PREPARATIONS

8 – The Cost of Success

"Ouch!" Pet screeched, almost clawing Derek in her swatting his hand away.

He sat on the couch at her right side with a cotton ball in one hand and a bottle of peroxide in the other. There was a small bloodstain on the cotton ball. "I wouldn't be doing this if you hadn't fallen down that ditch." The cotton ball was dabbed on a raw portion of Pet's scrape going down her side. She hissed again and jerked away. "Maybe next time you'll think before attacking me and breaking a scab open."

Pet snorted. "Make smartass comments, you get an ass-whooping."

Raptor eyes rolled over to where Simon sat across the room, watching. It was apparent he wanted to say something, probably to scold her on her recklessness, but knew better. Instead, he remained quiet.

"I know that look." Pet hissed a snort through flared nostrils, clawed hands tightly gripping her knees in her slouching forward. "Don't judge me."

Simon shook his head, frowning. "I'm not judging you, Veronica. Worried for you, yes, but not judging."

"Then don't worry about me," was growled through clenched teeth. "Anyway…we were discussing…The course. You're canceling it."

The billionaire held up a hand to calm whatever tantrum the hybrid was about to go into. "Not canceling, just postponing. The paperwork for the island I plan on purchasing near Panama still needs finalizing. I can't do anything to act on the course until then. I want to take this project seriously and have plans on how to better assist with that."

"Such as?"

Simon shrugged. "Tracking devices for the participating candidates as well as on-sight surveillance and medical offices. That way, their movements can be tracked, and should anyone get sick or injured, they can be given immediate treatment."

Derek tossed the soiled cotton ball away and got a fresh one out of its bag. He moistened it with peroxide and cautiously dabbed a cracked section of the scab near the raw spot. Pet didn't flinch as much but still tensed up. She continued, her voice having a slight growl. "I see, and how long will all that take? The paperwork and building construction?"

The hybrid's grip on a knee tightened, making Simon slightly nervous she might attack Derek. "I was told the paperwork should be ready to finalize by the end of next week. As far as the building goes, that could take up to a month and a half. That's after paying to have the construction expedited."

Derek stopped treating Pet's wound to comment. "I bet that was costly."

Simon chuckled. "The cost of success is negligible."

"Ahh, the luxury of having deep pockets."

Pet dropped her head and sighed. She shook it, then met the billionaire's gaze again. "What about training the corralling team? There are a few candidates I have my concerns about."

Satisfied he couldn't do anything else to help the hybrid, Derek threw away the second cotton ball and capped the peroxide bottle. "You mean like Dad?" Pet's eyes widened, and her lips pursed. "You don't have to say it, we all know it. He's getting up there in years and isn't in the best physical health."

"You said it, not me," Pet groaned. She looked around her suite's immediate area expecting Muldoon to appear out of thin air long enough to smack Derek upside the head. "But yes… there are some that concern me on whether or not they can keep up with corralling demands."

Derek sat the dark brown bottle down on the coffee table and furrowed his brow. "Come to think about, most of the people I know on the dream team aren't exactly young and spry. Dad is in his early fifties, Cue Ball is in his mid-fifties…I think…Then there's always Personality."

Pet stared at the man placidly. "Terrence happens to be thirty five. That's just four years older than you."

Derek ignored the woman's comment and kept going. "Then there's Queer Eye that's-" THWUMP! He rubbed the top of his leg, where Pet punched him and whined a groan. "That hurt. That hurt a lot."

"Serves you right," Pet chided. She snorted a hiss. "I don't care how old someone is as long as they can keep up and do what they're supposed to."

Derek knew he was about to get hit again. "Are you still talking about corralling? Because it sounds like you're talking about something else now."

Pet reared her fist back to punch Derek again, him quickly leaping out of her reach. The hybrid glared at him in warning. "Grow up." She returned her attention to a somewhat concerned Simon studying the two questionably. "Where were we? Ah yes, training the team. Are you planning on just skipping the whole physical testing part and going straight to the fieldwork?"

