross our fingers on that one." he said, kissing her shoulder, "Hang on...Mac!" he called over to the other man. He wandered over, slowly tearing his eyes away from Blue, who he had been staring at since they pulled in. "Mac, this is Claire Dearing. She's the director for the InGen Security division. Claire, this is Lieutenant MacNamara. He runs the facility here."
"Mac, ma'am." he said, tipping his ball cap.
"Oh god, not ma'am. Please just call me Claire." she laughed, shaking his hand. "So you're in charge?" she smiled.
"Usually just babysitting until the animals get transferred. But I was told they'd be here for an extended stay." he replied, warily looking at the raptors.
"Hey Owen! We letting them out or what?" Barry yelled from over by Blue's cage. The raptors were bouncing around making all kinds of noises. They could sense the environment had changed and they seemed anxious to go.
"Hang on a sec!" he replied to Barry before turning back to Mac, "Can we get the fences fired up to at least the five thousand volts? We'll just hope they won't bother with them right away."
"That's really being hopeful." Claire warned.
"It's enough to turn them away for now. It's only if they really want to get out that they'll push through it. I've talked to Simon about potential reinforcement needs for the paddock. Plus, we'll have eyes on them at all times." he assured her, "Mac?"
"Let me flip the switch then." he replied, stepping away to a nearby shed. Moments later they could hear the distinctive buzzing sound from live electricity. The lights spread throughout went from dark to red, warning anyone that the fences were active. Mac stepped back out of the shed another minute later, "Well, there ya go. They've got ten acres covered by that fence."
"Barry, you heard the man. Let 'em go!" Owen shouted happily.
Barry hit a button on the remote, raising the gates on both cages. Blue and Echo didn't hesitate before bolting out of the trucks and screeching the whole way. They were racing and jumping on each other.
Owen and Claire laughed, watching their antics like they were puppies at play. Mac just stared at them dumbfounded.
"What?" Owen asked, "That's cute. Come on, admit it."
Mac just looked ant him and shook his head, laughing, "I'm not sure cute is the word I would use to describe those things."
"Well, they're not exactly puppies, but they're still amazing animals." Claire said, still watching the raptors play. "They're the smartest creatures on the planet next to humans. Dr. Grant used to say if they had survived extinction they would have surpassed us in intelligence."
"I'll give you that. They're definitely something else." Mac replied, still chuckling.
As the raptors continued to run and play, Owen turned to Claire, "So, Barry and a few of the guys will keep an eye on things here for now. You and I have other business to attend to."
"And what would that be?" she smiled up at him. Before he could answer, her phone rang. Looking down, she realized Simon was calling, "Shit I have to take this. Be right back." she said before stepping away near the fence.
"She's a pretty one." Mac said as Owen just kept his eyes on Claire.
Snapping out of it, he turned to Mac, "Brilliant too. She was the operations manager for Jurassic World."
"Got a bit of a crush on your director?" he laughed.
"Big one. So I married her." Owen grinned. Mac looked at him surprised. "As much as I want to broadcast that, we're on a military base and she's a woman. She needs people here to respect her. Not talk over her to me."
"Well then, you better work on the face you make when you look at her. Dead giveaway." Mac chuckled. He looked back out to the field and was concerned with what he saw, "Is that normal?"
Owen turned to see what he was referring to and he saw it. As Claire slowly walked along the fence talking to Simon, Echo was carefully walking behind her.
"She's not in a hunting position. She's just following..." Owen wondered. Claire stopped, not with her back turned, but not facing Echo either, who had stopped to watch her. "Look at her. She's waiting...Barry!" He called over. The other man walked over, "Are you seeing this?"
Barry nodded, "She's curious, but not aggressive. Claire hasn't noticed her yet." he laughed.
"Claire!" Owen shouted to get her attention. She broke from her conversation to respond. As she turned she realized Echo was there. She was startled at first, but then Owen could see her visibly relax and smile, shaking her head. She tilted her head in their direction as she started to walk back. Echo followed behind, watching her. Claire appeared to be just chatting with her as they returned to where the men were. Owen could hear the end of their conversation as they got close.
