THOSE WHO WISH TO DO YOU HARM
The following morning, the storm had cleared up and the weather was back to normal...back to being muggy, humid and sunny. Owen woke up, sprawled over his sofa with a thin blanket over himself although the heat was now exceptional and the fabric was beginning to make him feel itchy – he shrugged it off himself quickly and let it sink to the floor then looked up and around. The front door was open, his mosquito fly-screen door closed to stop the pesky bugs from coming in. His lounge also appeared a lot cleaner... all his rubbish which he had left lying on his coffee table had disappeared. His floor was no longer covered in thin sheen of dust - instead, his floor was looking rather shiny and bright. There was also a nice smell in the house and he glanced over to see Lindy at the kitchen.
Noticing that he was now awake, she said, "Morning."
"...Mornin'." He grumbled blearily, rubbing at his eyes.
"I made breakfast," She said, "I kinda helped myself...sorry, I hope you don't mind."
"Nah." He stood up, sliding his feet into his flip flops and shuffling over to her whilst scratching at his back. "What're you makin'?"
"I've made pancakes and waffles, I'm waiting for the toast, and I'm about to do the eggs and bacon." She gestured to two plates on one kitchen counter that was neatly stacked with a pile of fluffy and thick pancakes and waffles. Needless to say, he'd never had a breakfast this extravagant. Hell, he didn't even think he had eggs and milk in the fridge but apparently he did. He saw a bowl of pancake batter sitting in the sink along with whisk and other cooking utensils. "Coffee?" She asked, holding up a coffee pot in hand. "Or would you prefer orange juice?"
He chuckled as she held up a carton of juice in her other hand. "I'm good with water."
"I'll get it."
He watched as she went to his sink, grabbed a clean glass from the side and filled it up with tap water. "Thanks." He said as she handed him the glass; he then grabbed a fork and stabbed it into one plate of pancakes and she stared as he ate, inwardly hoping that he liked her cooking, then slid her gaze to the toaster which had pinged, two pieces of crunchy brown bread now popping up into view.
Meanwhile, Claire parked her car outside the messy yard, walked up to the porch and knocked on the door to the bungalow and waited patiently.
A few seconds later, the door opened and Claire had been expecting Owen but she was surprised to see a girl in a gray nightdress standing before her. From within the house, a nice aroma was emitting – eggs and waffles, most likely. Both women stared blankly at each other for a few seconds until...
"Who is it, Lindy?" said a familiar voice from inside the bungalow.
The girl called Lindy threw her glance over her shoulder to the man in the kitchen. "It's – "
Claire smiled at her, "Hi, I'm Claire Dearing, the park's Operations Manager. You must be the intern. Is Mr Grady in?"
"Yes."
"OH SHIT!" The voice proceeded to yell from inside. Footsteps approached and Lindy stepped away from the door; Owen suddenly appeared beside her dressed in his nightwear and flip flops and looking even more unshaven and unkempt than usual.
"Good morning, Mr Grady." Claire said, noticing his bug-eyed expression; he was clearly taken by complete surprise by her sudden appearance outside his home, "Have I come at a bad time?"
Owen was spluttering as Lindy retreated into the bungalow to tend to the eggs cooking in the frying pan. "Claire, it's not what it looks like, I swear. Me and Lindy - " He frantically gestured to the girl in the kitchen, "There was nowhere else she could stay – "
"It's alright, I'm aware of that. And you don't have to explain anything to me. I just wanted to come by to apologize about yesterday. Zara told me everything; I'll try and get the accommodation for your intern set up today."
"Really?"
"Yes." Claire turned to leave; he followed her out of the house and into his dirty yard.
"There's nothing going on between us." He said quickly.
"Owen, whoever you're with is none of my concern – "
He automatically protested, "Claire, you gotta believe me. I'm not that kind of guy. Please."
She stopped in her tracks, turned to him and studied him for a while. "...Alright, fine. I believe you." Then she left his home without further ado, disappearing into her car and steering away from sight.
