I had really hoped to update last week when I was away, but it ended up being a crazy whirlwind trip and I just never found the time. This week has been so exhausting too. But, I am back, and hopefully won't have to miss anymore weeks going forward.

Chapter 3

As had become the norm, as the helicopter approached Sorna, Claire focused on the raptors paddock, unsurprised to see the three out in the open area, staring up. No matter what they were doing, they always stopped and watched when a helicopter arrived or departed. Scanning the catwalk, Claire also wasn't surprised to see that Owen was up there, leaning against the railing as he, too, looked up at the sky. She was almost tempted to wave, except she knew that he wouldn't be able to see her and that the move would look odd and childish to the documentary crew that was with her.

Although "crew" might be too big of a word for the two people who had joined her. It was just the main director and the main camera person who were with her. They had decided that was enough for now, since they weren't actually going to be filming anything yet.

A couple minutes later they had landed. Claire was the first one off, and she used the couple of seconds she had before the others joined her to scan the area. Owen must still be over at the paddock, because she couldn't see him. However, she could see a woman leaving the office building and heading in her direction. Kathy Wright, she assumed.

Claire turned her attention back to the two documentary members, who were now standing beside her, both looking around in a sort of shocked awe.

"Is it more or less than what you expected?" she asked them. Jurassic World had video members on its PR team, but these two had been hired specifically because of their documentary experience and by the research institute. They had spent the past couple of weeks at Jurassic World, getting to know the team. While they were starting off with the Edmontosaurus project, they would also be involved in documenting other projects out of the institute.

"It's…" Arya, the director, said, her mouth still sort of gaping like a fish. "I don't know what I expected. I think it's both more and less, if that makes sense."

"I sort of expected it'd be more… developed?" Greg offered up. "From what we've been told about what happens here, it just sounded more…"

"Impressive?" Claire offered. "It's still relatively barebones, although you should've seen it when it first opened. There was about half the staff and buildings that there are now. So it's grown a lot. But it's still nothing like Jurassic World."

"No guests to impress here," a new voice joined, and Claire turned to see that Kathy had reached them. She discovered that Dr. Barnes had also joined them.

"Yes, no guests here. Everything has definitely been designed more for practical use," Claire agreed. She held out her hand to Kathy. "You must be Kathy. I'm Claire. It's so nice to finally meet you in person."

"You, too," Kathy said, shaking her hand. "I'm glad you were able to find some time to come over."

"And, Dr. Barnes, nice to see you again too," Claire greeted him.

"And you," Barnes replied.

"I've got with me Arya and Greg," Claire introduced the two documentary members. "They're going to scout out the area so they'll be prepared for the official launch."

"Kathy mentioned that they were coming," Dr. Barnes said, as he shook hands with them. "We thought I could help you out with showing them around. I know you've got a few other things you need to do during your visit today."

"Oh, wow, thanks," Claire said. "That would be super helpful. I'm sure most of what they need to see and know about is in the lab anyway."

"And this way you and I could have some time to meet," Kathy added. "My days are pretty booked up, but I kept most of my morning free for you."

"Sounds perfect," Claire agreed readily, everyone else nodding. Parting ways, she and Kathy started across the field towards the office building.

"So, you've been here about three weeks now, right?" Claire asked as they walked.

"Three weeks tomorrow," Kathy replied. "But who's counting." The two laughed at that.

"How's it going so far? How are you settling in?"

"So far so good," Kathy said, although the reply was a little hesitant. Claire waited to see if she'd add anything else, and a moment later the other woman continued. "It's a pretty tight knit group here. They've been going without leadership for a while, so it's been…"

"A bit rocky?" Claire suggested.

"Yes. No. I mean, nothing's been all that bad," Kathy said. "I've definitely worked in more hostile places before."

"Hostile?" Claire interrupted, surprised.

"That's the wrong word to use," Kathy said, shaking her head. "I'm just still learning how everyone works together and understanding all the different roles. It's taking a bit to get used to it all. It didn't help that one of the main people—Owen Grady—wasn't here when I started. Seems like a lot look to him for direction on how to act."

