Owen missed the funeral. There was one primary reason for that, and her name was Blue. Claire and Owen had determined that there would be likely to be little to no security at the raptor compound for Masrani's funeral. They were likely to be moved over to the Sanctuary, most of them anyways. Owen drove through the night, windshield wipers on, as he shook his head.
Hell of a night, he thought, as he pulled into the lot. Getting in, he looked at himself in the mirror. It was a knockoff security guard outfit, a drastic change from his usual Henley and vest, but it would work for now. Still, he was unsure of this plan. Claire had worked it out with him, she still had that contact with Zia after all. So far, they had managed to reach her, get her to stay at the compound in the wake of Masrani's funeral.
Now, Grady waited in the lot, his phone next to him as he waited for the text message that would let him know it was safe to get out of the car. He squinted through the windshield in the pouring rain, seeing the lone figure of a security guard at the check in station. They had kept one at least, he thought, as he shook his head. This was not going to get him anywhere. But then, he got the text, as he would see the other figure leave the warehouse. Zia.
Through the rain, he could just barely see her figure going towards the guard, no doubt engaging him in conversation. As far as distractions go, it was not a terrible idea.
Still, Owen would be ready, as he got out of the car, chest thumping, even as he would stay low against the side of the car. He did not think he was spotted, but he could never be so sure.
It was only when he saw the guards head turn that he would start sneaking. Owen was no fool. He knew just how much security was in this place even at minimal staffing. But he also knew one thing. This place had blind spots in terms of its security cameras. There were places where it was quite possible to sneak through uninterrupted. So it would be one of these places that he would attempt his assault.
Only a few hundred paces from the guard, there were a few low lying shrubs close to the ground. Owen slid in close, making sure his body was angled parallel to the foliage. His heart thumped, even as he bent himself all the way, sliding down underneath the barbed wire. It was a piece of cake. He had done it in the military plenty of times after all. So he was not so sure why he would have worried. Maybe he was just worrying too much.
Now he was in. Grady looked around, deep breath, as he would do another check to make sure that he had not been detected. All clear, he thought. From here it was a short walk to the Raptor pen. Once upon a time, he had been able to walk to and from the pen uninterrupted, but now he was a stranger, he was walking in the Lion's den. Now he knew.
Reaching the Pen, he clambered up the catwalk, as he looked down. Right now, they had it so that the animals were sequestered apparently. Using the sonic fencing so that each animal took up a fourth of the pen. He frowned. That had not been the way when he was there. Still, he couldn't speak to Cooper's training methods, although what he had heard from Zia had been…troubling.
But maybe she had seen it wrong. From what he had remembered, Cooper had seemed at least somewhat competent out in the field. What she had said did not seem like the Cooper that he knew. Assuming that he knew him at all, he had not had much communication with the man ever since he had been fired.
He would look through the pens. Beta. Delta, Echo…and Blue. He looked down at the raptors as each seemed to be sleeping. But he doubted that. Raptors were among the most highly intelligent species that he had ever known. Smarter than primates, even. To underestimate them, that was for sure a fatal mistake.
What Grady was looking for was Blue's pen, as he would grab a small dart gun out of his belt. Not that he planned on using it. That animal was far too large to drag to his car, and he would never be able to hide it. No. It was the fact that Grady had to know, he had to see for himself, as he watched the velociraptor stir, as Grady stepped on the lift. He took deep calming breaths, trying to exorcise the fear out of himself. He knew that the animal could smell fear after all, and that would not end well for him, or anyone else for that matter.
"Blue," Owen said softly, as he saw the Velciraptor get up, staring at him, as it cocked his head. Owen was now level with the animal, as he would activate something else on his side. This remote would make a 'safe' area around himself and the lift. This was to prevent an animal from getting out of the pens. They really did take security seriously here.
The velociraptor stalked up to him, stopping just short of the sonic barrier. Owen stared at her directly in her eyes, as he stepped closer. His heart was thumping harder, and he knew that it could smell his fear.
But he had to know. Zia had spoken of chips that affected electric impulses, what Cooper had done to Beta…he sighed deeply. Shaking his head. But that couldn't explain everything, he thought. Sure, animals might be trained to react to certain stimuli. But there were limits to that. Limits to everything.