"So I hope you two like it here for a bit. It's better than the cages." she said stopping and turning to face the raptor. Echo stepped forward, wanting to put her nose through the bars, but Claire held her hand up to stop her, "Stop!" she shouted, shaking her head. Echo screeched and sniffed around before scurrying back.
"She can probably smell the electricity." Barry offered.
She stopped, still looking at them.
"Go!" Claire hollered and the raptor took off to go after her sister.
"Well, that was interesting." Owen said.
"She was down with them a lot on the carrier. They seemed to get excited to see her after a while." Barry pointed out, "This may not be as impossible as I first thought."
"What exactly are your plans here?" Mac asked.
"Barry, Mac here needs a bit of an update to where we are right now." Owen said.
"I need to prep some food anyway. Lieutenant, why don't you take a walk with me? Let's get you up to speed on raptors and zombies."
"Zombies?!" Mac stopped. Barry just put his arm around the man and led him away. "I knew I shoulda called in today." they heard him complain as they disappeared.
Owen turned to Claire once they were out of sight. Leaning down, he kissed her. "Hello wife."
"Hello husband."
"God I love the sound of that." he grinned and attacked her neck, leaving her laughing. "Stop distracting me. We have shit to do." he said, trying to make a serious face. They could hear the raptors far off in the distance. They had located the wooded area and disappeared. "I've got Sam and Adam getting the guys ready for some practice runs. Katerina and Danny are going through weapons and vehicles. Simon got shit here fast."
"The beauty of being a billionaire in a pinch." she smirked. "Lowery is already fully hooked up back in the main building. He's updating us on the ships every hour unless it's urgent. I've got earpieces to keep us live no matter where we are." she said handing him one. They both placed them in their ears, "Also, and you'll be proud of me for this one. I was able to source the full body suits from various sources. Even a few outside of InGen. Plus, I've already talked to the manufacturing division about upgrading and strengthening the suits."
"Jesus, you've managed that since this morning?"
"I managed that on the helicopter flight." she replied, smugly raising an eyebrow.
"Fuck that's hot." he growled as he leaned in for her neck again.
"Hey now! Others have now entered the chat!" Lowery warned over the earpiece. "Save the honeymoon for offline."
"Hi Lowery." Claire laughed.
"Leave them alone, dude. It hasn't even been twelve hours yet." they heard Sam defend.
"By the way, Sam's with us." she added.
"Owen, everything's all set." Sam said cryptically.
"Awesome. There's a utility vehicle here, so we'll take that over." Owen said. He grabbed Claire's hand and started leading her there.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"The girls need some time to run and Barry's watching the tracker, so it's my turn for a surprise." he grinned.
About five minutes later they arrived at an empty hanger off the airstrip. Owen looked at Claire and smiled before he got out. Claire climbed out of the passenger seat behind him. As soon as she got out, she knew why he had brought her here. A smile crossed her face when she spotted the two motorcycles parked in the hanger.
"Really?" her eyes widened.
"I was serious about doing this side by side with you. And watching Echo respond to you that way gives me hope this might work. We can always keep you on an ATV if you'd prefer or if you can't get comfortable..."
"No, I wanna try." she replied.
"My girl." he grinned and kissed her, "Okay, so here's the plan. We're gonna spend some time getting you comfortable. I am going to need to head back in a bit to start getting the teams ready, but Sam will take over here. There's no pressure. These just run faster than the ATVs, so they're better to use with the girls."
"Lead the way, handsome." she grinned.
He growled before kissing her, "Don't tempt me." He walked over to one of the bikes and climbed on. "Come on. I'll take you for a ride and talk you through it first."
Claire walked over and climbed on, scooting in close to his back.
"Dear god, why didn't we do this before all hell broke loose." he groaned when he felt her.
"Owen, I'm warning you. We've got a possible army of undead coming. No time for hanky panky." they heard Lowery.
