So, yeah... this chapter went through change after change after change. Just when I thought I had it all worked out and almost finished, I get the news that the actor who portrayed Simon Masrani, Irrfan Khan, passed away after a long battle with a neuroendocrine tumor. Needless to say, it bummed me the fuq out. I'll admit, I cried when I read the news. And ended up changing the ending of this chapter because of.
PREPARATIONS
4 – A Troubling Proposition
Three days had passed since agreeing to assist in conducting interviews in California alongside InGen's president Xavier Winston. Muldoon wasn't so sure about a handful of the applicants interviewed. They came off as looking for an excuse to go to the islands to legally see living dinosaurs in the form of work. The only problem was, the job they were applying for they almost definitely couldn't handle. One of the questionable applicants was a traveling carnival's petting zoo animal handler.
The fogged-up bathroom mirror was wiped off with the use of a white hotel washcloth. Grey eyes stared back into their reflection, worn down from a lifetime of adrenaline rushes and near-death encounters. To the world looking in, the facial scars he bore told a story of a selfless and valiant victory against a toothed and clawed adversary. But to him, looking out, they were a reminder of his carelessness and underestimating. He had no choice but to wear them with shame.
No more dwelling in remorse. Muldoon grabbed the shaving cream can next to the sink and continued his morning routine.
By the time he was dressed and ready to trudge through another day of interviews, Derek was awake. His disheveled pile of extra bedsheets and blankets still occupied the couch. It was the same thing every morning, along with a kitchenette riddled with dirty dishes and silverware.
Standing in front of the stove was the much younger man wiggling a spatula under a golden-brown pancake. "Breakfast?" The pancake was carefully removed from the skillet and plopped down onto a large plate. Two others, much like the third, were already stacked up. "Coffees done, by the way."
Muldoon made him a cup and sat down on one of the stools circled around the kitchen bar. Much to his delight, Derek remembered to fetch the morning newspaper from outside the door courtesy of room service.
Breakfast was spent much the same as the days prior; nothing said between the two. It was something Muldoon aimed to change. Part of his reason for wanting to stay in California was to improve on his rocky relationship with Derek. He had always been there for him as an uncle. It was time to be there for him as a father, which is what he should have been since day one.
Muldoon eyed Derek shoving an oversized bite of pancakes dripping with syrup into his mouth. "What were your plans for the day?"
The question threw the other man off. Ever since the big reveal, their conversations were limited. Just being around the other was like constantly walking on eggshells. Derek missed the days of being comfortable and able to be himself. Now, he feared ridicule and chastising if he ever said or did anything he knew would otherwise be frowned upon. Before, he didn't care and even pushed the envelope on how much he could get by with before the Wrath of Rob took effect. Maybe things could return to normal, but he doubted it. He was pretty sure things would never go back to how they used to be.
Derek swallowed his bite after rolling it around in his mouth for a moment and shrugged. "I don't know. I figured I'd go through some more background checks. I got an email from Simon night before last asking what the status was on a new chunk of applicants Pet managed to filter through. I guess he's keeping her busy with interviews and application reviews." A section of the pancake stack was cut into using the side of his fork. "Kind of a shame, really. I was hoping he would at least give her a chance to do some sightseeing while she was there." The prepared bite was stabbed and damn near inhaled by Derek.
Muldoon looked down at his barely touched breakfast. "From what I'm understanding, she's having herself a hell of a time. She sent me an email with a novel's worth of a message telling me everything she's been doing. Got the ride The Eye her first night there. Yesterday afternoon was a long list of whatnots."
"Wow." Derek licked a drop of syrup off his fork before carving out another bite. "Sounds like Simon is keeping her well entertained, then. By the way his side of things was explained, he was keeping her locked inside her hotel room to sort through applications."
"Actually," Muldoon began with a smile on his face, "it's not him who's showing her around."
Horror overcame the younger man's face. "Please tell me she's not out there unaccompanied."
"Of course not. She's with a good friend of mine I used to work with at the zoo."
That eased Derek a bit as worry shifted to bafflement. "From Kenya?"
"No, the London Zoo. You met him informally once before. He was a part of my recovery team that went to Isla Sorna."