They had reached the building at this point, and Kathy was pulling open the door, and so Claire was glad she had a moment to recover from Kathy's words. She was pretty sure she probably looked like a deer-in-the-headlights at the moment. Thankfully, she didn't have to say anything, as Kathy continued to talk as they walked inside and over to her office. The office that Claire knew used to belong to Hoskins.

"Anyway, there's been some growing pains so far, but I feel like I'm starting to understand everything. I know not everyone is thrilled to have me here, but that's also expected. Who likes getting a new boss?"

"It's definitely not as easy as people think it is to be in that role," Claire agreed, sitting down in the chair that was across from Kathy's desk. "I see you've managed to get more chairs brought over."

"This office didn't even have one when I arrived," Kathy said. "I don't know how the guy here used to work."

Claire let out a little cough at that. That chair, she knew, had been appropriated by Owen and Barry for their office once Hoskins had left. While she wasn't surprised that Owen had never thought of putting it back for Ktahy's arrival, she was a little surprised that Barry hadn't offered it up. However, she wasn't about to mention that, since clearly Kathy had been able to get new ones.

"So besides getting used to all the personnel here, how are the projects going? I saw the emails that you'd put a pause on all construction at the moment."

"That definitely didn't win me any favours," Kathy admitted, a sour look crossing her face for a moment. "But it's clear that long term planning has never really happened. Everything has been sort of just randomly plopped onto the site. It's just going to get harder to make effective use of all the space if we continue that way. But, there was only one construction project that was starting—the new paddock. Considering the compys' outdoor paddock will be empty in about a week's time, it didn't feel as urgent."

Listening to Kathy talk, Claire found herself agreeing. Not that she hadn't expected to. She'd figured that Owen was probably blowing things out of proportion and that he just didn't like having to deal with another management layer. Being blindsided by the stopping of the paddock construction would've just put him on the wrong foot to start with, and he wouldn't have been all that eager to listen to any explanations that were offered.

"My understanding is that the compys' paddock can't be used, at least as it is," Claire said. "I know that there's been pressure to move the baby raptors outside permanently. That their nursery area is also in demand."

"It is," Kathy agreed, "Although we have probably three to four weeks before that becomes an issue. It's to be used for the Edmontosaurus once they hatch. I've been informed they just need a few days to get it ready, and that the Edmontosaurus won't move over there for a few days after they hatch anyway. So we've got time. And I don't agree that the compys' paddock is unusable."

Claire wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. She knew what Owen's arguments were, but it also wasn't her place to get involved in that. She wasn't Kathy's boss, so she couldn't override her decisions even if she wanted to. And Owen and Kathy were going to need to find a way to work together.

"Having multi-use paddocks is definitely a challenge," Claire went with. "Back on Nublar we have a few different types that we use when we have to bring the animals in for any medical care. They can't all use the same ones. But we've also had a bit more of a luxury there, in that we've been working on that for a while. There hasn't been a lot of dinosaur development here, and it wasn't even the initial plan. So getting additional paddocks sorted out definitely wasn't something thought about up front."

"What was the plan for the original use of this place?" Kathy asked. "I assume it must have something to do with the adult raptors, considering just how large their paddock is."

"It does," Claire said. "Blue, Charlie and Echo used to be in a smaller paddock on Nublar out in the restricted area. The size of the paddock was becoming a bit of an issue and was impeding the research that was happening. Sorna was decided on so that they would have more space and the research could continue. As space is at a premium on Nublar, it was also useful for us to move them out here. Less liability and such. It wasn't ever the plan to have raptors over there."

"Weren't there raptors back in the original park?"

"There were, and they were part of what brought it down," Claire said. "Keeping them contained is tough. They're very smart and are always trying to break out. They even got loose here, once. I know that feeds into the concerns about the paddock design. Grape and Olive may be young, but they're still raptors and they're smart. It's important to make sure wherever they're kept they won't be able to get out."

"Those two are destined for Nublar, right?" Kathy asked. "What is the paddock planned over there like?"

"Yes, hopefully. I mean, we're like 95% sure they'll end up there, but we're still waiting for Owen and Barry to confirm. It depends on their continued socialization and development. As for the paddock, we're still in the final design stages," Claire explained. "We have learned a lot though between the previous paddock on Nublar and the one here." She looked around Kathy's office, noting a couple of pictures on the desk, including one of Kathy and a couple of kids. She used it as a way to get off the topic of the raptors. "Oh, do you have kids?"

