Glad everyone liked the last chapter. Like really glad. Because I've decided I really like playing with Simon and Zara. And Claire. So I'll be trying to sneak them in more. 8D Now... time to bring on the rampaging dinosaur! And steal dialogue from the movie. Woo! Maaaan it took a lot of chapters to get here.

Raptor
Chapter 23: Favor

She paused in her steps to let Owen catch up with her. He'd ducked into the restroom to clean and dry the scratch on his arm. "I need your help." She said, looking sideways at him once he returned.

Owen smiled at her. "You already said that." He pointed out.

Claire ignored him as she headed out towards the parking lot. She turned for her car. "We made a new dinosaur and..."

"You just went and made a new dinosaur?" Owen asked, interrupting her.

"Well... yes." Claire stopped in front of her car and turned to stare at him. "That's sort of what we do here." She said blankly. "The exhibit goes live when we reopen in a couple weeks. Mr. Masrani wanted me to consult with you."

"Consult?" He piqued an eyebrow. "Here or... shall we go back to my bungalow?"

She pursed her lips together in a tight line and her eyes narrowed into a glare. "That's not funny." She said.

He smiled and laughed. "It's a little funny." He said, shrugging a bit.

"I knew this was a bad idea." She mumbled under her breath. She shook her head and sighed. "Mr. Masrani would like you to evaluate the paddock."

Owen tilted his head. "Why me?" He asked slowly, growing serious for a moment.

"Believe me..." She started with a nod. "I wanted to ask that same question. But I guess Mr. Masrani thinks since you're able to control the raptors..."

Owen snorted and shook his head. "Why's it all about control with you? I don't control them." He stepped closer to her. "It's a relationship. Based on mutual respect and a familiar bond."

She shook her head and turned towards the car. "Whatever. Look, can we just concentrate on the asset?" She moved around to the driver's side. She unlocked it and pulled the door open.

"Asset?" Owen shook his head. "Okay, I get it. You got the park to run and shit to deal with and it's probably easier to just think about them as numbers on a spreadsheet." He said. "But they aren't. They're animals. Living, breathing animals. They don't know they were made."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Just get in the car." She slipped in and slammed the door shut.

Owen smiled and shook his head. But did as she asked and got in. "You know... something I've always wondered about you." He said slowly once they were on the sort-of road. They were headed to a part of the island he didn't frequent much.

Claire sighed and pressed harder on the gas pedal. "I will remind you, Mr. Grady, that I am your boss."

Owen snorted and shook his head. "It's not anything dirty." He said. "Why do you even work here?"

Claire's brow furrowed and her mouth dropped open. "What?" She glanced sideways at him for a moment.

Owen shrugged and leaned back in the seat. "I mean like... you hate people." He stated.

Claire shook her head. "I don't hate people."

Owen smiled. "You hate the animals." He said quickly.

"I don't..." She paused. "Hate the animals." She finished awkwardly.

Owen let out a laugh. "Yeah, that sounds convincing."

"I... don't have... to convince you." She said slowly.

"Good." Owen said, glancing out the window. "Because you haven't."

"My job is of no concern to you, Mr. Grady." Claire pointed out. "Other than the fact that I am your superior."

"Uh huh." He smiled. "You keep telling yourself that." He kept quiet the rest of the ride, his thoughts on his talk with Blue. She seemed so... certain in her brief explanation. And so accepting. And it just sounded so... bizarre! Every other time he'd attempted anything remotely close to dating over the past 3 years, they'd all freaked out. They didn't like when he smelled like anyone else. Then this kid appears and suddenly, Blue's just as keen at accepting Zach as Echo. Well... maybe not as much as Echo, but she certainly didn't try to dissuade him.

The car slowed and pulled to a stop. Owen shook his head and opened the door. He'd think more about Blue's opinion later, once he actually got her real opinion on the matter. She never exactly answered him. He asked what she thought and ended up explaining ages. He stepped out and looked up at the high walls. He felt a growl in the back of his throat. He didn't like it already. The solid walls with no outside visuals. And it smelled all wrong, too. If it smelled that wrong from outside, Owen was not looking forward to going inside. He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. Claire stepped out and moved around the car towards him, talking about ticket sales and other shit but he ignored her. Until she said the words genetic modification.