"Isla Sorna was a bit of a blur for me after a certain point."
"Eh, well…He's a good chap I trust well enough to see to Pet's safety."
Another hefty bite was ingested, Derek continuing. "Hopefully, he won't try to make a move on Pet. It's bad enough Money Bags can't get the fucking point she's engaged and that he stands no chance in a frozen hell."
Muldoon chuckled. "You won't have to worry about that with this fellow. Women aren't exactly his thing." Derek started choking over a drink of his coffee. "Besides, he'll be accompanying us to the islands to help corral the animals when the time comes." Not thinking anything of the ongoing spasm, Muldoon continued. "As far as Pet goes, well, no one stands a chance in a frozen hell as long as Dr. Grant is alive."
It took Derek a minute to recompose himself and wheezed, "Not necessarily." He coughed again. "Boy Scout managed to get a few punches in on that scorecard with the doc alive and well." THWAP! Right upside the back of his head. Derek chuckled. Maybe returning to the normal he came to know, and love could be had, after all.
One pint, two pints, three pints…and more to come with stories and laughs in between. All afternoon, Pet couldn't wait for the evening to come around. It was becoming a routine thing between her and Paul; a visit to the pub for a few drinks late in the evenings.
The next morning was always the worst, however. One interview, two interviews, three interviews…and more to come with boredom and forced professionalism during it all. When Friday finally came around and the last meeting completed, Pet found herself being greeted by Paul in the InGen building's lobby.
Pet was thrown off by the unexpected visit. "Mr. McCroy…something I can help you with?"
Paul knew she was addressing him in such a manner due to the billionaire's presence lingering behind her. "I spoke with Robert earlier this week. There's someone he wants you to meet before you leave London early Sunday morning."
Blue-green eyes loudly expressed her genuine bafflement. "Um, okay. May I ask who?"
"Bobbi."
Pet's smile dropped into dread and dismay. "Oh. Maybe that's not such a good idea."
"Nonsense." Paul waved off the comment and chuckled. "Bobbi and I have been close friends since Robert, and I worked together. She already knows all about you, and I do mean all. She just hasn't met you yet, obviously. I'm sure she'd like to, though."
The normally confident hybrid suddenly felt so insecure. She wrapped her arms around her chest, slightly recoiling into her hoodie. "I suppose…I guess."
"Brilliant!"
"When am I supposed to meet her?"
Paul saw a contemplating look in Masrani's dark eyes and smiled back at the inquiring hybrid. "Whenever is good. I know you and the sir have been busy with interviews and reviewing applications, which is why I waited till later in the week."
Pet gave a flicker of a sideways stare in Simon's direction and shrugged. "This afternoon is about as good of a time as it's going to get, before dinner plans tonight. Tomorrow is going to be full of sightseeing, so any time on Saturday wouldn't be good."
Paul looked back at the sharply dressed Simon. "Is this okay with you, sir? May I escort Ms. Hammond for the remainder of the afternoon?"
Simon was never fond of letting the hybrid out of his sight. Too much could happen, but so far, this man hadn't let anything happen to her. She was always returned safely to the hotel by seven. "Keep an eye on her and call me should anything happen. I already have Barbara Muldoon's address in InGen's files and will be sending my driver there to pick Ms. Hammond up shortly."
The dirty blond man nodded and smiled in oblige. "Yes, sir. Thank you."
A forty-minute walk brought the two people to the doorstep of a white brick, three-story townhouse. Paul raised a fist to its dark brown door and knocked on it. Pet stood at the base of the steps, nervous and wanting to run. She'd heard plenty of stories of the woman and had a strong suspicion things weren't going to be all warm and welcoming.
Slowly creeping around the corner was a black SUV driven by Chuck. He'd been told to wait at an address for the hybrid after a visitation with someone. Seeing how it appeared she and her companion just arrived, Chuck figured he would give them a few minutes for socializing. He found a place to park a few spaces down from the house and waited.
The door opened before Paul could knock a second time.