Simon explained as professionally as he could. "One night earlier last week, Xavier informed me of your doubts regarding Ms. Valerie Mills and her past knee injury. I plan to contact her next week and ask that she undergo a physical that will be monitored by a specialist."

Pet blinked. "A physical. That's it?"

"I understand your concerns, Veronica, but let me handle this." Simon's stern voiced words made Pet's jaw clench. "I will let you know the results afterward."

The hybrid stood up, though with some difficulty from soreness, and glowered at the man. "Just know that if anything harmful or life-threatening happens to anyone because they can't meet the job's demands, then it's all on you."

Simon felt challenged, which didn't surprise him much. The hybrid was a particularly challenging woman and, sometimes, needed reminding of her place in the order of things. It was something he had come to learn from experience and her legal guardian telling him as much. He, too, stood up from where he sat and buttoned his light blue suit coat closed.

Derek noticed the shift in the billionaire's persona from relaxed to serious and looked uneasily at Pet. Simon was stepping up to her challenging him, something anyone who knew the hybrid well enough normally didn't do…unless Robert Muldoon or Roland Tembo. It seemed those two crazy bastards had no fear of her dangerous potential.

Pet trained her gaze on the wealthy man and hissed a threatening snort. She expected him to flinch if even in the least, but he didn't. If anything, he dared to step closer to her until they were a few inches apart. The closer he got to her, the more she could smell, not one hint of fear on him. It was like he either didn't know and didn't care or did know but still didn't care about how badly she could injure him.

Dark eyes didn't blink off intense raptor ones. "Their wellbeing will be just as on you as it will be on me." Derek gulped. This man was about to get torn to pieces, and he wasn't ready for it. Pet's breathing was getting heavier, and her hands forming into as tight of fists at her claws would allow. Simon watched the woman's face glow bright with anger. "I'm placing you in charge of the corralling team. If at any time you have a reasonable belief that someone isn't capable of fulfilling the demands of the job, then it is up to you to disbar them from fieldwork."

Pet clenched her jaw even more. "Why me? Why not your head of InGen security, whatever his name is."

"Vic Hoskins, and he didn't survive four years alone on an island with free-roaming prehistoric animals. Nor did he survive three separate island incidents while protecting civilians from potential dangers, and two hunting parties tasked to see him dead." Simon waited for a counter-argument to come from the hybrid, but none did. "That is why I chose you over the others. You also know the island quite well and what animal species can best be found where."

"It's called satellite thermal imaging. It's what Peter Ludlow did of Isla Sorna before venturing down to the island for his little excursion."

"I'm aware."

The angry redness in Pet's face started to fade, but not the growl in her voice or the daringness in her eyes. "Robert also knows Isla Nublar really well, seeing how we both worked on it for as long as we did."

Simon nodded. "I'm aware of that as well, but as you and Derek both stated earlier…he isn't in the best physical health. However, you," his dark gaze visually scanned the hybrid from her head to her bare feet, then back to meet her eyes, "are well fit for overseeing the team. Aside from a few present scrapes and bruises, that is."

"You're making a mistake. I can't lead all those people!"

Simon shrugged. "It's only a mistake if you fail, and something happens to one of your teammates." Derek's jaw hit the floor in appall. Pet's face lit up in seething anger again. "I suggest you try and get some rest, Ms. Hammond. I'm bumping up your little hunting trip for the Spinosaur. You and those accompanying you will fly out for Isla Sorna at the end of next week."

Pet stood, anchored on the spot, and watched the billionaire calmly leave the hotel room. Derek said nothing, not wanting to chance becoming the victim of the hybrid's heightened aggression. When she finally retreated to her room, slamming the door closed behind her, did he move. Straight to his suite across the hall, he went. Standing in the kitchen and fanning a skillet sizzling with bratwurst was his father.