"Genetic modifications?" Owen hurried to catch up to her. He walked up the steps and yeah, he didn't like it. Again he felt a growl and had to swallow it back. "Like what?" He slipped inside behind her and again, got the feeling he didn't like this place. Something about it felt off. Well... everything about it felt off. And the guard sitting in the corner with his hand in a bag of chips didn't help. The man wasn't even watching the monitors or the glass. Owen shook his head as he moved towards the glass panels.

"The base genome is a T. Rex." Claire said, stepping up beside him. "The rest is... classified." She said slowly.

"Classified?" He glanced over at her. "Does that mean you don't know?" He asked and she didn't answer. Owen shook his head and looked back out the glass. "You made a new dinosaur and you don't know what's in it?"

She sighed and shook her head. "The lab makes the dinosaurs and we show them to the public. Now... Mr. Grady..."

"Owen." He said automatically, his eyes scanning the trees beyond the glass. He couldn't see anything. He narrowed his eyes, straining his pupils. But there just wasn't any movement inside. "What's her name?"

"The Indominus Rex." Claire replied.

Owen smiled and let out a laugh. "The Indominus Rex?"

Claire tilted her head slightly. "The investors wanted an easy name." She said.

Owen laughed again and shook his head. "That's horrible. What do you really call her?"

Claire turned to frown at him. "The Indominus Rex. Some just say Indominus. Or hyphen to I-Rex."

"No." Owen shook his head. "What's her name?"

Claire paused for a moment. "It doesn't have a name."

"You never gave her a name?" He asked.

Claire rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the seemingly empty paddock. "They're animals, not pets. They don't need names."

"Everyone deserves a name." He said, a tad sadly.

Claire ignored him and looked over at the guard. "Can we drop a steer please?"

The man set down his chip bag and nodded. He rubbed his hands on his pants, smearing grease all over them. He turned in his chair to his control panel.

Owen's eyes were still scanning the trees. But he still didn't see anything. "How long has she been in here?"

Claire turned back to Owen. "All its life."

Owen glanced at Claire again. He watched as she spoke about this animal like she was nothing, like she didn't matter and didn't have feelings or thoughts. "She's never seen anything outside these walls?"

Claire rolled her eyes. "We can't exactly take it for a walk."

Owen stepped closer to the glass, watching as a side of beef was lowered down by a crane. "You feed her with that?"

Claire watched for a moment and then turned to Owen. "I don't see the problem."

Owen shook his head. "Animals raised in isolation aren't the most functional."

"Your raptors are born in captivity." She pointed out, like it was an actual point.

"Yeah, with siblings and me." Owen said with a nod. He turned towards her and took a step forward. "For the first 4 months of their life, I was the only person they really interacted with. They imprinted on me. They connected with me. We're a family. There's trust and love and... life!"

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. She crossed her arms and stared at him. "What's your point?"

"My point is..." He turned back to the glass and pointed towards the crane. "The only positive relationship this animal knows is that crane. She knows that means food."

"So what..." Claire tilted her head and crossed her arms. "You're saying she needs a friend? We should schedule play dates? With what? Your raptors?"

Owen let out a laugh and shook his head. "Fuck no. You are not putting my girls in there with that thing."

Claire shook her head. She stepped closer to the glass and tapped on it. "Where is it?"

Owen smiled. "Is she in the closet? Is there a kitchen? Maybe she's in the game room doing a puzzle or playing Nintendo?"

Claire was shaking her head. "It's here. It has to be here." She moved to the control panels and started tapping on the buttons. Suddenly, all the video screens started lighting up and blinking red.

NO THERMAL SIGNATURES DETECTED.

The guard shook his head. "Doesn't make any sense." He said, looking up at the screens. "These doors haven't been opened in weeks."

Owen turned and walked to the end of the viewing area. His eyes widened when he saw the large claw marks up the side of the wall. Had she climbed out? Just how big was this thing? He turned slightly to look back at Claire and pointed to the wall. "Uh... those claw marks always there?"