"Dude, my beautiful wife is straddling my behind on a military grade motorcycle. I'm fucking human, man." Owen laughed and felt Claire lean here head on his back, shaking in her own laughter. He revved the motor at last before taking off down the airstrip.
The entire ride, Claire held tight as she listened to Owen explain everything he was doing and why. They rode around like that for about a half an hour, with Owen constantly reiterating every move he made. They were soon pulling back into the hanger and next to the other bike.
"Ready to try?" Owen asked, turning back to look at her.
"Only if you're with me." she replied nervously. He nodded happily and climbed off so Claire could slide to the front. She felt the weight shift as he sat behind her and moved in to the same position she was earlier.
"Okay, I can see why sitting in the front is better." she said as she grabbed the handlebars and shifted her butt slightly back into his crotch. Owen wrapped his hands around her waist and leaned in to suck her neck.
"Kinda like this spot myself." he mumbled into her shoulder.
Smiling devilishly, she revved the engine and ground herself further back into him at the same time.
"Oh, shit!" he moaned, both startled and massively turned on. "Goddamit that was fucking hot." he growled, attacking her neck and grabbing her breasts.
"YO!" they heard loudly in their ears, forcing them to jump back. This time it was Sam. "Finish the ride, assholes!" he laughed, "And not that ride!"
Owen sat back, with a dead straight face, and replied, "I hate you. I really do."
"Look. I promise to give you nothing but time later. But we've gotta get everyone ready. It'd be nice if the bosses could at least appear to take this little problem seriously." Sam laughed.
Owen sighed heavily, "Fine." he said.
Claire just laughed, "Not saying a word." she said as she revved the motorcycle again. She felt Owen reach forward and place his hands on hers, helping to guide the controls and steering. She slowly let off the brake and the bike began to move. Startled, she slammed on the brake again.
"Relax, go slow. No rush." he whispered in her ear.
She slowly released the break again and began to move forward again. She allowed them turn and ease out to the airstrip before stopping again.
Owen could feel her take a deep breath. Knowing she needed to feel like she could do it on her own, he remained quiet, but held her hands. She again began to release the break and move straight down the strip. After a few moments, she allowed them to pick up more speed until they were cruising at a decent pace. Owen was giving her soft directions in her earpiece as she slowed to turn and head back. Again, she was slow to start, but picked up speed faster this time. Owen was just smiling through it all. This was better than any typical honeymoon.
They circled around a few more times like that until she was ready to try on her own. They pulled into the hanger and Owen carefully climbed off. He found a stack of crates and went and sat down to get off his leg, giving her the space she needed, but still keeping an eye on her.
She hesitated for a moment before taking another breath. Just as before, she carefully released the brake and gradually started making her way down the strip. Owen smile widened in pride as she didn't slow this time, but simply took off.
"Hey man. Teams are ready for you. We good to swap?" he heard Sam say.
Owen wasn't ready to leave her. He just wanted to stay and watch her for hours. But he knew that had things to get done. "Yeah. We're good." he sighed.
He arrived at the main building of the new paddock where the team would be centrally located. They were gathered in a large lecture room, waiting for his arrival and instructions. When he entered the room, he was relieved to see who had remained to fight with them.
"Guys, thank you. Sorry, I was attending to some other responsibilities." he started when he had their attention. He heard clear snickering coming from some in the group. "You were on earpiece, weren't you, Adam." he sighed.
"Danny too. Claire's lesson sounded like it went well." he chuckled.
"You'll all grow up to understand someday." Owen smirked. "ANY way..." he continued, "We've got some stuff to cover before impending arrival. First of all, thank you, for sticking this out with us. Some of the guys went home to their families and I don't blame them. This is some scary shit and we're asking a lot. More on that later."
"I think most of us have a good idea." Danny replied.
Owen nodded at him before continuing, "So here's the breakdown. We're splitting up into two main teams that can additionally break into four if needed. I'm leading Alpha team with Claire and Sam. Adam will lead Beta team with Katerina and Danny. Alpha team runs point with the raptors. We go in and clear out. Beta team will either follow or take over, depending what the situation needs. If your unsure about being on the raptor team, let us know. We facing zombies. I don't need guys freaked out by the girls too."