Muldoon noticed Derek appearing abnormally pale and on edge. "What's gotten into you?"

The younger man took a seat in front of the bar and rubbed his face in his hands. "Holy shit, I swear Masrani has no idea how close he got to nearly being torn to shreds by Pet. Other than you and Cue Ball, I've never seen anyone knowingly and deliberately step up to Pet challenging them. He was almost up in her face when challenging her back. I don't know what kept her from not attacking him."

One of the bratwursts was flipped over to cook on the other side. "I have my suspicion."

Derek studied his father curiously. Surely, he wasn't the only one who noticed…


When Pet arrived back to the dig site, she was thankful no one asked about her injuries. She was almost sure that was because everyone knew better by now, or because Muldoon called ahead and warned them to stay quiet.

She tugged off her navy-blue t-shirt and tossed it into Quarantine's washing machine. Exasperation and physical fatigue left her leaning against the machine in a black sport's bra and blue jean shorts. Next came dumping her backpack full of dirty clothes into the machine, as well.

Standing in the kitchen and drinking a blue sports drink was Derek, silent, and observing. Pet rolled her unblinking raptor eyes to the bounty hunter. "The fuck are you staring at?"

Derek swallowed his mouthful of drink and gave it a moment before answering. "You've been bitchier more than normal since Dad, and I got back yesterday. It is because Masrani stood up to you?"

Pet peeled off her socks and included them with the load. She dumped a cup of powdered laundry detergent onto the collection of dirty clothes and closed the machine's lid. The water temperature and spin cycle were chosen, the hybrid walking away.

Derek capped his drink and shoved it into the fridge. "Tell me…When you fell down that trail's slope, did you happen to get a stick caught up your ass or something?"

Pet froze on the spot, her eyes widening. "Shit! I almost forgot!" She made a beeline back to the washing machine and opened the lid. Derek arched a brow at the hybrid frantically digging around, trying to find something. A pair of light grey shorts were found, Pet beaming. "Ah, hah!" A clawed hand was reached into a back pocket, and her piece of tree bark retrieved.

"Ah." Derek nodded his head. "So, you just completely bypassed the stick and went straight to the whole tree. Got it. That explains everything."

"I wouldn't expect you to understand, shit head."

"I might." Derek gawked her, expecting an explanation. Pet gave him a corner eyed rebuke and went into her room. He wickedly grinned to himself. "Y'know, if you're going to play striptease at the washing machine, at least take it all off and not some of it."

The hybrid shouted from her room, "Have you forgotten I'm practically your sister now?"

Derek snickered. "Have you forgotten we're technically not blood-related?"

Pet poked her head out of her room just in time to see the blur of Derek's form zoom out of the trailer. She grinned and closed her door.


Wednesday morning and Muldoon was lacing his boots to go somewhere. Derek was seated on the couch and shoveling spoonful after spoonful of Cheerios into his already full mouth. Terrence was at the stove, frying bacon and grinning to himself. This was nothing new. The man with an excessive personality tended to do that.

Derek stopped eating when he saw his dad step out of the bunkroom in a black turtleneck shirt and grey slacks. Even Terrence was thrown off. "Going somewhere?"

"I should be back in two hours." It was all Muldoon had to say as he grabbed the Jeep's keys off its hook by the front door.

He checked the time on his sports wristwatch, noting the early hour. Seven twenty-three. Pet would most definitely still be asleep, and he didn't want to wake her. He didn't even bother checking her bedroom, since she spent most of her nights at Grant's trailer instead. Besides, he was sure she would enjoy the surprise he had in store after she woke up.

From inside her room, Pet awoke at the sound of her Jeep's engine coming to life. Cracking open a window blind revealed Muldoon backing up and driving away. She crawled, more like lazily fell, out of bed, and stumbled into the kitchen. Eyes half open and hair askew, she questioned. "Where did Robert go?"