"Kids? No," Kathy shook her head. "Those are my nieces. I am much better suited to being an aunt than a parent. Love them to pieces, but always happy to be able to hand them back."

"Me, too," Claire agreed. "I've got a couple of nephews. You'll have to make sure your nieces get a chance to come visit the park. I'm sure they'd love it."

"They've already been bugging me about that," Kathy admitted. "I'm just trying to get settled in first. There's so much to learn about this place."

"You'll get the hang of it," Claire reassured her. "It takes a bit, but make sure you take some breaks. Or, at the very least, come over to Nublar and spend a couple of days working from there. It's easy to feel like you just can't leave. I get that and I'm definitely guilty of doing that. But at least on Nublar, it doesn't feel quite so isolated. When we started Sorna, we had some issues with retention because of that. People were feeling stuck here and going a bit stir crazy. So, just be careful you don't fall into the same trap."

o-o-o

Ever since the helicopter had arrived, Owen had been continually glancing in the direction of the office and lab buildings. He'd seen Claire get off, and had then seen her head with Kathy towards the offices. After that, he'd become even more anxious, wondering what was being said. He'd almost headed for the office building himself, thinking he could maybe stand just outside Kathy's and eavesdrop.

However, he'd managed to restrain himself, instead finishing up with the girls before heading over to see Grape and Olive. So far, he'd been able to keep them outside for most of the day. There'd been one day when there hadn't been enough personnel, and so he'd had to put them back in their nursery early afternoon, which hadn't gone over well with them. Still, he was glad that they were getting this time.

Working with them, it was easier to lose track of time (and the ability to watch for Claire). He was no longer up high on a catwalk with a good view of most of the compound, but in the temporary paddock with both raptors. He didn't have the luxury to look away. It wasn't a bad thing, as it did make time go by faster. And he knew when Olive and Grape suddenly looked around him, their attention taken away, that someone unexpected must be there. They were pretty good at not getting distracted by the regular security members or even Zia, who they saw a fair amount. Others were a bit more hit and miss.

He did a quick glance over his shoulder to see that Claire and Zia were standing just outside the fence.

"Okay, girls, let's finish up," he told the raptors. "How about you both show off for Zia and Claire what you just learned." He reached into the treat bag and pulled out two treats, showing them to the raptors. "Can you do it again? Over to the box."

He pointed in the direction he wanted them to move. It took them a couple of seconds to decide, before they sprinted over to it, pushing at each other as they both worked to be the first to get to the top.

"It's not a competition," he reminded them. "Grape, how about you go first."

The box that Grape and Olive were standing on was up against a second box that was a couple of inches taller. Which was up against a third box that was also a few inches taller, and then a fourth and a fifth. They were designed to somewhat mimic stairs. Grape started forward, doing a little half hop/half step to get up onto the next box, before moving to the third. Soon enough, she was standing on the top of the fifth box, where she quickly let out a squawk, when Owen didn't hand over her treat fast enough.

"Great job," Owen praised her. "Now back down so Olive can come up."

The going down was the harder part, with Grape hesitating before each move and Owen needing to somewhat coax her down. But soon she was back on the first box. Olive then quickly scampered up and down the steps.

"Good, Olive, good," Owen told her. Olive was definitely the braver one of the two and loved to show off. "Okay, that's all for now. I'll be back later and we'll work on this some more."

Since they enjoyed being in their outdoor paddock (at least so far), it was easier for him to slip out of the area than it normally was in the nursery. Soon he was shutting and locking the gate behind him. He waved at Cam, who was standing guard, before joining Zia and Claire.

"Claire, Zia," he greeted them, slipping his arm around Claire to give her a side hug. "So, you're finally free?"

"You make that sound like I was being held hostage," Claire said. "Kathy was perfectly nice."

"Nice? I don't know who you met with," Owen scoffed. He led them over to the nursery, as he needed to drop off the treat bag and his gear inside. "Nice is not a word I'd use."

"Well, she was," Claire just said. "I was just telling Zia–"

"Wait, give me two minutes," Owen interrupted her. He left the two as he hurried into the storage area and quickly stowed his gear, before returning to them. "Okay, now you have my full attention."