On the other side of the door was a woman in her mid-fifties, her short brunette hair resting atop her slender shoulders. Grey eyes looking much like her older brother's lit up in a smile. "Paul!" She grabbed the man for a hug. "How good to see you! I didn't know you were coming by today!" That's when she saw the timid younger woman at the foot of the stairs. The happy smile fell off her face, and her eyes turned cold. "I see you brought someone with you."
Paul broke from the hug to introduce the hybrid. "Bobbi, I'd like you to meet-"
"I know who she is," was acidic, and it stung Pet to hear it.
Regardless, she forced out a frail smile and waved. "Good afternoon, ma'am."
Bobbi gave a stern visual warning to Paul that she disapproved of his companion's presence. She turned and went back into the house, leaving the front door open for her guests to do the same. Paul shut the door behind them and followed Bobbi into the living area.
Bobbi studied everything she could of the offending hybrid standing before a collection of framed pictures mounted on the wall. How normal she appeared wearing clothes and shoes. But she knew better. There was nothing normal about the other woman.
"So, you're her," Bobbi began. She crossed her arms over her chest and slowly approached the hybrid. Aggression. Hate. It poured off her person and flooded over Pet's animal senses. "Robert couldn't stop talking about you while he was here…after the park incident that left him deformed. Pet this, Pet that." Paul watched blue-green eyes favor a more amber-green color. He knew Pet didn't like feeling threatened or challenged, especially when she came with peaceful intentions. "I should thank you for saving my brother and my boy for the times that you did…"
Pet arched a brow. "But?"
"But you're no better than those monsters John Hammond created all those years ago." Bobbi's eye twitched. "Derek told me how you killed all those people and almost killed him, too."
The hybrid's jaw muscles flexed. "Almost. If I wanted to kill your nephew, I would have. I'm not as monster as you think."
Bobbi scoffed. "A wolf in sheep's clothing is still…a…wolf."
Amber-green eyes turned full raptor. "I'd rather eat the sheep than dress up and play pretend."
The door opening Chuck had been staring at for the past twenty minutes made him sit more upright in the driver's seat. Out stepped the red-faced hybrid. She was most likely beyond livid. Chuck pulled up to the front of the house and turned on the hazard lights to show the vehicle was idle in the middle of the lane. It's not like it really mattered, seeing how he barely saw any traffic during his wait.
Paul ran down the stairs and to the woman. He gently took hold of her arm to stop her a few steps shy of the car. "Veronica, I'm sorry, I didn't know she would act so out of line."
Pet met his deeply apologetic gaze and bit her lips in an empty smile. "It's fine. Really. I'm used to it. Barbara isn't the first person that's greeted me with disdain, and I know she won't be the last. I don't blame you at all for her actions. Everyone is allowed their opinions. Some just suck more than others."
Chuck opened the back passenger door for Pet while glaring angrily at the short-haired brunette closing the front door and locking it. "Ms. Hammond?"
A dull clawed hand was rested on the Brit's shoulder reassuringly. "I'll see you tomorrow night at our pub for a few drinks before I fly out Sunday."
Paul took hold of her hand and gently squeezed it. "Eight-o-clock. Don't be late."
"Of course not." Pet teased. She got into the car, and Chuck drove away. It took everything she had to keep from breaking down in tears. She knew if she did, the chauffeur would go and tell Simon about her crying like a little girl.
All that changed once within the privacy of her hotel room, however. The weight of her body sunk into the cloud nine down comforter stretched across the bed as her head fell into a pillow. She laid there, crying into the silence of her room. While she knew to expect Bobbi's rejection, she wasn't expecting that level of it. Though there was no blood relation between them, Pet saw her as much as family as she did Muldoon and now, Derek.
It pained the hybrid to think back on how she never really had a mother or a mother-like figure in her life. Liz, the lead veterinarian from Hammond's zoo, was the closest thing she had to a positive female figure in her life. Ellie was too, but her presence wasn't as much as Liz's had been. Pet kept a flicker of hope that Bobbi would have been that role, but alas, she wasn't.
Pet reached for a tissue poking out of its square box resting on her nightstand and blew her nose. Just as the wadded up tissue hit the small trash can did a knock come at her room's door. Raptor eyes rolled in their sockets. She was not in the mood to talk to anyone. Teary eyes were wiped, and the room's door was opened.
