I spent most of the day writing this. While I did proof read it after I was finished, I was in a hurry when I did so I might've missed some goofs here and there.


A NEW HOPE

14 – A Favor for a Favor

The quiet morning of the dig site was gradually disrupted by the sounds of a helicopter's engine nearing closer. At first, it sounded like a second guess on the winter winds drifting through the dig site. Grant looked up from his scraping the dirt out of a recently excavated fossil to see if anyone else heard the same sound. Two site volunteers and a barely awake Billy were still glued to what they were doing within the fossil's protective tent. The louder the engine's sound, there was no more second-guessing. Company was coming.

Grant got up off the cold ground, dusted off the front of his coat and insulated pants and stepped outside the tent. Descending at its usual landing spot on the site's road was a familiar navy and light blue colored helicopter.

Inside Grant's trailer, Pet slept. The rumble of the helicopter's engine woke Pet up. She rubbed her sleep encrusted eyes with the back of her hand and groaned. This was not how she wanted to wake up. A raptor like eye was forced open and aimed at the digital clock on the nightstand. Its red numbers flashed eight-eighteen AM.

Why…so…early?

Pet rolled over to find Grant had already gotten up at one point as his side of the bed was vacant. No worries. She grabbed one of his pillows and covered her head with it to drown out the unwanted noise. Either the helicopter was flying over the site, for the sound was in fact lessening, or it landed, and its engine was winding down. She knew it was most likely the second scenario, but kept her fingers crossed the damn thing was gone. Then she heard voices chatting in a jovial tone. No wait, just one voice that might as well be claws on a chalkboard; Simon Masrani.

Pet groaned even louder and screeched in annoyance. "For fuck's sake, don't you have a home?"

She knew no one heard her and really didn't care. She was more just ranting out loud for the sake of, than anything else. While Pet knew to expect the billionaire's visit that day, she just hoped it would be later in the day rather than so early in the morning. It's not like she should be excited for what he had to say, anyway. Seeing how long it had been with no update at all on its progress, she knew it couldn't be good.

Pet continued to lay there, plagued by her thoughts. As much as she wanted to hide under the covers and pillows, she couldn't. She felt obligated to drag herself out of bed and meet with the man who had done so much to help her. Pet yanked the pillow off the top of her head and crawled out of bed. Time to put on the people skills face.


Simon stood beside the fossil's tent and glanced around at the colorfully decorated dig site. One hand was tucked inside his thick insulated ash-grey coat while his other hand held onto a sealed manila envelope. The billionaire pleasantly smiled. What previously looked like a struggling collection of tents and trailers during his initial visit now appeared in a much better state. Christmas lights were hung off the eaves of trailers and wrapped around awning supports. Festive wreaths adorned doors while one trailer had a medium-sized snowman built in front of it.

Two trailers down was a seemingly brand-new one where Simon remembered the office trailer being. "I like what you have done with the place, Dr. Grant. It's good to see my funding has gone to good use."

Billy, standing in between his mentor and Muldoon, questioned. "What else would it go on?"

Simon shrugged. "New cars, throwing parties…" Grant's eyes shot over to the museum's clunker of a truck and debated if he could sweet-talk his site's sponsor into approving a new one.

Derek snickered. "I might've spent a little bit of that funding on a couple of kegs for the dig site's Thanksgiving party." A harsh jab in the side courtesy of his uncle made Derek yelp. That man could still deliver an ass-whooping no matter how thick the winter clothes were layered.

Someone approaching the group from the right made Grant glance over to the see the hybrid. She gave a timid smile to the group beneath her beige coat's hood and joined her fiancé's side.

A thin smile was pressed out for the wealthy man's sake. "Mr. Masrani."

"Aw, Ms. Hammond! Good morning! How have you been?"

The hybrid shrugged. "Fine, I suppose. I'm surprised to see you here so early."

Simon tapped a corner of the envelope against his leg. "I'm flying back to India as soon as I finish my business here." He visually studied the excavation site once more, then returned his focus to the blue-green eyes intently watching him. Another smile was given to the anxious woman before looking back at Grant. "Is there a place we can all talk in private?"

Grant nodded. "Yes, sir." He led the small group of people to the office trailer and opened the door. The entered the cozy warmth and closed the door.

Muldoon was about to lock the door when the handle was ripped out his gloved hand to reveal Terrence. The strawberry blond man wiped his snow-flecked boots on the floor mat in the front of the door and joined the others. Derek looked from the envelope in the billionaire's hand and hoped for the other man's sake that what was inside it be good news. No sooner did the thought occur to him than the envelope was handed to Pet.

A puzzled expression stared at the object. Pet hesitantly reached out and accepted it. "What's this?"

The smile on Simon's face couldn't be any more heartwarming. "The status of your request."