"We'll cover weapons and vehicles before we run team ops. We'll split the teams up here and start working in those units. Stick to your strengths and get comfortable with carrying some kind of stabbing weapon." Adam added. "Sam will come back to run Alpha team once Owen has covered teams, protocols and strategy. The timeline keeps moving and we have to act fast."
There was chatter around the room as guys started amping up. "Listen!" Owen shouted, "There's a lot riding on this. Our very way of life is threatened right now. We're the back line tomorrow. We answer to the defense teams in place on the docks. But we all know what's really gonna happen out there. That gate will drop and it will be a horror show. Our job is to help contain it to the docks. If it gets past us, that's it. This will be an ongoing fight that may never end. Let's try to not let that happen, shall we?"
The voices in the room shouted and hollered in confirmation. "Good. Let's move out to the hanger and break up the teams." Owen finished.
Owen arrived back at the airstrip a couple hours later. He pulled in to find Sam still sitting on the pile of crates where he left him.
"Where's Claire?" he asked as he walked up.
Sam didn't answer, just pointed as a rumble could be heard approaching fast. Owen turned just in time to see Claire buzz by, dressed all in black and crouched down low, speeding fast down the strip.
"I lost count how many times around that's been." Sam chuckled.
"When she sets her mind to something, dude..." he shrugged and smiled wide, immensely proud of his wife and partner. "She's determined." he said as she passed by again, giving him a better view of her, "And god dammit if it's not the sexiest thing I've ever seen."
Sam just shook his head laughing, "I'm gonna head back and catch a quick nap before the op training runs. You guys coming?"
"You go ahead. We're going to stay here for a bit longer and do some side by side trips." Owen said to Sam.
"Sure ya are." Sam snickered.
"Get outta here!" Owen said, smacking Sam on the back.
Claire was just pulling in as Sam was leaving in the truck. "Sam not staying?" she asked as she approached Owen, who was climbing on to the other bike. He froze when he saw her in her full body suit, fitting tightly to every inch of her from the neck down. It looked like it was molded to her.
He shook it off slightly before speaking, "I said we'd be doing some rides and he's gonna go take a nap before his next training session."
"So we're all by ourselves." she asked, innocently.
He swallowed hard at the look she was giving him, "Looks like it."
A devilish grin crossed Claire's face as she walked over and straddled the seat facing him in front.
"What are we..." he started to say when she was suddenly kissing him feverishly and he was giving in happily. He had been going mad since they first started riding this morning. He was managing a raging boner after he had left, unable to get the vision of her on the bike out of his head. Coming back and seeing her fly around like a seasoned rider, and doing it in a tight black body suit, was every fantasy teenage Owen ever had.
Tearing herself away, she smiled widely as she began to slowly unzip her suit. "New protective suits got it here, so I had mine brought here. What do you think?" she smirked.
He realized quickly she didn't have any barriers. "Are you naked under that?" his voice rising slightly, completely turned on.
"Uh-huh." she nodded as she slowly brought the zipper down to reveal her completely naked torso.
"Fuck me." he growled as he began feasting on her neck.
"Plan to. Right on this bike." she said, leaning into his ear as she began to pull the top of the suit down. It was hanging around her waist, leaving her upper body bare as Owen quickly moved his lips to her naked breasts.
"Oh, god..." she moaned as his hands and lips roamed all over her. She reached between them and undid his pants, pulling out his member and wrapping her hand around it.
"Fuuuuck..." he groaned. His prosthetic was making it difficult to balance the bike and their shifting weight. Making sure her legs were tightly around him, he shifted to his good leg and stood them up, stumbling to a nearby office and lowering her onto a desk.
They laughed as he stepped back, taking off her shoes and tearing the rest of her suit off, leaving her sprawled out naked on the desk.
