The Ninth Circle of Hell

by Sassy Lil Scorpio

Hammond returns to Isla Nublar and finds out everything that occurred during his hospitalization. Wu is miserable working for Dodgson and dreams of escape. Nedry is apprehended right after running into the Biosyn team. Hammond fights for Nedry's freedom on two conditions: convince Wu to return to InGen and bring down Dodgson and his gang. {Sequel to Reign of Chaos Trilogy} {AU}

4. The Grass Ain't Always Greener

Chapter 4 - The Grass Ain't Always Greener…

"Some people are willing to betray years of friendship just to get a little bit of the spotlight." - Lauren Conrad

oOo

When John Hammond had asked everyone "Where's Henry?," he hadn't the faintest idea that Henry Wu, the very man he had crowned as "the Miracle Worker of Jurassic Park", was far from the man he had hired out of grad school. Hammond had no inkling of how much Wu had changed since that time. He often wondered—and even feared—what Hammond would think if he knew the truth. There was a time he claimed it didn't bother him if Hammond found out, but he now knew that he was lying when he said that. He was stuck with Lewis Dodgson and the rest of the Biosyn team because he prioritized fame over friends… Wu tried not to dwell on it because it made him feel worse for his decision to betray InGen.

Presently, Wu was standing by himself on the rooftop of their new headquarters in Los Altos . It was much smaller than their original headquarters in Cupertino. From where he stood, Wu could see the expanse of land right out of his grasp. He was trapped here. The concrete gray buildings were a stark confirmation of his fate.

He would do anything to see the jungle canopy of Isla Nublar, walk beside the electrified fences to see the dinosaurs he had helped to recreate, and stand in front of the park's gigantic wooden entrance. He missed other areas on the island—his genetics lab, the control room where he could sit for hours talking with Ray Arnold, Gerry Harding, and Robert Muldoon, and the staff lodge where they had made great memories during the park's construction. Even Dennis Nedry had been part of that special time. It had been thrilling to be involved in an amazing new project that no one had ever tried previously: cloning dinosaurs, learning the genetics behind it all, and fulfilling Hammond's dream to create the most ambitious theme park of all time.

"Jurassic Park," Wu whispered the name that used to bring him both anticipation and tension. Hearing it now sounded strange and foreign, as though he had never been part of its creation, but instead, it was a wild dream, imaginary and out of his reach.

Now he couldn't be further from Jurassic Park or Isla Nublar, physically and mentally. As he stared out at the chain-link fence surrounding their current headquarters, Wu thought back to the last day in the Cupertino office. His mind often went there when he remembered how mortifying it had been to be escorted out by security. It seemed like it happened yesterday, but it had been only a little over three months since that time. Four months? He wasn't sure anymore. The days blended into the next. They returned to Cupertino less than a week after the InGen staff kicked them off Isla Nublar. Wu tried not to think about it, but the memories intruded even when he didn't want them to…

oOo

"I'm not letting them in. They'll have to drag me out by the ankles. To hell with them…fuck security—they can get the U.S. Army to break down this door and toss me out and I'd still come back."

Lewis Dodgson's rantings interrupted Henry Wu's thoughts of returning to InGen. He shoved the thoughts away for the moment and watched as Dodgson rubbed his forehead and then flung his tinted shades on the table. They were locked in the conference room with George Baselton and Raúl Lopez. Wu tried to avoid Dodgson's eyes that were lit with hot rage, and he looked like he'd strangle anyone who said the wrong word.

"Shit," Dodgson whispered, pounding his clenched fists into the table. "Not a damned thing we can do. It's all lost...everything gone…because of him."

Wu wasn't sure if he felt shocked that Nedry had the last laugh. He had planted a virus in a laptop that was supposed to be used to gather InGen's information— and messing it up was something he would do. The virus wasn't only in the laptop. Now it had infected Biosyn's computer network. They had been tricked into downloading the virus, so that it spread everywhere. Nedry had always sabotaged InGen, and this time, Biosyn was on the receiving end.

Wu looked up and met Lopez's angry glare. He knew Lopez hated Nedry—it wasn't a secret to anyone on the team. He couldn't bring himself to feel the same hatred because they had a history going back to their days working for InGen—but Wu knew not to bring that up. In the background, Dodgson rocked in his chair, unable to contain his rage at being duped again by Nedry and on such a grand scale—right in front of Biosyn's board of directors.

Baselton shook his head. "He got us, Lew…he got us good."

At that instant, there was a loud knocking on the door. Wu's eyes flickered to Dodgson who had jerked his head up. He heard it too, Wu realized. As though reading his mind, Dodgson glanced at him. For the first time since meeting Dodgson, Wu was surprised to see his complexion pale as fear took over. It was completely unlike him—considering he was always the one instilling fear in others—especially anyone affiliated with InGen.

"Where's Sonya?" Dodgson's voice was raspy.

There was a beat of silence before Lopez responded. "At the hospital visiting Roland."

Dodgson's hands closed into tight fists, as fury replaced dread. "That stupid bitch should be here."

The knocking came again, much louder than the first time.

Lopez looked to Baselton and Wu, uncertain of what was happening. "What's going on?"

Wu remembered that Lopez wasn't in the meeting when Dodgson had showed Biosyn's board of directors Nedry's laptop. I still can't believe he put a virus on the damn thing. Just as Wu was thinking this, Dodgson stood up and approached the door. His hand reached for the doorknob when suddenly they all heard it: a mechanical clicking as a key turned inside the lock…

Dodgson stood in front of the door, waiting and breathing hard with tense anticipation.

The clicking stopped and then they heard Bill Steingarten, the Biosyn CEO, speaking on the other side of the door.

"This is your final warning, Lew. You either open this door and you and your staff leave the premises of your own accord. Or you'll be forced to exit the building with security escorting you out."

Dodgson rushed to the opposite side of the conference room and gestured for everyone to stand by him. "They can't fuck with us if we present a united front. What did those InGen jackasses call it? "Safety in numbers?" That's our strategy."

"Where's Howard?" Lopez asked as he glanced at the door.

"Weeping like the fucking crybaby he is," Dodgson snapped. "He better—"

The door crashed open, hitting the wall. Bill Steingarten walked in, pointing at Dodgson and the group. He was accompanied by eight security guards who formed a semi-circle around him. Wu realized they had assigned two security guards for each of them in case they resisted. He hoped now that Dodgson would give up the fight. Dodgson was Dodgson though and Wu watched as he continued to argue as to why he should be allowed to maintain employment with the Biosyn Corporation.