"What claw marks?" Claire asked as she walked towards him. Her eyes widened. "Do you think it... oh god!" She gasped. "It has an implant in it's back." Claire said quickly. "I can track it from the control room."

Owen's eyes followed her as she left. Then he turned and looked at the scratched up wall again. "Can I get a closer look at that wall?" He glanced back at the guard. The guard nodded and stood up slowly. Owen stepped back, moving out of his way. The man didn't seem rattled or concerned. He was obviously a wonderful employee. Owen kept his opinions to himself as he followed behind the man as he unlocked the inner door and they stepped inside. Owen hurried to the wall. He reached out and touched the marks gouged into the wall. They were pretty deep. Again he wondered what exactly this animal was? This had Wu's prints all over it. Just what had the quack doctor unleashed on them?

"Wall's 40 feet tall." The guard breathed out, moving to stand behind him. "Really think she climbed out?"

Owen shrugged, his eyes still on the wall. "Depends on what kind of dinosaur they cooked up in that lab."

Suddenly, a garbled voice came over the intercom. Owen turned slightly. He could barely make out what was said.

The guard grabbed his radio. "This is paddock 11. Can you repeat?"

"It's in the cage!" The voice shouted clearer. "It's in there with you!"

Owen's eyes widened. "GO!" He shouted, moving forward.

She stepped out of the trees then. She was just as large as Rexy, Owen guessed. And still had the look of an adolescent about her. Her scales were white and something about that made her more terrifying than Rexy ever was. She tilted her head and blinked at him, almost like confusion.

Owen held up his hands. "Whoa, whoa there girl." He said gently. "Indominus... uh... Indy? No." He said quickly. "That sounds like a bad Indiana Jones reference. Ida? Can I call you Ida?"

Her eyes narrowed and she leaned forward. She opened her massive mouth and let out a roar.

Owen could feel the air around him shake with the force. "I'll take that as a no." He turned and sprinted back towards the wall. The guard was already there, working on the control panel. The door started opening and the guard slipped through. And then it was closing again. Owen dashed forward and slipped through. But Ida was right on his heels. She collided with the door and it stopped her momentum. But she thrashed and clawed her way through.

Owen rolled under one of the construction vehicles and stilled. He didn't even dare to breathe. He pressed himself to the ground and dared to look out. The guard was sitting outside, leaning against the front bumper of another construction truck. Owen bit back the urge to shout to the man. He needed to hide better. The ground shook and Ida was behind the other truck. She snorted loudly and bent down. Then ripped the truck away. And the guard was left exposed. He glanced over at Owen and Owen could see the fear in the man's eyes. Owen closed his eyes for a moment. Then he rolled out and jumped up. "Ida!" He shouted.

She looked over at her and her eyes narrowed. The guard scrambled to his feet and ran forward, stumbling.

Owen's eyes widened as Ida turned, her attention back on the guard. "No! WAIT!"

She let out a loud roar and ran after him. She gained quickly and bent down.

Owen turned, shutting out the man's screams from his ears and the sickening crunch he knew was snapping bones. Now he needed to hide. And fast. He darted back to the paddock and ducked inside. He raced through the trees and pressed against the wall. He bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt. He quickly rubbed it into the long claw mark Blue sliced into him earlier, trying to cover any lingering scent of blood that clung to him. Then he stopped and listened. And heard the footsteps. Ida drew closer, but she seemed to hesitate at the door.

Owen waited, not breathing again, and kept his ears trained on the door. After what seemed like forever, he heard Ida turn and her footsteps slowly started fading. He sunk to the ground and rested his head against the wall. He dared to take a breath then, breathing in deeply. "Control..." He had to get to the control room and find out exactly what just happened. And if Claire could indeed track her.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Echo, Charlie, Delta, and Blue." Gray said, pointed each one out.

They were all at the fence, staring at the smiling stranger. Zach was leaning against the fence and Gray was standing a few feet away with Simon. Blue was glaring at Zach. And he ignored her. After his initial greeting, of course. Echo turned and chirped something to Delta. Delta snapped at her. Echo let out a snort and moved closer to where Zach stood at the fence. She whistled to him and pointed her nose to Simon.