He stepped forward, hand outstretched. He was remembering what he had done before, as he spoke softly. "Blue. It's me." The Raptor turned it's head, stepping closer to the sonic barrier, as Owen tried to study it. The dinosaur did not seem to be aggressive, although he knew better than to trust that. He would wait, his mind reacting as he would think.
He knew that he was being studied. He studied the creature right back, as he would feel like this was a start of a conversation. At least he hoped it was one, as he felt himself come closer and closer to the sonic barrier. "You remember me don't you, girl?" He would say softly, as he kept his hands well away from her jaws.
He would get closer…closer still, as Blue suddenly snapped at him. Owen did not move, knowing that the sonic barrier was there, he knew better than to flinch. The Raptor growled, baring it's teeth, as she would tap her sickle claws on the floor.
Owen wondered if he had done something wrong. But maybe it was better to be on the safe side for now, as he would breathe deeply. "Listen. I know I've been gone but…I'm here now. I'm here now." He said, maybe that was more for his benefit than for the raptor's, but he kept his cool regardless.
He stepped forward, his hand going slower, down to his belt, as he would feel the remote. He pressed the button, turning the sonic off. The Raptor paused, looking up at him. Owen could see now in the dim light how that Blue stripe of hers reflected slightly in the moonlight. It breathed, exhaled hard, as it looked at him, breathing hard.
But still, he felt in that moment that he could do it. "It's okay Blue. I'm here. You know me." Owen could see in that moonlight there seemed to be something there, some glimmer in her eyes. She recognized him. This was going to work, he thought, as she suddenly stepped forward. And leaped at him.
The sonic fence reactivated in a second. That had been another one of the safety features, that the fence would reactivate even if shut down. The lift was way too vulnerable to be left untouched, as Owen stood shaking, realizing that he had jumped back a few feet. He was blinking, realizing how much he was quivering all over. Maybe that was his nerves talking. Maybe it wasn't, he thought, even as he would figure it out.
He would figure this out, he thought, as he heard additional growls coming from the side. Looking over, he could see the other raptors were wide awake now. Delta, Echo and Beta. Beta was next to Blue, he realized, as he shook his head. Beta was already next to the sonic barrier, and this close again, Owen could see the resemblance.
Goddamn, he thought as he would shake his head. Unsure what to make of everything, he would step back. Observing the way that the two raptors were stepping close to one another. He shook his head, realizing that his hand had clenched around the handgun. He felt like a fool. No doubt that was exactly why, he thought as he looked at Beta. Then over at Blue.
The two raptors were almost nuzzling right now, as he shook his head. Unbelievable. But it was happening. Blue had never been that close to Delta, Echo or Charlie when she had been alive. He didn't know that much, but he knew enough about what Zia had told him. That Beta was Blue's clone.
He shook his head. It was crazy, but it was the truth. He could see Beta also looked somewhat cowed at his approach, head low, almost as if in submission. He was not so sure what that meant, but if Cooper had done what he thought he had done..
It made sense to him in a heartbeat. Shit, he thought as he heard his ringtone going off. God, it always went off at the wrong time, he thought as he heard the raptors snarling, turning towards him. Picking up the cell carefully, he would see the text. 'Jessica King replaced Masrani'. He paled, his hand tightening around the phone, as he would shake his head.
But he thought he had his answer. A few of the things that had bothered him, as he watched the raptors continue to growl, and circle them. He felt like if it was what he thought it was… but he couldn't be so sure. At least, he was feeling that way. He stepped back onto the lift, heart thumping, as he would shake his head. He had plenty of questions today, so many questions that he didn't know, but at least he might be able to know for sure one thing. It was something that he had known right after his encounter, but he did not even need the text from Zia telling him to get out within five minutes to persuade him to get the hell out of here.
Owen swallowed as he figured he needed to at least figure out one thing, as he looked at Blue. She was right next to the left, but she wasn't attacking. For a second he wasn't sure why, but then he saw the slight mark on her neck. He hadn't been that close since he'd gotten fired…but in that moment, he knew. Looking at her, he knew, as he would press the button on the lift. "I'm sorry girl… I'll make things right." Owen watched Blue staring up at him as he ascended the lift.