Owen watched her leave, kicking at a stone in his path. "Dammit!"
Lindy reappeared at the door with a spatula in hand. "Is everything okay?"
He turned to her, nodding weakly. "...Yeah."
Her expression was cloudy. "I should go."
"No, no, it's okay. It's got nothing to do with you. Stay." He said, "Is breakfast ready yet?"
She nodded and he wandered back into the bungalow, closing the door behind him.
A FEW DAYS LATER
The meeting room was animated with lively conversation; many were discussing the upcoming charity ball whilst others were complaining about why the meeting had been called in the first place since it was very abrupt. However, once Claire arrived, the room fell into silence and she made her way to her laptop and the projector where she quickly had it set up and pressed down on the keyboard. The image projected onto the wall changed from the Jurassic World logo to a blurry, black and white CCTV image that depicted two figures amongst families and kids.
"Thank you for coming in today. I have called you all in for a meeting because I want to bring to your attention an incident that occurred a few days ago - a man and a woman arrived at Jurassic World," She explained, "CCTV cameras picked up the pair at roughly two o'clock in the afternoon. They departed for the ferry at five."
Before her, Owen, Barry and Bates and other park attendants and people of importance sat silently in their seats at the U-shaped table although Owen was sitting slumped in his chair with his arms crossed whilst Barry and Bates seemed more interested in the presentation.
For the past couple of days and they'd been waiting for Lindy's accommodation to be sorted out. Therefore for the time being, Owen had been sleeping on his couch and Lindy stayed in his room. He didn't mind but he was routinely harassed during the night by mosquitoes and other weird noises outside. In order to be a useful guest, Lindy helped him clean up his bungalow. She threw all the trash out, dusted and mopped up the floors, cleaned the kitchen and hoovered the lounge and his room. His tendency to burn things on the stove or cook food drenched in oil also meant all the cooking was left to Lindy...not that he minded (again) since she was a rather gifted chef albeit specializing in a limited amount of fish and meat dishes. He'd come home one day to see her gutting a fish in his kitchen sink. He had watched her do so with a strange fascination.
Claire changed the slide to show a clearer CCTV image. "The couple were seen wandering the park and both individuals were donned in masks that were available for purchase at the harbor that would take tourists to Isla Nublar. For their entire duration in our vicinity, they are never seen taking the masks off. The man wore a T-Rex mask that covered his entire face and the woman wore a Triceratops mask."
Whilst the people in the room exchanged rather curious glances to one another, Owen had other thoughts in mind: Can't wait to go home...Lindy's making shepherd pie. Mmm, pie...
"The park's CCTV recorded the pair experiencing various rides and attractions, from the Mosasaurus Feeding Show to T-Rex Kingdom, except from the Cretaceous Cruise. The reason why they were brought to our attention was due to their strange and suspicious behavior. Sixty five per cent of our customers are families, thirty per cent are couples or friends going in groups or twos. Most families would be struggling with their children and couples would be together, but otherwise everyone would be enjoying the park; they would be taking breaks to go for lunch or buying souvenirs. The pair did not participate in any of such activities and simply wandered around. They were not interested in any of the rides or attractions at all."
"Maybe they'd already been at the park before?" asked one employee, "What do you think they want, Ms Dearing?"
She changed the slide yet again to show the CCTV video moving at an incredibly slow rate, showing the pair inside the Gyrosphere. Indeed, both did not seem interested in the sights or dinosaurs at all. Although their features were hidden by the masks, they kept their gazes purely focused at the front. The next slide showed the pair at the T-Rex Kingdom – again, they merely stood behind the glass, watching the gigantic creature for a few minutes or so before they were seen walking off screen.
Some of the audience began to murmur amongst themselves.
She said, "Yes, they could have come to the park before, but the other theory is that they are undercover agents, spies, or activists from rival firms or NGOs, sent to survey the park and to gather data and information. If they return once more, we are to apprehend them. They could even be thieves."
