15/06/2015. I forgot to mention some things:
1. This story is a prequel, and set about 5 years before the events of the movie
2. So we have a younger Owen (lol), a much young, perhaps even reckless Owen with a somewhat different attitude towards dinosaurs. In this chapter, I'll probably get some backlash but please know that I am completely aware of this and it's to show how different he is than in the movie
THE INTERVIEW, JURASSIC WORLD STYLE
THREE WEEKS EARLIER
"Whose bright idea was this? I don't need an intern!"
"That's not what PR thinks, or HR, Sales, or Marketing."
"I don't care what they think; it's got nothing to do with me!"
"Actually, Mr Grady, it does."
Claire Dearing really got on his nerves. There was something about her he didn't like. Sure, she had a nice face, and a nice figure, a nice ass... but goddammit the woman was a robot. She had a heart of ice, ruling Jurassic World with an iron fist under the guise as the park's Operations Manager.
Owen was sitting in the chair furthest away from her; he had been called into a meeting to see her in one of the many clean, pristine and massive, Olympus swimming pool-sized boardrooms. Ms Dearing sat at the very front and he struggled to hear her voice but he did hear the word 'intern' and knew the discussion wasn't heading to a great direction.
Ms Dearing handed him some brochures which outlined the park's activities and their promise to the consumer. "The recent construction of the raptor paddock and the surrounding research has gathered much public interest, but also, experts and the media are beginning to scrutinize us more and more thoroughly. They want to know how safe it is, they want to know where the taxpayer's money is going...and overall, the raptor project...we need to make sure it's credible and that it'll help contribute to the park some way. Therefore, we decided to create a few more job openings – one of them is a graduate internship sponsored by the University of Berkeley - the most prolific university specializing in paleontology. We need this to be a positive experience, and with their support and backup, it's completely to our advantage." She said, and he actually wondered if she had said all that without breathing or blinking for all that mattered. "So, what do you think?"
"...How long did it take you to remember all that?" He muttered, as he flipped through one of the university's brochure with little interest.
She gave him a dry smile. "Very funny, Mr Grady. I understand, in terms of your manner of expertise that you prefer to work alone; however, you've made an exception for Barry – "
"Yeah, cos he's not a moron unlike those other pricks you hired – "
" - so you need an intern."
"I don't."
"Yes, you do. We do." She nodded. "We've already started advertising. Interviews are taking place in a couple of weeks. I expect you to choose one lucky applicant. Just one."
He pondered for a while. "So what's the interview process?"
"That's completely up to you since technically you're the hiring manager. You can come up with all the questions."
And for the first time since the meeting started, Owen grinned.
PRESENT
"Blue, Delta, Charlie...and Echo?"
"Yep. Well, maybe just Blue actually. If you meet all four at once that'll probably be too much for you to handle in one day." Mr Grady gestured her to follow him towards the paddock. "Barry. It's interview time."
She wondered who Mr Grady was talking to and the answer came when a tall man, who had been polishing one of the motorbikes that were propped up near a rifle stand, abandoned his post to approach them, glancing at Mr Grady before glancing at her. "Owen, not this again." He exclaimed in slight exasperation.
"It'll be alright. If they're damn serious about gettin' this job, then we'll let the girls decide."
"What?" Lindy croaked out.
As though oblivious to her confusion, Mr Grady replied with a grin. "Follow me, Miss Lindy. Oh. This is Barry by the way. Barry, this is Miss Lindy."
"This is madness, Owen! Ms Dearing will hear about this." Barry warned, but Mr Grady waved him off. Barry immediately followed him as Mr Grady sauntered to the large barred gate of the paddock with Lindy behind him.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"Not everyone gets this chance, Miss Lindy, to get up close to a raptor." Mr Grady said, rubbing his hands together, "Are you ready?"
"Er...don't we need to prepare?"
"Like what?"
She looked up and around at the catwalk; the men carrying rifles and heavy artillery didn't appear too concerned at all. "...Is it safe?"
"Yeah. You'll be safe. You're in good hands."
"Okay."
"But you should probably take off those shoes." He suggested, gesturing to her muddy heels.