"Remind me later when you get an office set up to fulfill this fantasy I've had for years." he smirked, looking down at her. He crawled his way up her body, kissing every inch along the way until he was hovering over her. His cock was still out and his tip was just outside her center. "You know anyone could show up." he said with a look full of pure lust.
"I know." she smirked as she shifted her hips and buried him inside her. Her head immediately rolled back and she moaned as if he relieved an immediate ache. Owen dropped his head on her chest and breathed deeply, relieving the same ache.
"Watching you on that bike. Riding that bike with you. I had a hard on that entire meeting." he said, looking at her as he began to pump in and out.
"Oh...god..." she groaned as he moved slowly, "That first ride, when I was behind you...I came." she breathed.
"Fuck!" he growled before attacking her breasts and picking up his pace. He backed up and flipped her over so she was bent over the desk. He immediately re-entered and began pounding harder against her.
"Oh god...oh fuck..." she cried out as slowed his pace again. Standing up, she leaned back against him as he thrusted his hips from behind. He tore his shirt off and wrapped his hands around her breasts.
Keeping one hand on her chest, Owen moved his other down her stomach until her fingers reached her soaked pussy. He didn't think he'd ever been more turned on in his life.
Claire felt his warm chest on her back as his fingers entered her from the front. Her head was back on his shoulder as he nipped and sucked at her neck.
Owen felt a chair behind him and sat them down so she could spread wider. He continued to pleasure her from the front and pound her from the back. She reached her hand up and grabbed his hair, turning his head and thrusting her tongue in his mouth.
It wasn't long before they were both climaxing loudly, with their screams and moans echoing off the hanger walls. Their tongues continued to wrestle as the orgasms faded until they finally let go, sitting there, panting hard.
"Holy shit." Owen puffed out and Claire just laughed as she tried to catch her breath.
"That was in stereo." she said and he laughed along with her. They sat there, just softly touching each other when Owen finally broke the spell.
"We should get back to work."
"Yeah." she sighed before slowly rolling off of him. "They'll be looking for us soon." She walked over to grab her suit. Owen watched as she bent over to pick it up. The thought that she'd be again naked underneath had him hard all over again.
"Fuck it." he said as he pounced on her again.
Two more rounds and forty five minutes later, they were finally on their motorcycles and heading back to the main building together.
It was late evening and all the team members had gathered around the back field. They had been running trial runs with Claire and Owen riding outside the fence to see how the raptors would respond. Claire was clearly getting more comfortable after hours of practice and was having little issue keeping up with Owen. The ground teams had been going through training buildings, practicing communications and seek and destroy. If there was time in the morning, they planned to try one field test with the raptors in a secure building. They were still waiting on final security confirmations. Lowery's latest update had the ships arriving between tomorrow afternoon and the following morning. They had managed to bypass the carrier, once again moving the timeline up.
Owen and Barry had been concerned that they were rushing things, but they were out of time. At this point, they could only hope for the best. Owen needed to trust that his time with the raptors and Claire's own bond would be enough to keep them safe. There were contingency snipers all around prepared with heavy dose tranquilizers.
Claire was standing near her bike, adjusting her suit and zipping it the rest of the way up when she caught Owen's eye. He smiled knowingly at her, almost blushing. She laughed and shook her head.
"Good evening!" a voice bellowed from behind the crowd.
"Mr. Secretary?" Owen asked when he realized the Secretary of the Navy had joined them.
"I was able to get here tonight, so I thought I'd come by and observe." he said before he froze when he saw the raptors in their cages, huffing and squealing.
"Well, you're just in time. We're about to go."
The entrance gate lifted as the raptors became more excited, bouncing their cages around.
Henry walked up to the group as Claire and Owen were climbing on their bikes. "How about a proper target?" he offered solemnly, as an assistant approached with what appeared to be a decaying arm.
Owen nodded and Barry took it, making a face, before walking up to the raptor cages and giving them a chance to catch it's scent. They became frantic at the smell and Barry handed it back to the tech. It was then attached to a drone and taken out to be dropped in the middle of the property.