"A former disgruntled employee corrupted that laptop. We're here doing God-honest innovative work, creating new pathways in our field—" Dodgson started and was cut off by Steingarten's chopping motion.

"This isn't up for further discussion. Jeff and I are on the same page," Steingarten said, indicating that Jeff Rossiter, Dodgson's supervisor, was in full agreement with his termination. "You're finished here."

Wu looked to Dodgson now, seeing if should take his cue from him. He noticed that Lopez and Baselton were doing the same thing. No one acted without Dodgson acting first. Seeing that Dodgson was refusing to budge, Steingarten took the next step. Unlike everyone associated with Dodgson, he wouldn't wait around for the inevitable. Pointing in their direction, he gave the order.

"Remove them from the premises."

Dodgson's stare was incredulous. He couldn't believe what was happening. "Bill, that's not right—we have to pack up our things."

"No, you need to leave the building and that's happening—" Steingarten paused as he glanced at his wristwatch and then back at Dodgson, "this very instant."

Steingarten stepped aside and kept the door wide open as the security guards fanned across the conference room, approaching Dodgson and the group. Wu saw Lopez sending him a questioning glance as though asking him nonverbally, are you gonna fight this? Hold your ground? Wu shook his head in response. There was nothing they could do, and resisting would make things worse. When he glanced at Baselton, Wu noticed that he looked torn. He stood by Dodgson's side, as though showing he remained loyal to him. However, the moment the tallest security guard reached for Baselton, he stepped forward, grabbed his gym bag from the floor, and left the conference room promptly.

"GEORGE! GET BACK IN HERE!" Dodgson yelled.

Wu saw him rush down the hallway and punch the elevator's buttons. As soon as the elevator's doors opened, Baselton ran inside and that was it. He was already making his way down to the lobby where he could leave Biosyn's main headquarters forever.

A sardonic smile flashed across Steingarten's features. "George Baselton did the smart thing and the only thing that you can do in this situation," he said as he pointed at the door from where Baselton just exited from. "You two should be like George: leave and don't look back." Steingarten gestured at Wu and Lopez. "Don't embarrass yourself. Just leave the building and know that you're not permitted back here ever again."

Lopez sighed and looked at Dodgson again. "Lew…let's just go. We'll figure this out."

"Hell no!" Dodgson now backed up against the window, trying to avoid the approaching security guards.

Lopez shrugged, expressing silently that he had no choice. "I'll see you outside."

Wu watched Lopez race out of the conference room. It was obvious that he wanted to spare himself the humiliation of being escorted out by security. Lopez hitting the elevator's buttons and getting right in once the doors opened was a repeat of Baselton's rushed exit. He had followed Steingarten's recommendation. Only Wu and Dodgson were left now…and he knew it would be up to him to try to talk sense into Dodgson—an impossible task. The security guards were closer now, a mere three feet away, and there were eight of them compared to him and Dodgson. They could easily be overpowered.

"Dr. Dodgson…" Wu hoped that using the title "doctor" would entice him to leave quietly. Later, he would ask himself why he thought this would have any effect. "Why don't we—"

Dodgson shot him a murderous glare. "NO! We're not going down without a fight, Hank—we're not running out of here with our tails tucked between our legs like those two cowardly shitheads!"

Wu cringed, knowing that Dodgson had just referred to Lopez and Baselton—two very loyal employees—as "shitheads". He glanced around the empty conference room and saw Nedry's laptop laying in the corner after Dodgson threw it against the wall. Then his eyes met Steingarten who stared back at him and gestured towards the door, encouraging him to leave on his own—or risk the embarrassment of being escorted out by security.

Wu thought back to when Nedry had been captured by the aggressive cop, Antonio Contreras, when he and Muldoon first returned two months later after being stranded on Isla Sorna. Wu had known the entire time where both men were, but had never revealed this to Arnold, Harding, Ellie, or Malcolm. He had acted horrendously towards Nedry, even punching him in the face when he knew Nedry couldn't defend himself. At least, Steingarten didn't call the police. We're not getting arrested, Wu thought. He never wanted to experience what Nedry went through when Contreras captured him. The cop had abused his power that night and the only person who came to Nedry's defense was the least likely person: Muldoon.

Wu was interrupted from his thoughts when he saw a security guard grab Dodgson's arm. Dodgson wrenched his arm out of the security guard's grip and finally took it as his cue to leave. Before he stormed out of the conference room, he stopped in front of Steingarten. Steingarten's flat expression never changed, not even when Dodgson got in his face and jammed a finger in his chest. He wasn't angry—he was tired of dealing with Dodgson and was glad to be rid of him.

"You'll be sorry for this, Bill. You and Jeff will regret firing me when all I ever tried to do was put us on the map of genetic engineering. I was ready to get Biosyn in the newspapers once we got a hold of InGen's technology. Hell, I had Jurassic Park in the palm of my hand! We would've beat InGen at their own game if it hadn't been for that lying two-faced slob, Dennis—" Dodgson elbowed the security guard who tried to reach for him so he could escort him out of the office. "Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me." Turning to Steingarten, Dodgson sent him one last hateful stare. "If I were the CEO of Biosyn—"

"But you're not."

"I wouldn't fire an MVP like myself."

"MVP—Most Valuable Player? You're delusional if—"

Dodgson spat in his face.

That was the last straw. "Get him out of here!" Steingarten ordered the security guards. Two left and followed Dodgson.

"Good riddance!" Dodgson called over his shoulder as he marched out.

Steingarten wiped the spit off his face and turned to Wu who was the last one standing in the conference room. Wu sighed. There was no reason to fight or resist. Walking past the security guards, he quietly picked up Nedry's laptop, gathered his messenger bag that had his papers, and left the conference room without so much as uttering a syllable to the Biosyn CEO. He didn't say anything when he joined Dodgson in front of the elevator and they both entered when the doors opened. Both were shocked to see Howard King was already in the elevator.

"Lew, they're making us leave," King whimpered. "What's going on? Can't we come back in and get our stuff?"

Dodgson hurried into the elevator and Wu followed him. The doors closed. Dodgson poked the "L" button in the elevator, muttering under his breath the entire time.

"How could they—"

"Shut the fuck up, Howard! I'm not in the mood to hear your crying."