She hurriedly took off her shoes silently and left them in a heap at the side, leaving herself barefoot. Mr Grady gazed at her for some time, eyebrow raised. "Yes?" She asked, as his gaze lingered on her for what she believed to be, a little too long.
"Nothin'." He uttered, deciding not to comment that she had just listened to what he had said without even thinking twice, "Ready?"
"Yeah, I'm ready."
Grady turned to Barry, nodding. "Are you sure about this?" Barry asked once more, his hand on the button.
"Yep. Hey, gimme me a rat. And make sure it's just Blue, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah. You're still crazy." Barry repeated, but he grabbed said rat from a bucket hanging from a hook nearby on one of the walls and tossed a small, furry carcass to Grady, who caught it in one hand and stuffed it into his pocket.
"Open the gate." Grady commanded, and Barry pushed the button and the gate went up vertically with a mechanical whir. She watched as Grady proceeded to duck out underneath and she followed. "Stay close, okay?" Grady said, and she nodded.
Lindy stared at the grassy expanse before them which was shrouded with an abundance of shrubbery, trees and low fauna that she recognized to be native during the Cretaceous period. The walls surrounding them were very high, perhaps over twenty feet. She couldn't see any raptors but the chirruping seemed to be stemming from the far right of the paddock – and when Mr Grady let out a high-pitched, short whistle, the catwalk above them suddenly began to vibrate to an extent and as she stumbled slightly, Mr Grady offered her his arm, which she grabbed onto for support. Beneath them, the ground shook also, the trees rustled, the bushes swayed, and she could hear the sound of something fast approaching. Loud thuds were nearing their direction with such ferocity and speed and then –
A large and blurry horse-sized creature burst out of the undergrowth and stampeded into view, emitting shrill, chirping noises. It stopped as soon as its large amber eyes caught sight of them and Mr Grady lifted up a strange device in hand and he pressed on the little lever, creating little clicking noises.
"...What are you doing?" She whispered, from her spot beside him.
"Shh." He quipped, without looking at her. Instead, his gaze was purely focused on the impressive creature before them.
It was a raptor – a beautiful raptor with a blue sheen to its scaly skin. It was definitely at least the size of a horse, maybe even larger, its body streamlined for agility and speed. Lindy caught sight of its two little forearms that finished in sharp and smooth, rounded, sickle-like talons. Even its feet seemed to be a force to be reckoned with. The raptor was engrossed at staring at Mr Grady as he stood before it and soon, the raptor began squawking at him.
"Blue, there you are, girl." He greeted the raptor affectionately, mindful of Blue's lingering gaze on them. It took one step closer to them, and he immediately held up his hand, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it. Hold."
It was getting a little too close for comfort. Lindy stared at the creature before her, transfixed. Mr Grady was staring the raptor down without trembling or shaking. His voice was calm and collected. Lifting the dead, stiff rat out from his pocket, he held it up high with one arm. The raptor's eyes followed the article, recognizing it as food, opening its jaws slightly to reveal dozens of razor sharp teeth. A curious-sounding chirp escaped its throat.
"Stay. Stay there. Don't move." Mr Grady commanded smoothly, using his other hand to keep it still. A few seconds passed, and as the raptor did nothing except cock its head at them, he proceeded to toss the rat at its direction. "Good girl." He muttered, as it wolfed it down hungrily.
"That was..." Lindy croaked out, and suddenly, the raptor turned its head straight at them and shrieked loudly. She sealed her lips shut tight. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything...
Mr Grady took one step backwards as Blue inched towards them. "Don't move. No sudden movements, okay? Just stay calm." It dawned to her he was talking to her this time, not the raptor. "Are you calm?"
"Uh...Yeah...?"
"Don't panic. Just stay beside me. Hold onto my arm. Now, we're going to do this together. Do you trust me?" He murmured, as the raptor continued to gaze at them endlessly, its eyes on their form.
Her mind was slightly in shambles at the sudden tense situation that had arisen from nowhere. "Yeah." She said, and as he had instructed, she clutched onto his arm tightly.