Owen and Claire both pulled inside the cage and the gate was lowered. They did final checks and tested their earpieces.
"I've got you on live video, feeding back to the carrier." they heard Lowery say.
Owen revved his bike's motor and looked at Claire, "You ready?" he asked, nervously.
She smiled and nodded at him, "Always." They both faced forward and Owen signaled for the cages to be opened. The buzzer went off and all four took off racing.
Claire and Owen were crouched low, keeping a steady speed as the raptors matched their stance and pace. Owen looked over and smiled at Blue as her eyes were focused ahead running along side him. He could see her slight motion, indicating a scent and he knew she was on the trail.
"Claire!" he shouted into his earpiece, "We may be off roading here in a minute! Watch your front! Pull back slower if you have to! Do not dump off that bike!"
"Got it!" she nodded, looking over at him briefly. She glanced to her other side and realized Echo was still right along with her as they were flying along the field.
"Owen, Henry just sent out a second target!" Lowery reported.
"We may double team both or we may split! I'll make the call when I see it!" Owen replied.
Claire was still glancing at Echo, who had also caught a scent, but in the opposite direction, "Owen! We should split!"
"Now?!" he exclaimed.
"Echo's got another trail! We should try it! That's the point of all this!" she offered.
""Claire, I don't know!" he hesitated. He loved his raptors, but he wasn't ready to trust Claire to be alone with them. The were still wild, though clearly bonded.
"Owen! Trust me!" she pleaded.
After a moment, he made a decision, "Okay, let's do it!" he shouted.
She smiled and turned to Echo, whistling loudly and steering in the direction she had shifted her nose toward. "See you soon, handsome!"
"Be careful dammit!" he cursed before whistling at Blue and heading in the direction of the first target.
It was minutes before Owen saw Blue slow her pace, signaling she was close to her prey. He slowed enough to stay behind her as she disappeared into some tall grass. Seconds later he saw what looked to be an arm tossed in the air and soon Blue leaping out after it. Scurrying out of the grass, she stopped in front of Owen. He wanted to stop to praise her, but knew the point of this was to see if they could get them back. He spun his bike and took off back to the open field, realizing Blue was chasing behind with the zombie arm hanging out of her mouth.
"Have that gate ready to open. Blue and I are headed back." he called.
Claire and Echo were making good time on their target themselves. They had just reached the point where Echo had begun to slow when disaster struck and Claire missed seeing the root sticking out of the ground. Her front tire caught it, throwing her off the bike. She cried out in pain as soon as she hit the ground.
"Claire's down!" Lowery shouted.
Owen heard her over the earpiece just as he was about to make it to the gate. Blue was still with him, carrying her prize. "Claire! Are you okay!"
"I really need to stop falling out of shit!" she groaned as she tried to sit up. She froze when she realized Echo was hunched down in front of her, staring with her mouth slightly open. "Owen...I've got Echo here..." she said steadily, trying to keep the nerves out of her voice.
Owen spun back around and headed in their direction, "Treat her like she's in the cage, Claire and that you're just talking to her. Treat her as your equal!" she heard him say.
She took a slight breath, "Hey lady." The raptor screeched and clicked, "Look, I'm fine." Claire said holding her hand up as she'd seen Owen do. "Let's go find your prize, huh?" She slowly rolled toward the raptor as she stood up. Echo hopped back and screeched, crouching down.
Claire, keeping her eyes on the animal at all times, carefully made her way to the downed bike as Echo kept her eyes on her. Her tail had a slight swivel going on, so Claire could tell she was excited about something. She chirped as Claire lifted the bike back up, but still made no move to attack.
"Claire?! Are you okay?!" Owen pleaded as he raced to get to her.
"I'm fine." she said slowly as she climbed on the bike. She watched Echo as she revved the engine again. As soon as she did, Echo screeched as she turned and took off.
"Holy shit." Claire said in awe and breathing heavy, her anxiety releasing. Before she knew it Echo was running back to her with her prize. Remembering what Owen said when they were planning this, she revved her engine and turned back, avoiding the root and taking off back through the woods. The raptor was right on her rear.