"I was just telling Zia about my meeting with Kathy," Claire repeated. "I quite like her."

"What?" Owen just gaped at her for a long moment. "You what?" He shook his head, sure he heard her wrong.

"I like her," Claire repeated, rolling her eyes at him. "I think you would too, if you gave her the chance."

"Have you not heard everything I've told you about Grape and Olive's paddock?" Owen asked, aghast. "And what it's doing to my ability to work with them?"

"You looked like you were having a good training session earlier," Claire pointed out.

"I…What? Claire?!"

"C'mon, let's go get lunch and we can discuss it more," Claire said, laughing at his expression. "And yes, I did bring up their paddock."

Owen followed silently behind Claire and Zia out of the building. Once outside, he took a couple of quick steps until he was beside Claire, reaching out and grasping her hand. She looked over at him and gave him a smile.

"It is really good to see you," he commented. "Sorry I wasn't able to be there when you arrived."

"You looked like you were busy with the girls," she commented. "I see they're still interested in helicopters."

"Can't get enough of them," Owen joked. "They probably think they're a very weird loud bird. But, they don't stay distracted as long anymore. So that's a benefit."

Reaching the building that housed the dining area, he held open the door for Zia and Claire to enter ahead of him. Inside it was bustling with the regular white noise that arose in a cafeteria type area as people sat and ate and chatted. The three of them headed straight for the food line, grabbing trays and making their way along. It didn't take long to get their food, and soon they had claimed an open table that was thankfully somewhat in a corner.

Owen took a bite of his sandwich, his gaze darting about the room, taking in who was in there with them. It wasn't completely full — lunch time was better in that regard, as people were much more staggered with when they took it than at dinner time — with most tables having a couple of empty chairs. However, what he was more interested in was who was there, and he was relieved when he didn't spot Kathy.

"So," he said after taking a sip from his drink.

"So," Claire repeated back.

"What did Kathy have to say?" he asked. "What's her defense for not allowing the paddock to be built?"

"It wasn't really a defense," Claire started.

"Ha! I knew it. She doesn't have a good reason, does she?"

"Owen," Claire groaned. "Let me tell you about my meeting first, okay? I agree with her move to put everything on pause. She's right, there has never been a long term plan for Sorna and everything done so far has been somewhat haphazard."

"But it's all worked out," Owen grumbled, although quickly falling silent when Claire glared at him. He picked up his sandwich and took another bite to keep from making additional comments.

"The lack of long term vision is why we were looking for someone to take on that role," Claire reminded him. "It's why the role was revised from the original one that Parker mentioned. If we didn't want that sort of thinking, they probably would've fully offered it to you. But we want that. We want someone who can balance out the needs for the research side, both InGen and the Institute, with the needs for Jurassic World."

"But Grape and Olive are just going to get older," he pointed out. "They don't have time to wait. They need that paddock."

"I understand that," she soothed. "And I believe Kathy does too. She's not saying no to it, she's just wanting to have a better understanding of everything before she has it move ahead."

"It's not really fair to the girls that they're being held up because she's new. What if it takes her a year to understand it all?"

"It's not going to take a year," Claire countered. "In fact—Kathy, hey."

Owen hadn't realized that as they'd been talking that Kathy had shown up and was now entering the dining area with a tray of her own. He did feel a modicum of glee (not that he'd let Claire know that) when he saw Kathy falter when she seemed to notice that he was sitting with Claire.

"Hi, Claire," Kathy said, as she came to a stop beside their table. "Hello, Zia, Owen."

"Hi," Zia greeted Kathy. Owen just gave a nod.

"Kathy, if you've got the time, maybe you can help me explain the paddock situation," Claire said, and Owen had to work hard to keep his jaw from dropping.

"Um," Kathy looked hesitantly towards Owen, before she nodded decisively, setting down her tray. "Sure."

Not wanting to have to say anything, Owen quickly took another bite of his sandwich as Kathy sat down next to Zia, and across from him.

"I was just telling Owen about how the goal of your position is to focus on the long term strategy of Sorna," Claire said. "And that as you're still learning about what is here and where we want to take it. And that that's why things are on pause at the moment, but that it won't be for long."