Terrence shrugged. "Beats me. He didn't tell me anything."

Pet's head lazily lobbed in Derek's direction for an answer. He shrugged as well since his mouth full of cereal wouldn't let him verbally answer. The hybrid gruffly snorted and trudged over to the stack of raw bacon resting on its packaging beside the stove. Terrence watched her peel off a slice and shove the whole thing into her mouth. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. She chewed the savory snack for a minute as she retrieved the jug of milk out of the fridge.

The top was twisted off, and most of its last remaining contents drank. All that was left was maybe a sip's worth. The jug was capped and returned to its shelf. Terrence frowned. "Would it really hurt you to finish off the milk, for once?"

A sloppy belch came from the hybrid. "I'm going back to bed."


Three hours later, Muldoon returned to the dig site. He blared the Jeep's horn right next to Pet's bedroom window.

It was something that had her damn near going into orbit. She screeched in annoyance and flipped the blankets off her. Forgetting she was wearing only pajama shorts and a spaghetti tank top, she slammed her clawed feet into her boots. The hybrid erupted from her bedroom and went outside.

Just as she went around to the back of Quarantine where the vehicles were parked than she came face to face with Muldoon. "Was that really necessary? Laying on the horn like that?"

He was chuckling, not giving a single damn about how angry she was. The Jeep's back passenger side door closed, making Pet's head perk up. She looked over Muldoon's shoulder just as Paul McCroy came into view.

Pet squealed in delight and nearly knocked Muldoon down in her rushing over to the other man. She almost knocked Paul down, too, tackling him in a hug. "What are you doing here?!"

Paul embraced her back, replying. "I got an email from Mr. Masrani, Monday morning. Something about needing to be ready to leave out early for a hunting trip of yours."

The hybrid slyly smiled at him. "Yeah, about that."

"I spoke with Robert about it, and that's when he invited me to come here ahead of time."

Pet hooked an arm around one of his and led him to Quarantine's front door. Walking up to the trailer was Terrence, his red-colored shirt speckled with plaster. "What's all the commotion about?"

Paul took careful note of the strawberry blond man, ten years his junior, and deviously smiled. He whispered into the hybrid's ear, "Who is that delightful man?"

Pet had never fought so hard to not laugh before in all her life until then. Making introductions with a straight face was even more challenging. Terrence read the newcomer's thoughts scrolling through his eyes rather loudly and awkwardly excused himself to return to work.

Derek stood on Quarantine's stairs and shook his head at the Brit, never looking away from Terrence. "Dude, it's called standards."

Pet sighed. "Oh, boy. This is going to be an interesting week."


Come Friday night, not a single person inside Quarantine was sober. The front door was wide open, and its occupants heard roaring in laughter inside. From where Grant stood beside the storage tent, he could see the hybrid with a beer bottle in one hand and a shot glass in the other. She looked so happy with her collection of friends and family. They were like her own little pack.

By a quarter till one, silence finally took hold of the group of people. Muldoon, Derek, and Terrence were in their beds, Paul asleep on the couch.


Sunday morning, and Pet was refusing to leave Grant's trailer. She was fully dressed, boots completely laced up, and ready to fly out at a moment's notice. She was curled up so close to him, Grant was sure there was no pulling a string between them. Her head rested on his shoulder and an arm across his chest.

The tips of his fingers caressed her right shoulder, tracing one of her less prominent scars in the process. "How long are you going to be gone for, this time?"

She shrugged against his form. "I don't know. However long it takes me to study the Spino…where it hunts, how it hunts…how it attacks its prey..."

"Hmm. Just in time to go off for the corralling, afterward. No telling how long that will take. Several months is what I'm thinking." Grant's chest rose and fell with the inhaling and exhaling of a deep breath. "Will I ever get to see you before the end of this year?"

Pet propped herself up and frowned at the man she loved so much. "I'm giving it till the middle of August, then I'm coming back, regardless of what still needs to be done. No way am I missing our big day come September."