They descended in complete silence and found Baselton and Lopez waiting for them in the lobby. Wu was shocked to find more security guards waiting for them. It was obvious that the security guards would stay right behind them, ensuring their final exit from the building. Without a word, Wu, Lopez, Baselton, and King followed Dodgson out of Biosyn's main entrance until they were standing outside of the building—now completely severed from InGen's rival company forever…

oOo

Wu watched as the sun dipped towards the horizon as he recalled the memory of his untimely exit from Cupertino. Although Steingarten had fired the entire group, Dodgson still pretended to work under Biosyn employment, but in a different location. In fact, Dodgson acted like everyone on his team were still Biosyn employees. It would be mind-boggling to anyone not affiliated with Dodgson, but those who worked under him knew he had a way of continuing things, even after they ended.

A light wind blew around Wu, and he shivered from more than just the cold. He decided to go inside the building. He opened the door and started down the steps that would lead to the top floor where his office was located. As he did so, he thought about what had happened after the entire team had been kicked out of their former territory…

That night, Dodgson had put him in charge of booking six hotel rooms under what would become his new alias: Bradley Wong. At first, Wu had balked—using a fake ID was against the law. When he had protested, Dodgson had cracked up laughing. Don't think of it like that, Hank. Consider it a way of working more efficiently. Work smarter, not harder. He had been oblivious to Wu's fear about breaking the law. Hank. Wu frowned when he remembered both Hammond and Dodgson calling him that. When Hammond had done so, it was out of genuine affection for him. Dodgson did it to massage Wu's ego, and by now, Wu was fed up with his manipulation.

At the time, he refused to respond and snatched the ID from Dodgson, deciding to use it only when necessary. Dodgson had given him three more fake IDs and Wu had never used them. He had stashed them in his car's glove compartment and never looked at them again. He had done his own research and found that if caught, he could be charged with either a misdemeanor or felony…but being that he associated with Dodgson…did it matter anymore? It would be better this way, if Bradley Wong were committing crimes like using counterfeit money to book hotel rooms and purchase property and not Henry Wu. He could separate himself from "Wong," although they were the same person. It was like leading a double life. He didn't want anyone to know who he really was…not anymore.

With the hotel rooms booked, Dodgson began plotting his next move. He even made subtle changes to his appearance, ditching the tinted sunglasses for thin framed nonprescription glasses. Once balding, now Dodgson sported grayish-silver hair, covering up any bald spots or "blemishes" as he called them. Despite changing his appearance, Dodgson was still Dodgson. His aggressive personality hadn't changed and his way with words, especially profanity, was still his trademark. In fact, Wu found Dodgson's new glasses to be the most frightening change. At first, he didn't know why, until one day it hit him: when Dodgson wore his tinted shades, he was mysterious. With the new glasses, Dodgson's hawklike eyes were no longer hidden. Wu knew right away when Dodgson was zeroing in on him with his predatory stare.

Wu remembered sitting in a dim hotel room and staring at the half-eaten pizza pie in the middle of the table. He wasn't hungry at all; his appetite had vanished the moment Nedry's virus manifested itself on the laptop. Lopez, Baselton, and King were the only ones eating the pizza when Sonya Durant walked in and closed the door. She placed the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the doorknob outside and then joined them. Wu had left the door slightly open, so that she wouldn't have to worry about knocking. He had been glad that he contacted her just in time before she went back to their old headquarters in Cupertino. Wu didn't want Sonya to experience what they had earlier that day. Besides, it was only a matter of time before she found out that they weren't allowed to reenter the building under any circumstances.

"We're gonna find a new place to call our office," Dodgson had said when Sonya sat down next to Lopez.

Sonya gave a brief nod, but that was it. Wu knew Sonya hadn't been the same ever since Ellie had beaten her up at the park. Sonya had bullied Ellie relentlessly and it was only a matter of time before Ellie snapped. More than that, Wu knew she had a soft spot in her heart for Roland Tembo, who was recovering in the hospital. Rumors flew around the team that they had started a relationship. Sonya had seemed to wait around to see if Dodgson would even ask about Tembo's well-being, how he was recovering from severe neck injuries inflicted by Robert Muldoon…but the questions of concern never came. Instead, Dodgson focused on finding new office space. It was heartless, but Wu had started to finally accept the truth of who Dodgson really was versus the man he first presented himself to be.

"You're in charge of this project," Dodgson had announced, pointing at Wu. "We'll treat it like it's a separate branch of the larger Biosyn company."

"Sure thing." Wu's voice had sounded mechanical.

What choice did he have? Being kicked out of the Cupertino location didn't faze Dodgson at all—if anything, it energized him more—and he still expected complete loyalty from Wu. The entire responsibility of finding a new office for them to run their day-to-day operations rested on Wu's shoulders. He didn't know if he was being punished because of what Nedry had done, if it had anything to do with him being the lone InGen employee on the Biosyn team…

That night, he had been unable to sleep in his hotel room as the day's events kept replaying in his mind. He had laid wide awake in his bed, staring at the ceiling. Deciding it was too quiet, he had put on the television to break up the silence and mentally escape, but that didn't work either. Wu had never felt more trapped in his entire life. There was no direction for him to turn to. For a moment, he imagined that he was in his living quarters at the staff lodge on Isla Nublar. If he walked two doors down, he'd find Arnold smoking in his room with the window open so that the smoke alarm wouldn't go off. (That had happened once, and Hammond was furious—the InGen staff had jokes about it for months.) Or he'd go to the recreation room and find Muldoon and Harding sharing a bottle of whiskey. Harding wasn't a drinker, but he'd humor Muldoon. Wu would have a good laugh at his expense…

Those days were over.

Wu had no choice but to do everything Dodgson demanded of him. If he didn't, he was certain he'd suffer a fate worse than Nedry's. Getting beaten up by the team or Dodgson humiliating him was a fate he never wanted to experience. And because he was InGen's chief geneticist with inner knowledge of how the company cloned extinct life, Dodgson had no plans to release him. He would never let Wu get anywhere near InGen again.

Wu walked down the hallway and entered the space that was his "office" in the loosest sense of the word. It was the only space he had for himself, where he could get away from everyone on the Biosyn team, especially when he needed time alone—which was often. Sitting behind the desk, Wu marveled at the sparse settings. It was nothing like his office on Isla Nublar. That one had newspaper articles, the latest trends in the genetics field posted on his bulletin board, and even photos of the park staff during the construction days. The office he sat in now was cold and empty, which reflected his present mood these days.