Pet flipped the envelope over and stared at the brad securing the top flap closed. With a shaking hand, she lifted the two metal prongs and opened the envelope. She saw a single piece of paper inside and slid it out to look at it. The words' REPUBLIC OF KENYA, CERTIFICATE OF BIRTH' at the top stared back at her. They impacted the hybrid so hard in the chest she gasped for air.

"Oh my gosh!" Pet brought a clawed hand to her mouth and choked a sob behind it. She read the information out loud through a cracking voice. "Where Born, Nairobi. Name, Veronica Renee Hammond. Date of Birth," but she couldn't read on. Her sobs of joy stole her voice.

Simon had never seen anyone so happy before his life. The past months of pulling strings and doing what he could to make this moment happen were all worth it. "There's something else in the envelope."

Pet's eyes searched the man's face to see if he was joking or being serious. That twinkle in that dark watch gave her an answer. The envelope was tipped upside down, a card falling out into her palm. Her blue-green eyes widened in speechlessness. "Is this what I think this is?"

Derek saw it and pointed at it. "Holy shit, Pet! That's a Work Visa!"

Simon explained. "As it stands right now, you are working alongside Dr. Grant under InGen's sponsorship. Right after your birth certificate was completed, I started pushing the paperwork for your work visa." He gave a side nod and shrugged. "It took some influencing on my part to expedite the process much faster than normal."

With the envelope and contents still in hand, Pet crashed into the wealthy man in a tight hug. Simon was taken off guard, and it took his mind a moment to register what just happened. Pet softly crying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you," touched a spot inside his gut he wasn't expecting it to. She sniffed back a sob and exhaled a labored breath, whispering, "I can't begin to thank you enough."

Simon patted the woman on the back, feeling both awkward and nervous in the just as thrown off expressions aimed in his direction. "There is one way you can thank me that I would be extremely grateful for."

Blue-green eyes locked onto dark brown ones. A part of her dreaded asking for fear of knowing the answer. "Um…what?"

Simon put some distance between him and the hybrid. "It's another reason why I'm here. I wanted to discuss this in person instead of over the phone."

Derek cut his eyes down on the man in question. He remembered the last thing the other man stated on the plane before flying out of California. "So, help me, you better not be asking Pet to fly down to those fucking islands for your qualified corralling dream team."

Simon shook his head and waved a dismissive hand. "No, of course not!" He laughed off the slightly younger man's statement. Another warm smile was given to the hybrid again. "But I am requesting your assistance in helping me build that dream team." Pet arched a brow. "I will have someone experienced with tracking the animals in charge of leading the team at Isla Nublar when the time comes."

Muldoon crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh, are you now? Who, exactly, will that be?"

"My head of InGen Security, Vic Hoskins."

Grant grimaced. He knew how quickly things could get out of control if not properly handled. "How much experience are we talking, here?"

Simon gave a slight cock of his head. "Granted he's not as experienced as those present in this trailer, but he did successfully track down and handle the escaped Pteranodons some time back."

Pet laughed in disbelief. "That's it? No offense, Mr. Masrani, but going after three of one species of animal is not sufficient enough experience." Simon's expression hinted she continue her explanation. "There's other species on those islands that require much more knowledge of what to expect. If not extremely cautious and well prepared, your team's little camping trip will only end up becoming a fast-food drive-thru for the T-Rex and Dilophosaurus."

Muldoon cut in. "Just be glad the Velociraptor threat was neutralized years ago."

Simon was yet again at a spot where he hoped he could convince the tight-knit group of people to assist him. The first time was when he approached them with designing more than adequate paddocks for the island's animal territories. It took some convincing, then, and it seemed this situation was no different. He couldn't blame them, given their horrific experiences in the past.

Simon resumed in a reassuring tone of voice. "Which brings me back to my reason for wanting to discuss this in person. Beginning next month after the New Year's holiday, I'll be opening up a worldwide application process for certain job positions on Jurassic World that will be exposed to all of the animals.

"I've already met with my executives regarding this. There will be four primary job fields; veterinarians, animal handlers for all species, game wardens, and finally the most important being what I'm calling the Asset Containment Unit or…ACU."

Terrence blinked. "Asset Containment Unit? What will they be doing?"

Simon thought the name was self-explanatory but further clarified. "Say an animal escapes its enclosure or becomes highly aggressive and a threat to other animals within the same paddock. ACU will be an elite game warden task force that will respond to the emergency at hand and handle it appropriately. Hopefully, with little to no negative impact on the animal or animals and park visitors."

Derek shot a look to his uncle and Pet. "Who's going to train this elite task force of yours?"

So many questions, but Simon was prepared for this. "The application process will only be open for two months, it closing the last day of February. During this time, I was hoping to have both of you, Mr. Muldoon and Ms. Hammond, review the applications."

Pet huffed a disbelieving laugh. "You're trusting us with this big responsibility?"