"What about your deal with Mr. Masrani? You promised him you would do everything you could to help set up the park."

Pet wasn't sure what hurt the most, the irritated and disappointing sound of his voice or the fact he wouldn't look at her when talking to her. "I know. And I will. But I think he can allow me a month and a half. By that time, the others on the corral team should have enough hands-on experience to handle things while I'm gone." Grant said nothing, just laid there wearing a tense expression. Pet brought a clawed hand to his face and turned his gaze towards her. "You should know me by now. I'll be fine." Pet slid off her engagement ring and placed it in the man's hand.

This puzzled him. "So, you give me back the ring?"

"To hold onto. I don't want to lose it on the island kicking some dinosaur's ass." She closed his hand around the ring and kissed the top of his fist. "You're making it feel like I'm never coming back."

Grant laughed disbelievingly. "You can't be serious." He sat up on the edge of the bed, shaking his head. He got to his feet and whirled around to stare down at the visibly shaken hybrid. "How am I supposed to be, then? You're going back down to that island to hunt and kill something with your bare hands that destroyed an airplane and a boat! Have you forgotten that it killed a T-Rex?"

Pet's eyes began to water up. This was not how she wanted to leave the dig site. "No, I haven't forgotten. I remember everything."

"That thing almost killed you once, Veronica! Perhaps you remember that too?"

"Yes, I remember! How could I forget?!"

Standing close enough to the outside of the trailer to hear the shouting match were Derek and Paul. The Brit winced. "Are they always like this?"

Derek shook his head. "Nope. I have never heard the doc this pissed before."

"From the way it sounds to me, scared is more like it." Off in the distance and getting closer was the roaring of a helicopter approaching the dig site.

Pet squeezed her eyes shut. "The only other time I was that damn scared in all my life was when I thought I was going to lose Robert after the raptor attacked him. I thought I was going to lose you, too! The Spino…what it did to the plane…I-" She wiped her eyes with her long sleeves. The trailer's occupants heard the helicopter fly over, Pet groaning. "I haven't died to some dinosaur yet. I'm not about to start now. I went into round one with the Spino, not knowing what I was getting myself into. I'll be going into round two a whole lot differently." She sniffed back her tears and recomposed herself. "If I have to, I'll use a damn RPG on that son of a bitch." Which was a lie. The animal in her wanted to rip it to shreds with her claws.

The helicopter touched down on its usual landing spot on the road, Simon getting out. Derek was hesitant to knock on the trailer door but did so anyway.

Pet frowned at Grant and hoisted her black backpack off the floor at the foot of the bed. "I'll call you when I get to Costa Rica." She went for the closed bedroom door and paused. No, she wasn't going to leave with this mess between them. Pet crashed into him and tightly wrapped her arms around him. "I will come back, Alan."

"You better come back alive. Like hell, you're leaving me to deal with Derek."

Pet laughed into Grant's shoulder. She stood there a minute longer, lingering in the moment of holding the second person who meant more to her than anyone else. The first person she cared unconditionally for was her guardian and life long best friend. "I love you."

Grant embraced the hybrid, praying to whatever higher force was listening that it not be the last time. "If you can, bring me back a tooth. It would make a nice addition to my other odds and ends trinkets in my office."

"Whatever you want."

Ten minutes later, the helicopter lifted off. Pet sat across from Simon with a tempered look in her eyes. Seated next to him was Muldoon with Derek next to the door. Beside Pet was Terrence and beside him, Paul. If it wasn't for the thoughts in Pet's head distracting her, she would've noticed how uncomfortable Terrence was. He was scooting her to the edge of her seat in an attempt to put as much distance between him and Paul as possible.

What she didn't notice, Derek did as he snickered to himself.


*Edit* - Fixed an overlooked boo boo with the days listings towards the end of the chapter. I really need to find / hire a dedicated beta reader...