Even so, the fake ID and counterfeit money had worked and a week after staying at the hotel, "Bradley Wong" purchased the current four-story building. The building was in Los Altos, right between InGen's headquarters in Palo Alto and Biosyn's headquarters in Cupertino. It was very strange to stay there except for the few times when they booked separate rooms at a nearby motel on occasion, but Dodgson didn't give them a choice in the matter.

Escape crossed Wu's mind only one time. That hope evaporated when overhearing Tembo telling Lopez again about the failed hit on Nedry—how he wished he had executed him immediately. I should've finished off the bastard right then. Wu had been walking around the building when he had overheard their conversation and upon hearing that last line, he did an about-face, wanting to put distance between himself and them. Wu was certain that if he tried to leave, he'd end up six feet under. Although Dodgson acted like he valued Wu above everyone else, Wu had seen firsthand how easily (and brutally) he turned against Nedry. He didn't want to repeat history.

The commercial chain link fence with razor barbed wire surrounding the new office building added to the feeling of being under lockdown. Dodgson had demanded they obtain a chain link fence to put around the property, so that it would scare off potential trespassers. Of course, Wu/Wong followed up on that demand too and even managed to get phone-lines set up. He had found everything and had it all installed exactly as Dodgson wanted—the office, the chain link fence, phone-lines, and even a large sign to make it look like an official location— Biosyn Off-Site: Research Department. Even the sign had Biosyn's logo. It was all a pretense. They weren't working—no one was. They were just biding their time until Dodgson dreamed up his next crazy scheme.

Over time, the demands became outrageous. Purchasing the van—Wu didn't think anything of it. But when Dodgson ordered him to buy a gurney with restraint straps and elevating headrest—that's when Wu questioned him. Wu had simply asked "what for?" Dodgson's steely reply was etched in his memory: "for when the time is right". He immediately learned that Dodgson didn't accept being questioned or second-guessed. Dodgson's wish was Wu's command—and Wu never forgot it.

That was enough reason to isolate himself in his office. The less contact he had with Dodgson and anyone on the team, the better. And he was still hopeful that he could reconnect with the InGen staff. Wu stared at the phone and forced himself to pick it up. Maybe now would be the perfect time to call the control room. Just as quickly, he placed it down when he saw Tembo walking down the hallway with Sonya. Wu and Tembo exchanged a silent tense greeting—a quick nod of acknowledgement. When they were completely gone, Wu went over and closed the door. He didn't want anyone—especially not Dodgson—hearing his phone calls. Nor did he want anyone from the Biosyn team to think that his open door meant that he was inviting them in.

Wu had never blended in with the Biosyn team. The only person he managed to maintain a decent rapport with was Lopez. Wu knew it was because of what he had done for InGen—clone dinosaurs. Lopez saw nothing else though. He had never showed an interest in getting to know Wu as a friend beyond that. Tembo always eyed him suspiciously and kept him at a distance as did Sonya. King and Baselton were indifferent to him, and he felt the same way towards them. Wu found Baselton's behavior unnerving, given that he pretended to work for Hammond for a long time. Or rather, Baselton used to. After Gennaro fired him, Baselton fully affiliated himself with Biosyn. Lawala was no longer with Biosyn and Wu thought he might've left to join InGen. The entire time Wu knew him, Lawala remained quiet about his true allegiance and he was the only person on the team who wasn't gung-ho about Dodgson's extreme tactics against InGen. All in all, there was nobody he felt a true genuine connection with. That was fine with Wu. The less ties he had with the Biosyn team, the easier it would be to return to InGen—or so he hoped.

He sat down again and took out a notebook. Flipping it open to a blank page, he scribbled random doodles. His mind wandered back to Tembo, who had rejoined them a month ago, still sporting a neck brace. He had shown up and Dodgson had greeted him as though he had never been hospitalized. It was cold on his part because Tembo's neck injuries were serious, but then again, Wu was under the impression that Tembo wasn't the kind of person who wanted pity from anyone. He was also under the impression that both Tembo and Sonya wanted to leave Biosyn. He didn't know what gave it away, if it was his imagination working overtime, or if he was projecting his own regrets onto them. Tembo and Sonya ended up staying, just as everyone else did.

Wu also didn't know if Dodgson convinced them to remain on the team or if they chose to do so on their own terms. However, it confirmed his belief that the entire team was trapped in an abusive relationship with Dodgson. He treated them awful and talked down to them—and that was putting it mildly, considering Wu remembered Dodgson calling both Baselton and Lopez "shitheads" for leaving Biosyn's main headquarters before security could drag them out. Everyone stayed around except for Lawala—the one who got away. Nedry got away too—after an attempt on his life and a gang beating meant to put him in his place. Lawala truly was the one who got away—no scars and no violent trauma. Dodgson's possessive, controlling, and manipulative nature made the team gravitate towards him more, which was bizarre. Wu suspected everyone else had nowhere else to go. Once you associated yourself with Lewis Dodgson, your reputation was tarnished forever. It was an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome.

On the other hand, Wu always reminded himself of how Dodgson had enticed him with promises of worldwide recognition for his incredible accomplishments in genetic engineering. If Dodgson had wooed Wu to his side or took advantage of his discontent (as he did Nedry), then he could only imagine what he had said and done to sway Lawala, King, Baselton, Sonya, Tembo, and Lopez to work for him. And when those thoughts arose in Wu's mind, it was like going down a rabbit hole.

He remembered meeting Dodgson through Baselton. During the year that passed after Nedry's conviction, Wu became more upset that Hammond remained stuck in the past. So many times, Wu had wanted to encourage Hammond to move on from Nedry's betrayal, but Hammond hadn't been able to do so. Instead of planning for Jurassic Park's opening date—as Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler had given their endorsement, and even Ian Malcolm had—Hammond distracted himself with projects like cloning a 16th species. Then one day, Baselton told Wu that he knew someone who respected his talents and abilities—and that this person was a geneticist just like him…

Wu turned the page over and drew a large circle on the other side. He drew smaller circles inside the large one.

Enter Lewis Dodgson.

Wu wasn't sure about getting to know Dodgson at first—especially given how his name was dropped at Nedry's trial as the man who had hired him to steal from InGen—but Dodgson was charismatic and enthusiastic. He knew the field of genetics and he appreciated the science behind it. Wu remembered how Dodgson had flattered him: "a brilliant geneticist such as yourself shouldn't have his talents taken for granted, his accomplishments fall to the wayside, or his dreams trampled on." As time went on, Wu came to realize that what he initially interpreted as Dodgson's passion was a pleasant mask for his shady and aggressive nature.