Owen had just reached the edge of the wooded area when Claire came zooming out with Echo carrying her prize, a decaying zombie leg. Claire grinned at him as she passed, "Beat you there!"
He laughed in relief as he spun his wheels and he and Blue took off after her.
They made it back to the gate and knew everything relied on this. He hoped their training had set in enough. He whistled loudly twice and Blue darted for her cage with Echo behind her. She stopped short of going in and stepped back to look at it. She sniffed around and crouched down. Another chunk of zombie meat was dropped in the back of her cage and she pounced for it. The door dropped immediately.
Claire did the same whistle and Echo stopped to look at her. Claire stopped her bike and climbed off to approach her slowly. Echo crouched toward her as she raised her hand and a thump could be heard as another chunk dropped in her cage. She heard it and jumped in after it, the second door swiftly closing.
Owen walked up to Blue's cage with a rat, "Here ya go, girl. I'm really proud of you two." he said as he tossed one in Echo's cage as well. "Feed these two well tonight. We'll spring 'em once we're clear. Send pigs if we got them." he called over the earpiece.
Henry and the Navy secretary approached the couple once they were through the gate.
"That was a fantastic behavioral study!" Henry exclaimed.
"It could have gone a bit better." Owen argued. "They only really went in their cages because they wanted to, not because they were told to."
"No! Echo's response to Claire was exactly what I hoped for. They're showing protective responses to their Alpha. And his mate." Henry grinned. "You've formed their new pack."
"I'm highly impressed myself. I would never have believed I could see something like that." the secretary said in awe.
"We'll keep watching them in action, but I definitely see a trust developing. Still stay vigilant, but we should see more." Henry smiled.
Owen hesitated celebrating too much. He knew any sign that this could be successful might mean unwanted military or private mercenary attention.
"Let's call it a night. It's been a long day and we've got arrival possibly happening tomorrow." he said and they all agreed. He wrapped an arm around Claire and led her to a nearby vehicle. Sam quickly followed behind.
They soon arrived at his father's house, completely ready for soft beds and sleep. Barry had decided to stay until the raptors were asleep, so he'd be arriving later tonight.
Sam went right in and headed for the kitchen. Thomas had called to say he sent someone to stock the house with enough food to last them a little while and he'd decided food and beer were needed.
"I'm gonna go shut my eyes for a bit. You stay put. Have some time with Sam." Claire said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"You sure?" he asked, kissing the top of her head.
"Yeah. You're wired and I'm spent. Not even hungry right now." she chuckled. She turned to kiss him before she left the room, "Feel free to wake me when you come up."
As she stepped away he held onto her hand, "I love you."
She stepped back to kiss him again, "I love you, too." She headed upstairs just as Sam came back into the living room.
"Claire not joining us?"
"She's exhausted." Owen sighed as he sat on the couch and stretched his legs. He gently removed his prosthetic to give himself a break.
"Gee, I wonder why?" Sam said as he handed him a beer, "She hasn't stopped in two weeks. Karen said she had to make sure she was eating or she'd forget."
"She has a tendency to take the responsibility for the world on her shoulders."
"Now I'm sure she feels like she's doing it literally." Sam replied, plopping down next to Owen on the couch.
"In her mind, she has to." Owen said, rubbing his hand down his face, "She prides herself on maintaining control at all times. She would hide so much of herself out of fear of being seen as weak. Those investors would treat her like a piece of meat and as long as she played along, standing up when she needed to, she would have control and bring in the money. But she was so much more than all of it. She was smarter than all of them." he sighed, looking at his bottle and playing with the label, "You know when I say she is brilliant, I'm not kidding, right?" Owen asked.
"I figured she had to be to run the park."
"I know things about her that even she doesn't know I know yet." he responded cryptically.
"What the hell does that mean?"
"Everyone was shocked today with how easily she connected with Echo, except for Simon and I."
"That's not too much of a surprise."
Owen sighed heavily, "You remember how I was when I left the marine mammal program? How I thought every higher up was a moron not worth anything?"