"Right," Kathy nodded. "I am hoping we'll be able to start up construction again in another couple of weeks."

"Weeks!?" Owen couldn't help himself. "We can't wait weeks. It's not like the moment it starts up again, it'll be ready."

"Owen," Claire chastised, reaching out and resting her hand on his arm. He looked at her, fuming. "Let Kathy explain."

"I understand that you would like the raptors paddock to be worked on right now," Kathy said. "But, Owen, there are multiple things that need to be taken into consideration. Building the paddock at the proposed location will cause difficulties for future development."

"Fine, then let us build it somewhere else." Owen huffed.

"I proposed letting you start over by the existing paddock, remember?"

"And I told you why that won't work," he shot back. "It needs to be far from the girls. There was never supposed to be another paddock near them. That was the whole point. To keep them far away from other dinosaurs."

"Well, we only have so much room here," Kathy said. "We have to make do with what we have."

"Whoa, whoa," Claire spoke up, raising her hands. "Owen, I get that you want—"

"Need," he interrupted forcefully.

"Fine, need a new paddock for Grape and Olive. Surely we can find a compromise. To start with, let's take off the table the spot besides Charlie and the others and the spot where you had wanted it. Where else could it go?"

Owen didn't have an answer to that.

"What about retrofitting the compys' paddock," Kathy offered.

"I've already told you that won't work," Owen said.

"Why not?"

"Because the space is too small. There are no trees and other cover within. It's made for really small species. Grape and Olive are already bigger than them and they're just going to keep growing. You've seen how big Blue is."

"But they aren't going to be here that long," Kathy pointed out. "By the time they're that size, they'll be over on Nublar."

"First of all, we don't know that for sure," Owen countered, feeling frustrated over having to explain this all again. "And second, they're still growing. Even if they won't reach their full size while here, they will get bigger. And not just that, but I can't keep going in with them as I am right now. I need to be able to work with them from the outside. The compys' paddock is not designed for that."

"Let's put the compys' paddock aside as well," Claire said, interrupting again. "There's got to be a place where the paddock can be built."

"My concern with building something specifically for Grape and Olive, is that they are not going to be here long term," Kathy said. "That's why I'm doing this planning. We need to make sure what we build—not just the where we build it—will be useful based on our future plans. It has to have that also taken into account."

"The raptors don't have time for you to spend months doing long term planning," Owen snapped. "They need their place now."

"Owen," Claire's voice was a bit sharper this time.

"Claire, I get that you're trying to be a mediator. But this is important. Every day the construction is delayed, is another day the raptors are stuck in the nursery."

Owen wasn't surprised when Claire didn't respond to him, instead focusing across the table at Zia. "Zia? What are your thoughts? You must have some."

"Well," Zia said, choosing her words carefully as she darted a quick look at Kathy. "I get both sides. But I am inclined to agree with Owen, that we need to move them sooner rather than later."

"See!" Owen grabbed onto it, looking gleeful.

"But," Zia continued, causing Owen to wince, "I also get Kathy's points. I think making sure what is built has longer term use is important."

It was Kathy's turn to look gleeful. Was she actually smiling? Owen pressed his lips together.

"So what's stopping the development more? The location or the actual paddock plans?" Claire asked, focusing on Kathy.

"Hey, Claire?"

They were interrupted, the four of them looking over to see that Austin was now standing beside their table.

"Yeah?" Claire asked, her voice calm, but Owen could already feel the tension radiating out of her. Austin showing up was unlikely to be a good thing.

"We were just pinged by control over on Nublar," Austin explained. "Lowery said they need you back asap."

"Lowery? What for?"

"Apparently there's some sort of protest happening," Austin said. "I didn't fully catch all the details. He was talking very fast."

"A protest, that's odd," Claire said, pulling out her phone. "I wonder why Zara hasn't contacted me." Just as she said that, a frown crossed her face. "Ugh, it didn't connect to the network. Did you guys change the passwords again?"

It took a minute to get Claire's phone onto the network, and then soon her phone was beeping as message after message arrived.

"That doesn't sound good," Owen commented. "I mean, I know you get a lot but that's…"

"Yeah," Claire agreed, although she was focused on the screen. "Dammit. Okay, yeah, I need to get back."