He also concluded that it wasn't Dodgson's fault that Nedry had been caught by Muldoon and Arnold, which led him feeling resentful of his former co-worker, although he had been initially sympathetic towards him. Wu had never visited Nedry in prison. The idea of his former co-worker dressed in a drab uniform/jumpsuit and forced to serve a lengthy sentence convinced him that if he were to join ranks with Dodgson, that he would be smarter. He wouldn't slip up and get caught.

His betrayal started small: taking photographs of the dilophosaur and sending the pics to Dodgson, to graduating to larger scenarios: spreading information about the plan to clone a 16th species, getting Hammond off the island so that the Biosyn team could engage in their heists, and even secretly telling Costa Rican officials about Lawala's incident. Wu did whatever he could in the hopes that it would make Hammond open the park sooner.

The only person who had caught on was Ray Arnold.

Although Arnold had incorrectly guessed Gennaro as the mole, he had been right about the reasons: He might be leaking info to get Hammond's attention and make him open the park faster. If Hammond senses a threat, then he might be tempted to push ahead with the opening plans to thwart competition. Wu had been amazed at Arnold's perceptiveness and how he accurately described his motives—of course, Arnold had no idea at the time that Wu was the mole. Wu's actions had the opposite effect: Hammond kept the park closed until further notice. Once Hammond was hospitalized with the stroke that Nedry inadvertently caused when he released the raptors, Wu knew it was over. It was time to make the full leap to Biosyn and leave InGen in the dust—and he was more than motivated to do so after Muldoon destroyed the raptors.

That was back then.

In the here and now, Wu constantly fought an internal battle everyday he stayed with Biosyn. He looked down at the circles he had drawn in the notebook, one inside the other, each circle smaller than the last and the lines squeezed close together, so that in the end, there was a tiny dot in middle of the circles of circles. The circles didn't have a beginning or an end point; they just kept going. Wu felt he was the same as the circles, going round and round in his mind with no resolution to his problem of being stuck in a company that he no longer wanted to be involved in. No way out, he thought as a dry chuckle escaped started drawing on the circles again, pressing harder this time, and in some instances, ripping through the paper with his pen. He glanced at the phone again as he was tempted to call the control room when something else caught his attention. Wu reached into his pocket and took out two items: a folded photo and a lighter with the Jurassic Park logo.

The lighter had belonged to Arnold. He had given it to Wu one time as a joke when everything was topsy-turvy upside-down at Jurassic Park—which was all the time. Arnold had told him to light a cigarette and smoke away his worries… Wu smiled as he held up the lighter. It was strange that an inanimate object could bring back memories of a co-worker whom he had also considered a good friend.

Had Arnold seen the photo that Wu unfolded, he would've instantly recognized it, because he had the same exact photo at his workstation in the control room. Wu smiled when he looked at what was a happy memory from a vastly different time. Arnold, Muldoon, Harding, Wu, and Nedry stood next to each other from left to right in front of the visitor center. Hammond had taken the photo the weekend before the park inspection. Wu remembered how Hammond had been excited for the upcoming inspection as he hoped Grant's group would endorse Jurassic Park. For Hammond, that weekend was a cumulation of years of all their blood, sweat, tears, trial and error, joys, and frustrations. Wu studied the photo carefully. Arnold held a half-lit cigarette and wore his white lab-coat that bore the Jurassic Park logo. Muldoon had his trademark fedora and usual stern expression. Harding had a genuine smile. Wu didn't recognize the younger version of himself—he had a broad grin and gave the camera two thumbs up. Congrats to us on an extraordinary job well done!

"I said those words," Wu mumbled to himself.

It was hard to believe now. Back then, there was excitement and anticipation that finally, all his challenging work, all those years studying genetics, of piecing together various DNA sequences to recreate the dinosaurs, would finally result in recognition. Or at least, a world-renowned paleontologist, such as Dr. Alan Grant, would give his stamp of approval.

Wu's smile faltered when he saw Nedry standing next to him in the photo. He had never noticed until now how Nedry looked uninterested. Nedry had always been a loner, an outsider—he was the outcast on the InGen staff. Wu thought another person might interpret Nedry's expression as boredom, but knowing what he knew now, Wu realized Nedry was fed up with the Jurassic Park project. He had already made his decision to work secretly for Lewis Dodgson. Even so, Wu tried not to feel upset by Nedry's annoyed expression in the photo. Everyone else was happy at the time. Especially Hammond. "The magical five" he had called them. On that note, should he try calling the control room again? Wu decided to give it a shot.

First, he rehearsed in his mind for the umpteenth time what he would say: It's me, Henry…I made a grave mistake… Wu shook his head. That sounded…contrived? Phony? He tried again, mouthing out the words. I'm sorry for… For what? For being a traitor? How could he adequately put into words that he was remorseful for abandoning InGen to join the corporate enemy? For leaving behind his family of coworkers to chase after fame? For behaving cruelly to them after Dodgson took over? He didn't have the right words, but he pushed himself to dial the phone number. He waited...and waited... The rings seemed to take forever, one after the other—until on the fifth ring someone picked up.

"Hello?"

Wu froze.

"InGen. Arnold speaking."

It was Ray! Excited, Wu clutched the phone to his ear. This time would be different from the rest. He was about to greet Arnold, when suddenly it happened again. His words got caught in his throat. His heart pounded like a war drum and his hands felt sweaty. Unable to respond, Wu hung up the phone and buried his face in his hands, furious at himself. This always happened when he called the control room. Why was it so hard for him to speak up? Why did his words abandon him? This was Arnold who had called out to him when he had left Isla Nublar with Dodgson. Wu replayed that memory in his mind every day—especially that moment in time when he looked at Arnold and then back at Dodgson. Even when he took a step towards InGen, there were so many thoughts and feelings swirling inside him that day.

Sometimes he questioned if he wanted to jump off the boat that day and rejoin InGen, but then that meant missing what Dodgson had always promised him. The opportunity to be recognized worldwide. Wu had been holding Nedry's laptop that day and he had still believed there was a greater chance with Biosyn to move forward with his career, rather than go backwards. When he turned his back, he knew full well the significance of that gesture. That was the only way they could interpret his body language—that he had turned his back on them forever. What the InGen staff didn't know was that Wu had to turn away because he couldn't face them. A small part of him knew that he was making a mistake, but he had to save face. On the outside though, Wu appeared scornful as though he looked down at Arnold for pleading with him. When he thought about it now in the present day, Arnold cared enough to reach out to him…and Wu appreciated that more than ever.