"Thieves?"
"There are those who view and want to use our assets as weapons, or as a means to make a relatively good fortune. In that case, they'll be most interested in the T-Rex and the raptors, our top predators."
Finally, Owen sat up in his seat, watching the projection on the wall; the conversation had finally caught his interest.
Someone raised their hand and asked, "Well then...why come to the park and do this? Do they want to be known?"
Claire contemplated the question, "Perhaps."
"And have we discovered their identities?"
"Unfortunately, we have been unsuccessful in identifying both persons. However, from eyewitness accounts, the man is described as being roughly 6'1, Caucasian, with dark brown hair. The woman is 5'6, has short blond hair and also Caucasian." Claire grabbed a laser pen and flipped it on, shining the red beam on the masked man shown on the wall. "I'd like everyone to be alert from now on. These people have a motive, and we don't know what it is, so be careful."
...
LATER
Lindy received an update about her room - maintenance workers had come in and out of her roadside motel room; they drained and dried the carpet, fixed the leak in her ceiling, fixed her electricity and then she was given the all-clear to move back in. She was beginning to like her room so was relieved with the good news but it meant she would need to move out of Owen's bungalow after today, which made her a little dejected. At the paddock and Lindy was washing the raptors one by one. She had started with Echo, who could be seen parading around a sectioned-off area of the paddock and enjoying the sun and now she was washing Charlie, using a thick-bristled brush soaked in soapy water to scrub away at the mud and dirt from her body when Bates approached her, sidling up to her with his pockets in hands.
"It's Lindy, right? The intern?" He said.
She stopped scrubbing at Charlie, who hissed as she turned to him with brush in hand. "Mr Bates?"
"Kyle." He said, "You can call me Kyle. I'm head of security here at the paddock. I don't think we've met until that incident."
Bates was a handsome man, with bulging muscles, broad shoulders and chest. His hair was a light brown, short and scruffy, and his eyes, now that they were in broad daylight, were the lightest but most brilliant shade of gray-blue. There was a scar on his left brow, a few grazes on his sturdy jaw. Despite being dressed in the black InGen security uniform consisting of a thin black shirt with short sleeves, black pants and hefty boots, he seemed oblivious to the heat, much like everyone else here.
"How can I help you?" She said, returning to wash Charlie who was now watching her expectantly as she started to rub underneath at her belly; Charlie seemed to enjoy this treatment very much, closing her eyes.
Bates chuckled, adjusting his rifle over his shoulder before he tilted his head to Charlie. "The raptors seem to like you very much. They don't warm up to people that quickly."
"I wouldn't say that. It'll still take some time."
"You're doing a good job; Grady thinks so too."
She turned to him, surprised by the comment, "...Oh, about that time...the storm... I never got a chance to properly thank you."
He grinned widely in response, "Don't sweat it. Listen, if you're not too busy sometime, there's a charity ball coming up soon. Would you be interested in going with me?"
"A charity ball?" Lindy's mouth dropped open to a certain extent, stunned, and she clutched the brush to herself. For some reason, the first thought that occurred in her mind was an image of Owen; she hadn't heard him mentioning about a ball at all. Brushing such thought away, she said, "Sure. That sounds good."
Meanwhile, Owen and Barry stood at the catwalk; they were to inspect the paddock but Owen was staring at the section of the pen where Charlie was currently receiving her bath, his gaze lingering on Lindy and Bates who appeared to be in deep discussion. "What the hell is he doing?" He muttered with much suspicion.
"Owen?" Barry said; following Owen's gaze which landed on Lindy and Bates in the corner, he grinned, "Oh...looks like Bates is making his moves on our Miss Lindy." Whilst Owen scowled slightly, he patted him on the back. "What's the matter, my friend? You look angry."
"It's nothing."
"Come on, Owen, we have bigger things to worry about, like thieves, spies, terrorists..." Barry murmured, "Didn't you hear what Ms Dearing said? We need to be more alert."