"What's it say?" Owen asked, leaning over, trying to look at her phone. "What's going on?"

"Austin, do you know where the pilot is?" Claire asked, ignoring Owen.

"I can find him," Austin said. "What about the two who came over with you. Do you want me to round them up as well?"

"Oh, right," Claire said, pausing momentarily. "Yeah, depending on how this goes, I'm not sure if the helicopter will be able to come back and get them later today."

"Okay, I'll radio it out," Austin said.

"Thanks," Claire replied, before looking down at her half-eaten lunch. She pushed the tray away. "I better get out there."

"That bad?" Owen asked, pushing back his own chair so he could stand up.

"Not sure, but definitely not good," Claire just said as she stood up. "You should finish your lunch."

"I'll finish it after," Owen said, placing his hand on her back to direct her towards the entrance. "I'll walk you out."

"Claire, let us know if there's anything we can do to help," Zia said. "It was great to see you again. Hopefully you can get back here soon."

"Thanks, Zia," Claire said, smiling weakly. "I hope so too. But, for now… duty calls."

As they started walking away, Owen shifted his hand, sliding it around her back and then down her arm to grasp her hand with his.

Just before he was out of earshot, he heard Kathy asking Zia, "Um, is there something going on between them?" He was so tempted to look back, to see what the look on her face was, but he resisted, instead focusing on Claire, whose hand was now gripping his tightly, even if her focus was still on her phone and the various messages she was scrolling through.

"C'mon," he tugged on her hand. "Let's go wait outside."

o-o-o

The only good thing about the presence of the two documentary crew members on the flight back to Nublar was that they had kept Claire distracted. It meant she hadn't been able to continue to stare at her phone and panic over what she was seeing. Of course, it had also meant she hadn't been able to make sure she was fully caught up before she landed, almost 40 minutes later.

Still, there was a benefit to distraction, which was good, because she knew she would've been alternating between fuming at the news and fuming at her bad luck that once again she couldn't have a single trip to Sorna ever go uninterrupted.

As the helicopter had landed, she had seen Zara hovering near the door to the building. It was that sign that made Claire realize it was probably even worse than she had been expecting. Zara only ever came and met the helicopter if things were super urgent and absolutely no time could be wasted. Still, she hadn't been able to immediately dive into everything, as she'd had to hold Zara off until they'd managed to ditch the two documentary crew members (which hadn't been easy, since they were all heading the same way, to the same elevator.)

"Okay, fill me in," Claire said, turning her attention fully to Zara once the doors closed again, the crew members no longer on board the elevator. "What's going on? People are protesting? Where? I didn't see anything as I came in."

"Not here," Zara answered, nervous energy radiating out of her. "On the mainland."

"And it has to do with us? Over what?"

"They're at the ferry terminal," Zara explained. "They've blocked people from being able to board the ferries. And also the ferries from leaving. Which means there's also no space for additional ferries to dock. So we've had to pause all sailings."

"And the police aren't helping? But also… how many people are we talking about? How did they manage to block all of that?" Claire knew that the ferry terminal over on the mainland was a very busy place. The ferries were constantly coming and going all day long. But even if wasn't busy, it was still impossible to get to the docks without a ticket. There was always a lot of foot traffic and chaos, added to as many people were jetlagged after long flights and toting around large amounts of baggage.

"The police are there," Zara confirmed. "But there's a lot of them. Like 50 I think? It's hard to keep track of the information. It keeps changing. Anyway, I guess they all paid for tickets. They went through like they were normal guests. And then they unloaded big banners and signs and stuff from their bags."

"Security didn't catch any of that?" Just like at an airport, all bags (and people) went through screening. Nublar was isolated, the last thing they wanted was people showing up with guns or illegal drugs. The dinosaurs were dangerous enough without any of that around. On top of that, they were vulnerable as they were now living in a world and ecosystem much different from what they would've in the past. People were also not allowed to bring over any food items and had to report if they'd recently been to a farm or near livestock.

"No. I mean, a sign doesn't look all that suspicious when it's just folded up. Same with banners. Guess it looked just like clothes and books and stuff," Zara said. As she spoke, the doors to the elevator opened again, letting them out into the control room.