"Please, Henry...think about what you're doing. We're your friends, we've been through so much as a company, as a team...as a family."

Family, team, friends…all three words synonymous with InGen that were nonexistent with Biosyn. Wu had treated his InGen family of coworkers like garbage. Once Dodgson took over, he had little use for them and so it was better to sever ties than to ever pretend they had once been friends who had worked on a top-secret project that brought out the best and worst in all of them. Wu always told himself that he didn't disparage his former InGen coworkers because he hated them. He did it to prove his loyalty to Biosyn, to show Dodgson that he had changed sides and was now fully on board with whatever they did. And he did it in the hopes that Dodgson would do any and everything to follow through with his promises to make him known to the world. And yet, Wu knew he had done tremendous damage. The InGen staff had never hurt him, and when he helped Sonya destroy Ellie's greenhouse, he recognized the hypocrisy in his behavior—after all, he was devastated when he found his own lab in shambles (although he knew Biosyn was coming to the island that day). He had hurt Ellie, just as he had hurt everyone else…

Wu was about to call again when he heard a knock on the door. Reluctantly, he approached the door and tried to maintain a neutral facial expression when he saw Baselton on the other side. In retrospect, Wu realized that he should've been suspicious that Baselton was playing both sides of the fence: working for Dodgson but pretending to be Hammond's accountant. Not that it mattered anymore. Wu opened the door and made sure to project an air of self-confidence. Head up, shoulders back. He convinced himself that he was amazing and supreme because of all he had done for InGen, but he also knew that the Biosyn team viewed him as arrogant. It worked for Wu since it kept them at bay.

"What can I do for you, George?"

"Dr. Dodgson is meeting with us at midnight."

Wu glanced at his wristwatch. It was only seven in the evening. He didn't understand why Dodgson didn't meet now. Why does he insist on these midnight meetings? Wu was always tempted to ask the question, but he knew better. Nobody questioned Lewis Dodgson.

Wu mustered up a pleasant smile and said, "Sure thing, see you then."

oOo

By the time Wu entered the dimly lit conference room on the first floor, everyone was already there seated around the table. The room was nondescript. The walls were blank and there was nothing that signified that the building was now under Biosyn ownership as Dodgson pretended it was. Wu wondered if Dodgson did this on purpose and stared out the window, noticing how the wind was blowing wildly. Outside, a storm was raging. Lightning flashed in the dark sky and thunder crashed seconds later. Wu frowned when the rain pitter-pattered against the window. He had always associated thunderstorms with the initial park inspection and the night when he revealed to Muldoon that he had joined Dodgson.

He was shocked to see Tembo and Sonya sitting near each other on one end. Tembo wore a neck brace and Wu wondered how long he'd have to wear it. Seeing it reminded Wu of the vicious fight between Tembo and Muldoon. Muldoon had wagered InGen, Isla Nublar, and Jurassic Park—and had won although Tembo certainly put up a good fight. On the opposite end, were King and Baselton. Dodgson sat at the head of the table and Lopez was sitting right next to him, indicating in Wu's view that he wanted to show he was the most valuable player on the team. Wu sat across from them. There was a pitcher of water on the table and a tray of crackers, cheese sticks, and grapes. Minimal, but That's how Dodgson preferred it. Wu waited to see how this meeting would go. He had no idea which direction Dodgson planned to steer the team. He was going along for the ride.

"I had an agenda for today's meeting, but I didn't bother writing it up, so I'm gonna wing it," Dodgson announced to the group, placing his hand on a laptop situated in front of him.

Wu's eyebrows rose when he recognized Nedry's laptop. He was surprised Dodgson had kept it all this time, although it was useless. As though reading his mind, Dodgson knocked it with his knuckles.

"We're gonna start with this damn laptop and go backwards. First…" Dodgson paused, trying to keep his temper in check. "We need to figure out how to acquire InGen technology from scratch."

A hush fell over the room. No one said anything, but everyone was thinking it: trying to obtain InGen's technology had been a mixed bag of results. Although Nedry had successfully smuggled the embryos years before, and even after that, the team had managed to obtain live dinosaur specimens—the attempt to completely overtake Isla Nublar had been a miserable failure. Well, it was successful until the night of the park tour when Bill Steingarten and Jeff Rossiter came to visit. From there, things had spiraled down and even when they had been forcefully removed off Isla Nublar, there was still this thread of hope that Biosyn would have InGen information and research since Nedry had been installing it on the laptop. That had all went to hell though and this was the direction Dodgson went in now.

"We have no research about their genetics, no InGen secrets, since that—" Dodgson's twisted into an angry sneer.

"Lying big-mouth hacker ruined everything," Lopez suggested.

"Yes! Thank you, Raúl."

Lopez nodded, proud that he had been acknowledged.

Tembo looked confused. "What's a damn laptop have to do with anything?"

Dodgson was about to answer when Lopez jumped in.

"Remember when Dennis was supposed to download all of InGen's information for Biosyn to give us the upper hand?"

"What about it? Are we back to focusing on that crying convict whining about his revoked credentials?" Tembo sounded angry as he adjusted the neck brace he still wore.

Lopez shook his head, annoyed. This came as a surprise to Wu who knew Lopez and Tembo to have a strong rapport. They had a solid friendship as their focus was InGen's dinosaurs, their loyalty to Dodgson, and they both hated Nedry equally. Wu counted himself lucky that Lopez didn't hate him, but he also knew Tembo didn't fully trust him. The wind howled and thunder crashed in the background like a haunting soundtrack. Wu thought it matched the mood present in the conference room.

"He put a virus in it, Roland. He screwed it up and that in turn screwed up Biosyn's computer network." Lopez saw Tembo still had a disinterested expression on his face. Lopez threw his arms in the air, frustrated. "That's why Henry had to find us a new place—we got fired that same day!"

"I was visiting you at the hospital when it happened," Sonya said quietly as she joined hands with Tembo.

"You missed out on all the fun," Lopez said. "That pathetic has-been screwed us over."

"I don't know why you expect anything different from him," Tembo said, taking his hand out of Sonya's. "So, what's the plan? We weep and mourn over a damn laptop?" He gestured at it as though it were rotting fish.