Simon's smiling, dark brown eyes greeted her. That excited sparkle fizzled out in exchange for concern at the emotional hybrid's puffy eyes. "What happened?"
Pet folded her hands behind her and failed at a smile. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
The billionaire knew better and gawked at her as such. "Nothing wouldn't look like you having been crying." His frown deepened. He motioned into her hotel room. "May I?" Pet stepped aside, allowing her visitor entry. Simon proceeded into the room, and the door was calmly shut behind him. "Chuck informed me of your meeting this afternoon not going so well."
Tattle tell. The woman squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaw. "Not everyone is as excepting of my condition as others."
"That's their downfall, then." Brown eyes stared straight into Pet's, shifting out of a raptor's and into their blue-green color. "Your condition, as you so call it, is not a bad thing. It has saved lives, Veronica."
"It's also been used to kill or assist in killing people, too, in case you've forgotten. Six people…that's how many lives I've taken." Pet could see what she was saying was bothering the billionaire if the saddening look on his face was anything to go by. "So no, I don't blame Barbara for hating everything I am. She's right. I'm a wolf in sheep's clothing."
"But, I love that wolf." No sooner did he say it than he regretted it. Pet blinked at him speechlessly, lips parted with something to say but couldn't. Simon shook his head to himself and rubbed his eyes. Change of topic. Change of topic. "I may not be in favor of your methods used in the past, but I understand why you did it." He looked back up at the hybrid, still processing his previously stated words. "Kill or be killed." That snapped her out of it, her mouth finally closing and brow furrowing. "And while six people is a negative tally amount, you also have more than triple that in those you have helped save. Three of those were children, I might add."
Pet rolled her eyes off the suited man and tightly balled her fists at her side. "One of those men I killed on Isla Sorna had a picture in his tactical vest of a woman holding a baby. I denied a family a husband and father. It's been hell trying to sleep, knowing that."
It boggled Simon why the woman couldn't see more of the good she had done over the bad. "Since then, you reunited the Kirby family and gave another young couple hope of one day having their own family." Pet cocked a confused brow. "Mr. Brennan and his lovely girlfriend have been doing well, have they not?"
Pet felt ashamed of the fact she had momentarily forgotten about them. "Oh yeah."
Simon smiled, hoping it'd comfort the troubled hybrid. "Enough of this talk. I have an idea." Pet flinched at the mention of 'idea.' "Instead of going out to dinner, how about dinner come to us?"
Mostly empty takeout containers of Italian food covered the top of the room's balcony table. Next to them were wine glasses, Simon topped off for both he and Pet. The bottle was corked and placed back into the bucket of ice between their patio chairs. Expanding out around them was London's nightlife. The Eye slowly spun with its dazzling fuchsia lights standing out in contrast to the city behind it. It was a beautiful sight Pet was going to miss once back in Montana.
Simon admired the barefoot hybrid gazing out at the night with a dreamy stare. The glow of the city lights complimented her medium-dark skin tone. He knew throughout what he was about to say was going to ruin it. "There's something I've wanted to talk to you about."
"Hmm? What's that?" Pet took a modest sip of her wine and savored its dark red flavor. She was not a wine person and couldn't identify it by its color. The name of it was told to her at one point, but she forgot it.
"My dream team for phase one of reclaiming the island. There are some who have expressed interest in joining." That dreamy state hardened to mild annoyance. "Robert and Terrence, as well as your godfather in Kenya."
"Son of a bitch," Pet snarled. And there went the lovely mood. Dreamy eyes were now that of a raptor's and boring holes right into the billionaire. "How much money did it take to influence their decision?"
Simon kept his attention elsewhere rather than on the hybrid. He really wasn't favoring the way one of her sickle claws tapped on the concrete. "It didn't. Robert called me to speak on behalf of the others on his own accord." Finally, he met her censuring frown.
"You're doing this to try and get me to say yes to going down there and helping teach all those newbies how to wrangle dinosaurs."