The noise within was louder than Claire had heard it in a long time, pulsing with the same nervous energy Zara was radiating. Everyone was talking (and in some cases shouting) into headsets. The main screen that usually displayed the giant map of Nublar was currently showing the video feeds from the main ferry terminal.

"So what are the police doing?" Claire asked, as they walked across the room to Lowery's station. He, like everyone else, was busy talking into his headset.

"Trying to negotiate, I think," Zara said. "Lowery? Anything new?"

Lowery stopped talking, looking up at them, before raising his hand to cover his mic. "Give me 30 seconds."

They waited him out, Claire not following the bits of conversation she could hear from his end. Nothing sounded like a complete sentence on its own, except for the occasional uh-huh and yeah.

"Okay, update," Lowery said, turning his chair to face them, pushing his headset down so it rested around his neck. "So, at the moment, there's not really much new to report. As you can see, they're still holding the ferries hostage—although that's my word, and not the police's. The police are saying there's not a lot they can do, since people are allowed to protest–"

"But they aren't on public property," Claire pointed out. "They're trespassing."

"Well… I guess because they bought tickets, they're not? I mean, I agree, they are. But they weren't, at least not initially. Now since they are refusing to listen to direction, the police are somewhat inclined to agree. But they also want our security team to deal with it."

"So then why aren't we?" Claire asked. "We just need someone to deal with it."

"The thing is," at this point, Lowery looked away, clearly nervous about what he was going to say.

"Lowery, spit it out," Claire demanded.

"The thing is, they've kind of got the crowd on their side. So no one really wants to do anything to antagonize them. They think it might cause bigger problems."

"Okay, wait, back up," Claire said. "Why would the crowd be on their side? It's preventing them from getting over here for their vacations."

"Well, just look at their banners." Lowery turned back to his personal screen. He clicked around, pulling up a bunch of pictures. They looked like they must have been pulled from social media feeds.

Claire bent down so she could study the pictures closely. The people in them looked like any of the other tourists who were on their way over to the island, helping to explain how they'd got past security. But the signs… it was the signs that made her breath catch in her throat.

Dinosaurs Kill
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Extinction Now!
Dinosaurs are innocent? Think again.
Jurassic World has blood on its hands

"I've seen enough," Claire said, standing up and taking a step backwards. "People are…" She trailed off, not sure what she was going to ask.

"They're asking questions," Lowery said, understanding her dilemma. "And it's being picked up. The PR team has said they've been inundated with non-stop requests for comment."

"And this all started about an hour ago?" she confirmed, and both Lowery and Zara nodded. "Dammit. Okay, where's Masrani?"

"He was in New York," Zara answered. "But he's on his way. Or should be, shortly."

"We're not going to be able to wait that long," Claire said, thinking aloud. "We're going to need to make a statement before then. And there's no way people are going to be happy with just a generic PR release. Fuck." She rubbed her forehead. The whole situation was giving her a headache. "Who do we have around? Who can go out there?"

Lowery looked at her blankly, as this was way out of his area.

"It's going to have to be you," Zara said. "There's no one else as high up who's around. At least, who would make sense. Like we can't send one of the scientists out. That would just look odd."

"Robin isn't available?" Claire asked hopefully. Robin was the head of PR.

"She is," Zara said, "but that's just going to look like spin."

"Which is what we're going to want to do," Claire pointed out. "I mean… their signs aren't really wrong." She sighed. "Okay, can we at least get Robin down here? I don't want to be going out there unprepared. I'm going to need her to help prep me at least a little."

"On it," Zara said, her phone already in her hand.

"Lowery," Claire turned to him, before pausing again, unsure what she wanted to ask.

"I don't recognize the group behind this," he said, when she didn't continue. "They're not one of the groups who've protested before. I'm looking them up. I'll let you know what I find."

As always, Claire was both surprised, but thankful that Lowery seemed to always know what she was looking for. "Thanks. Send me whatever you find."

Turning away, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out, she wasn't all that surprised to see a couple of messages from Owen. Hope things are going okay. Let me know how I can help. He'd followed that with a picture of Blue, Charlie and Echo. The girls missed getting to see you.

The texts made her smile, and she quickly replied with a heart emoji, before changing apps. She needed to get Masrani on the phone.

Well? Thoughts? Any guesses on the protest group or where this is going?