"No, we follow Dr. Dodgson's directives."

Dodgson leaned across the table, glaring at Tembo. "Precisely. Shut your mouth and fucking listen, Roland, and you might learn something."

Tembo folded his arms across his chest, indicating his anger, but he said nothing more. Lopez, on the other hand, nodded gleefully.

Wu watched Lopez and Dodgson from across the table. As always, Lopez was playing up to be Dodgson's Number One Fan. His sycophantic behavior had always been off-putting to Wu. Wu remembered Lopez being that way with Dodgson when he first joined Biosyn. He felt Lopez's over-the-top admiration rang as phony. Wu tried to pretend he was interested, but more than anything, he wanted to leave the conference room. What was the point of this meeting anyway? He understood Tembo's ire: they were sitting around grieving over a missed opportunity that happened because of Nedry? When he assessed the room, he noticed that Tembo and Sonya now appeared uninterested. Baselton and King might as well have been non-existent.

"You know what I think, Dr. Dodgson?" Lopez asked.

Damn it, isn't anyone else going to speak up? Wu made sure to fold his hands on the table—instead of clenching his fists. It was a neutral gesture and being that it was in Dodgson's view, Wu had to make sure he presented himself as compliant. Dodgson was like a hawk and would pick up on any signs of resistance.

"First, we have Hank. He's the genius behind Jurassic Park, so we don't need that nerd's laptop," Lopez said, pointing in Wu's direction. "He knows everything they did to bring back extinct animals. The science behind genetics. That's more valuable than anything Nedry's ever done."

Wu glanced at him and saw Lopez grinning back at him. He made sure to keep a blank expression, especially since he knew Dodgson would focus on him next. Before anyone could say anything, he jumped in.

"I know what we did, but I don't have my research with me, save for some of my notebooks."

"That's promising," Lopez said. "We can start there."

"We can't," Wu said, firmly. "I don't have years of my work with me. What I have now is some basic notes and that's it."

And even if I did have everything with me, would I give it to you? By now, he wasn't sure anymore. Deep down inside, he knew that uncertainty meant he was leaning towards keeping the information out of Dodgson's hands—which would be a difficult feat given where he was presently. He didn't ask himself why he still waffled back and forth, given his feelings on the matter. He already knew the answer. Self-preservation, Henry, and staying alive. Wu knew he was their only connection to InGen's secrets and so Dodgson would make certain he stuck around. Even so, he was telling the truth—he had left behind his research on Isla Nublar. He wondered now if that had been a deliberate move on his part. In case he ever wanted to return to InGen.

Dodgson tilted his head in thought in response to Lopez's statement. "No, I don't want those boring-ass dinosaurs that are wandering around Jurassic Park. I want something entirely new. I wanna create a Jurassic World—fuck that park nonsense."

Wu jolted. All this time, Dodgson had been gung-ho about his accomplishments or "genetic dreams". He raved about Wu's brilliance before and now hearing him dismiss the current dinosaur recreations as "boring-ass" was a punch in the gut. What the hell does he want? Why am I even here?! The questions were on the tip of Wu's tongue, but he knew better than to voice them aloud. Still, he smoldered internally at how easily Dodgson had trivialized his successes.

"What do you have in mind, Dr. Dodgson?" Tembo asked.

Wu glanced in his direction, shocked that he had spoken up. Tembo caught his questioning look and narrowed his eyes. Don't play stupid, Henry, Tembo's angry glare read. They both knew Tembo was playing the game. Wu went back to focusing on Dodgson who now opened up Nedry's laptop and then slammed it closed, impatient and frustrated by Tembo's question.

"I want us to explore inter-breeding; we can create our own unique species. The dinosaurs will be bigger, scarier—"

"Cooler?" Sonya threw in.

Dodgson offered her a wide grin. "Yes, that's right, Sonya. 'Cooler'. What we create will make Jurassic Park look like a kiddie petting zoo."

"And how do you plan on doing this?" Wu asked, not hiding his skepticism. "When do you plan on it?"

"Right after we get Jurassic Park under our control again."

Wu was confused by Dodgson's obvious contradictions. First, he said he wanted to engineer their own dinosaur species, then he said he wanted to regain control of Jurassic Park. Somewhere in that mix was "Jurassic World". Which one was it? The idea of creating and engineering an entirely new dinosaur species made him feel like he was slipping down the slope into "mad scientist" territory. He didn't want to go down that path. Wu was proud of his accomplishments, but he didn't believe he could—or should—attempt to create a hybrid dinosaur species.

He turned his thoughts to the current midnight meeting Dodgson was holding. This meeting was random—it completely lacked direction. If anyone felt as disoriented as Wu did, they didn't show it. He read the clock on the far wall. 12:20am. It was going to be a long night and the thunderstorm wasn't showing any signs of letting up. Just as he turned back to the team, the real reasons behind Dodgson's meeting finally revealed itself.

"I don't give a shit about dinosaurs, their stupid eggs, or teeny-tiny embryos. I'm gonna destroy InGen for how they humiliated us."

You mean for how they humiliated you, Wu thought.

"We need to find out what's most valuable to John Hammond—what we can hold over his head. Didn't that old bastard get discharged from the hospital?" Dodgson shot out the question. "I thought he'd be back at the island by now."

Everyone looked at each other, puzzled. No one had answers. King and Baselton appeared uncertain as they shrugged at the same time. Tembo and Sonya looked back at Dodgson as though expecting him to know the answer.

Wu knew the answer to that question, but maintained a blank façade…

"I'm sure he did," Lopez said.

"But do you know for sure?" Dodgson asked, whipping around to face Lopez, who sat right next to him. "I want facts, not stupid theories that you pull out of your ass."

Lopez visibly wilted from being shot down in front of the entire team.

Dodgson left his chair and walked around the conference room. "What is John Hammond's Achilles heel? What's his biggest weakness?" His pace quickened as his agitation manifested itself. "Is it Dr. Grant, that lovesick paleontologist who he hired as a consultant? His grandbrats?" He stood beside Wu now. "What do you think, Hank? I'm sure you know the correct answer to my million-dollar question. You've worked closely with Hammond for years, so you should know."

Wu saw that everyone was watching him to see what he would say. The relief he had just felt was short-lived as Dodgson had found direction. Today's agenda is revenge, Wu thought.

"I know John's the legal guardian of his grandbr—grandkids," he quickly corrected himself. He wants to sabotage John—and in a much major way now that he's finally returned to the island.