Without a moment's pause, Simon confidently answered with, "I trust no one else." The hybrid was taken back by the answer. "What applications strike you as the most qualified and able to handle the demands of the job will be flagged and forwarded to my primary email. From there, I will schedule interviews to meet and speak with the applicant." He thinned his lips in response to his own heavy thoughts. "I expect there to be a lot of applications to review, so what I'm asking will be time-consuming." His dark eyes studied the two ex-game wardens. Simon couldn't tell if they were considering his request or not. They're impassive expressions were hard to read. "I will pay for your time, of course."

Derek snickered and lightly nudged the hybrid in the side with his elbow. "Hear that, Pet? Mr. Mass Loaded wants to violate you with his wallet again, just in a different way!"

Pet skipped slapping the man upside the head to slap him across his face instead. "Do you never know when to keep your fucking mouth shut?"

Derek massaged his cheek. No one thought anything about it, except Simon. He wasn't sure what disturbed him more; what was said or the fact the obnoxious little snot was still smiling after getting hit.

Pet rolled her eyes off Derek's cheeky grin and snorted a bark in annoyance. She refused to meet the probing gaze of the billionaire. She had no idea how to explain the comment and stared down at her boots dotted with droplets of melted snow. "How many applicants are you looking at accepting? Just so I'll know how many names to forward your direction."

Hearing the hybrid agreeing to help made Simon instantly forget the wallet violating comment. "There's no limit. If you come across an application that meets your approval, send it to me. The more comprising the ACU, the better. When it comes time for Jurassic World to open, I would rather have more than enough troopers responding to an emergency than not enough."

Billy, who had been quietly listening to the billionaire's plans, finally spoke up. "That doesn't really sound too reassuring, Mr. Masrani. You make it sound like you're expecting another Jurassic Park incident to occur."

Simon studied the present people and shook his head. "It's why I asked for the assistance in planning out the animal enclosures…to prevent such an occurrence from ever repeating. I understand each species of animal has its level of danger, regardless if an herbivore or carnivore. These are very real creatures that need to be respected."

The answer left Pet speechless. Hammond treated the animals as a commodity. Simon was wanting to treat them much differently, despite their being the main attraction to the park. For that, the man gained some bonus points with her.

Pet questioned. "You said before there would be four job fields. Will part of the selecting applications for the ACU also include reviewing names for the other three positions? The reason I ask is because I know very little about veterinarians or animal medicine. The only things I know are how many CCs of sedative to administer to an animal, based on its weight and some emergency field treatment for various injuries."

"You and Mr. Muldoon know what the veterinarians will be faced with on a day to day basis; routine health exams, emergency medical treatments…etcetera." Simon saw a flicker of uncertainty in the woman's eyes. "Again, I trust your judgment on who does and does not have the necessary experience to fulfill the required demands."

Pet and Muldoon exchanged mutually concerned frowns. Whether they agreed to help or not, another park was going to happen. Might as well do their part to make sure no one else went through the hell they did because of mismanagement.

Muldoon's jaw clenched, and eye twitched. "We'll do what we can."

Simon nodded in understanding. He found himself relating to the hybrid's position. He had no way of expressing how appreciative he was for her help. Without her and her guardian's valued assistance, he would most certainly be lost in where to begin to do everything right that Hammond got wrong.

Derek speaking up, interrupted Simon's thoughts. "What about background checks? Yeah sure an applicant's resume might make them appear to walk on water but what about their financial history? Possible legal misdemeanors? It's people with a weak past that make them easy targets to get bought off."

It was something Simon thought about quite frequently as it was a genuine concern of his. Dr. Albert Jacobs came to mind first, seeing how it was the geneticist's financial struggles that made BioSyn target him for bribery in sabotaging John Hammond's first attempt at creating a Velociraptor. Dark brown eyes fell on the hybrid.

Simon met the slightly younger man's intense stare. "That is where I could use your assistance. I trust you have sources that can perform thorough background checks on the promising applicants?"

Derek shrugged. "I might know someone…a police chief in Los Angeles I've worked with plenty in the past. All I need to do is make a call, and I'm sure he can get me into his system. From there, it's just typing in a person's information, and I can find out everything about them from parking tickets to alcohol-related incidents…whatever you want to know."

Simon liked the sound of that. "Excellent. I want a complete check on all applicants to make sure nothing gets through that could cause a problem later."


Everyone watched the navy and light blue helicopter take off, kicking up a cloud of loose snow. Pet crossed her arms over her chest and bit her lips together. "Shit."

Muldoon stood beside her and nodded in agreement.


Please don't skewer me if I messed up anything with the paperwork of Pet's ID and work visa. A friend helped me with researching it and while I tried to understand it, I'm one of those people that needs stuff explained to me in crayon like I'm 5 years old...