"Yeah, I know." He replied, "I know."
"Are you thinking about the charity ball? Lemme guess...you are wanting to ask Ms Dearing?"
He shrugged. "I dunno, she's probably too busy to go. And I hate these kind of things."
Suddenly, they could hear the sound of a vehicle pulling up and both Barry and Owen turned to the source of the noise. It was a small jeep belonging to the Jurassic World mailing department zooming towards them from the horizon, and once it reached the paddock, the vehicle came to a stop and the door opened, revealing the mailing assistant, a middle-aged man dressed in khaki with a jovial disposition.
"G'day, Mr Grady, Mr Barry." said the assistant, whistling as he climbed out of the jeep and slammed the door shut. He tilted his cap at them, adjusting the strap of his bag around his shoulder.
"Mr Abraham." Owen and Barry greeted him politely.
"How'd ya want me to do this? Pigeonhole or deliver 'em whilst I see 'em?"
"Your choice, Abe."
Abraham grinned in response, "Alrighty then. Listen up, folks! I got mail! Yous know the drill; I've only got five minutes, I'm a verrrry busy man!"
Owen turned to the rest of his employees tending to the paddock. "Quick break for five minutes!" He yelled.
A few men whooped, abandoned their duties and went to get their mail; Lindy and Bates stopped discussing and Owen grinned when she left his side to see if she had received anything in the post. Bates merely watched her before heading out of the paddock, not interested in any mail apparently. As the rest of the employees crowded around the mailman, Owen could see Lindy squeezing into the crowd.
"Who's this? A new 'un?" Abraham said, once Lindy managed to breeze her way through.
Owen said, "She's my new intern."
"Yer a lucky dog, Grady. First Ms Dearing, now you got this gal." Turning to Lindy, he shook her hand, "Name's Abraham. These must be for ya. Can't imagine anyone else here called 'Miss Lindy'...unless you count that bloke o'er there in the right, he's a bit o' a weird character, if ya get what I mean." Abraham said with a guffaw.
She merely smiled at him in response. "Thanks."
"Just to let you know that we folks at the mail department hafta open yer mail first and check it before we actually give it to ya. My apologies, but its park policy... security an' all that. Hope ya don't mind."
She nodded in acknowledgement and left the crowded Abraham with three envelopes in hand, stuffing them into her rucksack which she grabbed from the bench where she had left it before she made her way to the office. Glancing around, she wandered up to her locker and made sure there was no-one around and that there was no CCTV but she could not see any in the office.
Inspecting the letters, she realized that they had indeed been already opened, inspected and resealed. She opened one to see that it was a letter from the University. The second was a letter from her mother. The third, she knew who it was from, but after Abraham mentioning that the Jurassic World employees actually checked the incoming mail first before distributing made her a little uneasy. Opening the third envelope, she found a thin magazine advertising a store selling various photography equipment somewhere back in her hometown. She rifled through the magazine but found nothing of interest.
That can't be right, she thought. She searched the envelope for a final time but still could not find anything. This is unlike him...
Inspecting the envelope from front and back, she could not see anything out of the ordinary until she spotted a slight bump underneath the stamp affixed on front. She would've missed it if she hadn't taken so long inspecting the envelope. Her eyebrows furrowing, she slowly peeled the stamp backwards to reveal a tiny minuscule chip as thin as the stamp itself cleverly concealed within.
As if on cue, her cell sounded off, vibrating in her pocket. She scooped it out and checked the text: Did you find it?
She texted Yes.
The cell rang again after a brief moment. It said: Then you know what to do.
Note:
This is what happens when I watch Pretty Little Liars lol. I forgot to also mention that the title of this story is from Gary Jules' song Mad World. Don't own the song but I thought it really fitted the premise of this fic. I also don't think I will have the chance to update for some time after this one chapter because I'm due to start a job and I also have my Metal Gear fic soooo yeah :(