"Okay, we're gonna go back, but we need to do this nice and slow. Easy...easy now..." Grady murmured under his breath, still not taking his eyes off Blue, "Take one step back. Don't look away. Keep looking at her. You need to show her you're in control here."
Lindy did as she was told, never taking her eyes off the raptor. The raptor seemed to deviate between looking at Grady, and her. What was happening at the moment felt so surreal.
"Good, we need to back slowly, but not too quickly..."
"L-like this?"
"...Yeah...nice and slow...nice and... Barry, now!"
What happened next was a blur – Barry had slammed his fist on the button, sending the gate winding down and before she knew it, she was grabbed – Mr Grady had seized her with an arm secured around her waist and he had thrown them to the ground; they went rolling and Blue dived at them with her jaws, screeching loudly, but Grady and Lindy went rolling under the gate which closed in the nick of time, separating the hungry creature from the duo.
Blue went crashing against the thick metal bars, causing them to reverberate loudly and she quickly rolled back up, kicking up some dust in her wake, screeching horrifically at them. Her gaze focused on Grady and she exposed her fangs at him in a feral snarl before turning and sprinting into the trees, her bulky legs causing the ground to tremble with each step. Lindy stared at the retreating dinosaur in awe, mouth half-open.
"You can get off me now." said a muffled voice underneath her.
She gasped, glancing down to see that she was still on the ground, and she was conveniently lying on top of Mr Grady in a rather awkward arrangement. "Sorry!" She hurriedly scrambled off him to stand and Barry helped him up onto his feet. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." He said, dusting himself down and patting at the front of his jacket. "Are you?"
She nodded. "What was that?"
"Training."
"Training?"
"Plus your interview. Fifty-fifty." He added, "You passed."
Her eyes bulged. "Whut...? I passed?"
Crossing his arms over his chest, Grady said, "Every applicant we've had refused to go near Blue or any of the others. They tell me they want this job but they're afraid. An applicant saw one of the girls and fainted on the spot. Five screamed. Two even pissed themselves." Grady continued, as Lindy stared at him wordlessly, "You didn't do any of the sort. And that's why you passed. You listened to my instructions and you stayed calm. The job will need you to go into the paddock at some points, for research, check up. Anything. We'll move the girls elsewhere when this happens, but you still need to be comfortable. You can't be scared and you need to know how to handle the situation. Blue, Delta, Charlie...Echo...they'll know straight away. They'll know you're scared and they'll be all over you. Say for example, worst case scenario - you fell into the pen or dropped something and tried to pick it up – "
She nodded, knowing all too well what may have happened. "But...I was scared, Mr Grady."
"'Course you were." He replied, "But there's still a difference. And you passed."
She couldn't believe her ears; all she could do was gawp at Mr Grady in shock.
"You okay to start next week?"
"N-next week? I mean...Yes! Yes!" Lindy said, nodding vigorously.
"Great. You should head back home to pack your things. We'll get the offer, your terms and conditions, life insurance, and your accommodation sorted out. You...er...you should still use that two-day pass and enjoy most of the park."
LATER
"You did what?!"
"Calm, calm...easy now..."
"Don't you dare use your raptor training on me!"
"I'm not. It doesn't work with you."
Claire let out an agitated, frustrated noise at his aloof response and shook her head. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. And I can't believe you let a candidate into the raptor den! A raptor den! That's against the rules and regulations – not to mention, she could've used legal action against us!"
"Listen, I don't need some textbook poindexter for an intern, okay? There are plenty of those in the lab and I could just go in, go shopping for one, grab one off the shelves, whatever. I need someone who isn't afraid to go in and interact with the girls, to be able to establish a – "
"A 'relationship' with the raptors. Yes, I know. But Mr Grady, what you did was dangerous. That was beyond reckless. Beyond stupidity. What were you thinking?"
"Relax, Ms Dearing. She did really well." Owen replied. Glancing outside the window of the boardroom where he could see Main Street and the bustling tourists; he caught sight of Lindy who was waiting in the queue for the underwater lagoon spectacle, to see the Mosasaurus Feeding Show. Watching her with a grin, he said, "I'll look forward to working with her."