"Simon Masrani." Zach said to her. "He like... owns the island. Like the whole place. So... he's like the big boss of everyone." Zach didn't really think they understood everything. But he'd seen the way Owen talked to them like they did. And he'd seen the way they responded when the raptor alpha did. And now, he swore every one of them straightened up and focused their eyes on Simon with a look of... awe or respect or something close.

Simon looked at Zach. "That one..." He pointed at Echo. "Seems to like you."

"Echo." Zach said with a shrug. "She's easy to impress. It's Blue who hold's grudges." And Blue promptly growled and glared at him again. "She's still mad I fell in." Zach said but Blue snorted and shook her head.

Simon looked from Zach to the raptor and back again. "Is that a no?"

"I didn't do anything!" Zach mumbled under his breath.

Gray laughed. "She's still mad at you about something."

Simon smiled. "You seem to know them pretty well."

Zach shrugged. "Just what Owen told us. Blue's bossy. She's the one in charge. Delta's kinda the... psychopathic one that wants to eat people. But she won't." He looked at her. "Because she knows she can't." Delta shook her head, like she was agreeing. Zach continued on. "Charlie's the mother hen, always trying to stop them when they fight or pick on each other. And Echo's the spoiled baby runt."

Simon was looking at each one. His eyes stopped on Echo. "Runt? She looks like the biggest."

Zach shrugged. "Don't know about biggest. But she's definitely the fattest. She's very spoiled."

Simon nodded. "She's the one who likes the fish cartoon... Finding Nemo?"

Echo's eyes widened and she started wiggling. She chirped loudly and looked at Zach. Zach shook his head. "Can't watch it now. Owen's not here to set up the TV." He looked at Simon. "He's got a TV on a cart that he rolls in."

Echo pouted, dropping to the ground to throw her trademark tantrum.

"Maybe we'll all come back when Owen's done?" Simon said a tad awkwardly. Echo perked up again and Simon smiled. "That really is amazing." He moved to take a step closer and Blue growled loudly. Simon stepped back.

"That's as close as you're allowed to get to the fence." Zach said. "They don't like strangers getting too close."

"Really? I own everything." But Simon was still smiling. "I will get you to like me." He said, looking at Blue.

Blue snorted and turned. Then stalked off. Delta turned to watch for a moment and then followed.

Simon watched them. "Apparently we are done here."

Zach shrugged. "Without Owen, not much to do. They don't really listen very well to anything without him."

"Alright then." Simon spun around. "Where are we going next?"

"We?" Gray sounded way too excited.

Simon smiled down at the kid. "I'm free until later this afternoon."

"I kinda want to ride the gyrosphere again." Gray said, looking at Zach.

Zach shrugged. "You decide. That was the deal."

"Ah. The gyrospheres." Simon said with a smile. "I haven't been yet."

"It was great!" Gray said loudly. "Owen took us really early. All the dinosaurs were asleep."

They filed into Simon's car and headed for the gyrosphere attraction. But just after they arrived, Simon's phone rang. He pulled it out after closing the car door. He frowned. "Okay. I'll be right there." He hung up. "My presence is being requested."

Gray frowned. "Why?"

"I'm not sure. I guess we'll have to reschedule." Simon sighed and shook his head as he climbed back in the car.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Author's Notes: So... I'm taking 4 days off work. Yay for vacation days! But the vacation got canceled a while back. So instead... I'm spending the 4 days working on the house. Fixing the drywall my brother's dog chewed through a few years back. Fixing the hole said brother punched in the wall several years back (mom put a painting over it and we forgot about it). Repainting the room where that brother lived several years back when he hung posts up with tape. (SEE A PATTERN?) And lots, lots more room painting. I hate room painting. So feel bad for me while I play with drywall mud and paint. (Actually, the dry wall mud is kinda fun. That part I'll enjoy. 8D)

Anyways... my rambling point is... probably won't get a lot of writing done this week while I work on the house. I'll try, of course, but will have to see.