"We all thought that. Still do. Comes with the territory." Same smirked.
"That didn't change for me until after I got to the park. I was bitching to Simon one day about an argument I'd just had with her. I was trying to say she didn't know what she was talking about and he stopped me and said she did. He told me she had actually been key in developing the behavioral programs the park used. She worked with InGen to adapt modern animal behavioral science into the breeding and training for some of the dinosaurs. As an intern in her twenties. Concepts I used in my training with the raptors."
"Wow."
"He also told me at the time she had at least some base knowledge in eight other major sciences. She was on track to become a top behaviorist. And that's on top of her background in business, law and political science."
"Holy fuck, dude." Sam was shocked.
"No shit." Owen chuckled.
"I would think being a behaviorist is way cooler than management." Sam pointed out..
"She chose management because it gave her a position to manage everyone's safety. Animals and people. She was attacked by a raptor when she started here and lost someone important to her. She's been determined to prevent that from happening ever again. She didn't develop her knowledge because she wanted to flaunt it like some of the stuck up academics I've met over the years. She doesn't tell anyone what she's capable of. She learned all she did so she could just do more to make things better."
"And she doesn't know you know this?"
"You forget, we've only actually been together six months. And it took us a while to get there. We haven't shared everything yet. She can be a tough nut to crack. She lost someone she loved to a raptor and I was there to work with them. That's a little tough to deal with the feelings around that. She'll tell me herself when she's ready."
"You know that was probably your moment."
"What do you mean?"
"You said yesterday you couldn't pinpoint a moment you knew you loved her. Sounds like it was then."
Owen was quiet for a moment as he thought about it, "I found out she gave up everything she had worked towards to focus on keeping everyone safe. Her reaction to loss wasn't to hide. It was to take control and find ways to fight her fear. It's why I thought she was perfect to be director." he said, looking at Sam, "I had to get her back out of her shell a bit when we got together, but really, how could I not I not love her for all of that?"
"Like I said, lucky bastard." Sam laughed.
"Hey now, sounds like you've been finding your own bit of luck."
"Maybe..." Sam replied, trying not to look at Owen.
"How is it with Karen? I haven't been able to interrogate you much." Owen smirked.
Sam sighed and looked down at his beer, trying to hold back his smile, "It's great man."
"You sleep with her yet?"
"Dude!" Sam exclaimed, "First of all, it's none of your business. Second of all, when? I met her and and the dead started rising. Not exactly the best time to seduce someone. Plus the boys."
"First, it's always my business. Second of all, you've had a woman in your bed an hour after meeting her, so everything I hear are excuses. You're being overly careful. You, Sam Brady, are in love." Owen grinned before taking a swig of his beer. "The minute you just want to spend time together, you're done for."
"You're rubbing off on me, you know." he replied, not denying anything Owen just said.
"Always have."
"Look at us. Missing body parts, fighting the undead and in love with a pair of red-headed sisters. Didn't have that in the handbook when we were eighteen." Sam laughed.
"I realized today that I'm at peace with it all."
"What do you mean?"
"My leg." he said, patting his prosthetic, "My dad. What we've lost. What's to come." he shrugged. "I'm ready." He looked up at the stairs where Claire had disappeared earlier. "Out there on that airstrip today with her. That was my nirvana. I don't think I've ever been as happy as I was riding around on a bike with my wife." he smiled wide, "Just saying that...my wife. Claire is my wife, dude." he said with awe in his voice. "I finally have something worth fighting for." he said, taking a sip from the bottle before tilting toward Sam, "And so do you."
Sam looked down at his bottle, "I guess you're right. I do." He lifted his eyes to his best friend, "It does kind of give a sense of peace, doesn't it?"
"Enough to do what we need to do, anyway."
"You scared?" Sam asked. They used to always have this conversation before heading out on any mission.
"Yeah. I keep saying Claire's right about everything and she is."
"You think we're gonna lose."
"I don't think we're gonna lose. But I don't think we're gonna win either."