"Your three friends have enough experience to coach what will become the park's Asset Containment Unit and ranger teams. I will also have a specialized team from InGen Security assisting as well."
Pet was surprised her wine glass didn't shatter in her tight grip. Before it did, however, she took a hefty drink of it and set the empty glass on the tabletop. She was going to need more alcohol for this conversation. "I had a feeling this was going to happen. Which is why I have been working on a proposal for you, Mr. Masrani."
Simon paused in his taking a drink to stare at the woman questionably. "What would that be?"
Pet felt her chest burn, and eyes start to water with an overwhelming wave of emotion. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep it in. Her lower lip trembled. "I'm supposed to be getting married in less than two months."
Simon nodded. "I'm aware."
"Your phase one of reclaiming the island is scheduled to occur about the same time." Pet blinked, a couple of tears streaming down her cheeks. "I'm willing to postpone the wedding of my dreams to accompany your team…my family…for the corralling." Simon's eyes widened with hope. "But only on one condition."
Her accentuating 'one' worried Simon. What was going through her mind? "I'm listening."
"Not too long ago, a particular dinosaur not on InGen's roster nearly killed my fiancé and a good friend."
"The Spinosaur." The wealthy man had a feeling where the proposal was going.
"I want that thing dead, and I want to be the one to kill it."
Simon huffed a disbelieving laugh. "Why would I let you kill a multimillion-dollar animal?"
"Because…" Pet reached down for the wine bottle and popped the cork. "There are several reasons." She refilled her glass and forcefully shoved the bottle into the ice. "One, that animal was created without your approval or knowledge. Meaning, that sod Stevens went behind your back. Letting that animal continue to walk or swim on this earth means Stevens continues to have one over on you." Pet drank a quarter of her glass down and wiped a dribble of wine off her chin. "Two, it's extremely dangerous. It not only killed several people but destroyed two boats and ripped apart a plane with its claws. Tell me, do you really want to chance having something like that at your park?" Pet cocked her head, waiting for an answer from the silent man. "Three, those multimillions used to create the damned thing goes back to reason one. I see it as money stolen from your company…from you. Reason four…Stevens speaking on behalf of InGen in denying such a thing ever being created has ruined Alan's credibility as a much-respected paleontologist."
The hybrid had definitely put a lot of thought into this. Simon had to applaud her for that. They were all solid reasons and agreed with many of them. As far as the Spinosaur's threat level, well, he could always construct a secure paddock to contain it. But the fierce look in those teary amber eyes let him know that that would not be good enough. She was out for blood and revenge.
"That's it, then? You just want to kill it?"
Pet hissed a screech. "I want it dead, and a statement made by you telling the world of its creation…that my fiancé wasn't lying for attention following the events on Isla Sorna." The latter part made Simon uneasy and even piqued a hint of irritation. "I then want its skeleton displayed in a museum or even at your damn park, I don't care...but I want it to be seen by people from all over the world."
Simon inhaled a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. He sipped his wine and stared out at the glowing lights of London. "What you are asking for is quite a bit."
Pet clenched her jaw as her brow wrinkled a bit more. "Do this for me, Simon…Do this, and I'll jump through whatever hoop on fire I need to, to help get your park up and going."
"All for one person?"
Pet wiped her eyes and nose with a paper napkin tucked under a takeout container. "I don't expect you to understand."
Simon sighed a groan. "Ooooh, but I do, my dear Ms. Hammond." His heavy dark gaze rested on the hybrid, still staring at him pleadingly with those glossy raptor-like orbs. "I understand quite well."
"So…you will?"
Another heavy inhale and exhale helped keep the nerve-wracked Simon calm. "Just let me know what you will need for this little hunt of yours." It was slightly unnerving to watch desperation turn to joy before finally settling on deviousness.
"Just a bullhorn. That's all. I have everything else I need right here." She stretched out her legs, wiggling her toes.
Simon was thrown off by the response. No military-grade firearms? A rocket launcher? Fancy traps? Nothing? "A…bullhorn?"
"Mmhmm." Pet delicately took her glass in her hands and took a small sip.
"Very well."
R.I.P
Irrfan Khan
January 7, 1967-April 29, 2020