Dodgson's eyebrows shot up. "Tell us more."

Wu saw that everyone was watching him. He also noticed Lopez had a sulky expression on his face as though disappointed that Dodgson was paying attention to him. For God's sake, Raúl, grow the fuck up. Wu inwardly cringed at his own thought process. Dropping f-bombs was usually Dodgson's signature. At the same time, he was seeing the same behavior that Lopez showed when Nedry was on the team. It became obvious to Wu as to why Lopez and Nedry hated each other. Lopez didn't want anyone to share the limelight and if they did…he wanted them eliminated. Wu knew Nedry well enough to know that being Dodgson's favorite wasn't a title for which he was competing. He just wanted his money…and I want my fame… A twisted smirk crossed his face when he realized he spoke in the past tense about Nedry, but the present tense for himself.

"I just know that Tim and Lex are very important to him." Wu shrugged. There was nothing else to give Dodgson, who seemed desperate to find out Hammond's weakness.

"Good to know…" Dodgson's voice trailed off as he walked back and took his seat at the head of the table. "I think we can do something with that tidbit of info." He pointed at the laptop again. "Let's get back to this."

Lopez grabbed some crackers from the center of the table and wolfed them down. He was the only one who had touched the food so far. When he finished eating, he pointed at Nedry's laptop. "That's easy, Dr. Dodgson, and so obvious if you ask me."

"Share with the rest of us since it's so fucking obvious." Dodgson gestured at everyone sitting around the conference table.

"He's a hacker, right?" Lopez asked as he looked up and down the table as though wanting everyone to visibly agree with him.

King and Baselton listened attentively. Tembo sighed. He was about to ask Lopez where he was going with this, when Sonya gave him a thumbs-up motion.

"Point taken," she said. "Go on."

"The laptop with the virus he gave us—that's just one laptop. He has another laptop, a second one hidden somewhere. A back-up. It has all InGen's secrets and information that we need. He gave us the one he corrupted. Believe me when I tell you that Dennis is a slick son of a bitch. He knew damn well he had set aside an additional laptop that he was supposed to give us." He looked at Wu from across the table now. "You know what I'm saying is true, Henry. You worked with the dirtbag for years."

Once again, Wu felt everyone's eyes picking him apart, examining him—it was like being under a microscope. Dodgson's slate gray eyes remained emotionless behind his glasses. Wu avoided looking at him directly. Dodgson's hawklike gaze always made him feel like he was vulnerable prey about to be pounced on and devoured. Of course, it was Dodgson who questioned him about it.

"Is this true, Hank? Would that filthy piece of shit traitor do something like this? Create an extra laptop with the info we need from InGen—just to give us a virus-ridden one while he sits back and laughs?"

Wu thought quickly of how to answer that question. Knowing Nedry, anything was possible. Although Nedry had angered him on Isla Nublar for confronting him about his decision to betray InGen and join Biosyn, he was the only one who had a semblance of understanding of why Wu made such a precarious decision. The other part was Wu had respected Nedry's brilliance and admired the park's control systems he had designed. He knew what it was to go to school and undergo rigorous training for one's field of work. Wu remembered feeling heavy, when he found out that Nedry's certification had been revoked—in addition to his long prison sentence and hefty fines. It had been a huge shock to everyone in InGen. The judge had wanted to ensure Nedry paid for his crimes against InGen…but that wasn't the topic at hand.

"It's possible." That was all he would say.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'," Dodgson said.

Take it however you want, Wu thought. Across from him, Lopez sat up straight in his chair, glad that he had planted an idea in Dodgson's head that was taking root. It's a theory, not a fact, but let him believe what he wants.

"There's one more thing," Baselton said, holding up the newspaper with yesterday's date. "I picked this up near the old homestead."

He was referring to Cupertino, the location of their previous headquarters. On the front page was Nedry's booking photo from when he started serving his prison sentence. The headline read: Dennis the Menace Returns to Town. It almost seemed comical.

"What the fuck, George?" Dodgson's tone was one of elation, despite the language he used. "Give me that."

Baselton passed the newspaper to King, who gave it to Sonya and Tembo. Sonya barely glanced at it, while Tembo shoved it to Lopez, not wanting to bother with it. Wu watched as they passed the newspaper and found it interesting that they didn't let him see it. He had been able to get a quick glimpse when Baselton first held it up. Even after all this time, Wu still felt it was unreal how his own coworker had been arrested, tried before a jury of his peers, and sent to prison.

Everything about prison terrified him.

Cells resembling cages, concrete walls, razor wire fencing, solitary confinement, strip-searches, shakedowns, lack of privacy and control, becoming institutionalized, correction officers—especially corrupt and abusive ones, disgusting food, being handcuffed and shackled in public and in the facility when deemed necessary, uniforms with DOC printed on the back (Department of Corrections), having no rights, physical and sexual violence, fights with bloodshed, shanks, forced to live with gang members, drug addicts, and the mentally ill, living among predators and fighting back to ensure you weren't targeted as prey, having to remain hypervigilant and always on guard for any attacks, being known by a number and not your name, boredom from the monotony, an extremely low-paying work assignment, and finally, living with all of the above for years….

Wu rested his chin on his hand as he thought about it, while watching Dodgson. He wondered if he was imagining prison as worse than it was, especially based on movies and t.v. shows. In the end, he decided he wasn't. Even if the prison was a minimum-security facility, the person was still in confinement against their will. You were still locked away from your family and friends. Incarceration could drastically impact anyone's psyche and Wu was sure that it had for Nedry.

Wu looked up when Dodgson snatched the newspaper from Lopez, ripping off the front page. That seemed to be the only thing that mattered to Dodgson. Wu didn't understand it at all. He watched as Dodgson laughed and tossed the rest of the newspaper on the conference table.

"Our favorite hacker has been spotted in town. I propose we track him down and find out where he's residing these days. We can use him as a tool to bring down InGen—" Baselton was cut off by Dodgson who waved his hand, indicating to him that this was enough, and he'd take it from here.

"Find that lying asshole. I want to have a word with him."

Wu bit down on his tongue to stifle his laughter. Baselton came off pompous and Dodgson got straight to the point.

"Why don't we make it worse for him?" Baselton asked. "Paint him as even more monstrous than he already is."

Dodgson sent him a sharp glance. "What're you talking about?" His tone sounded skeptical.

Wu's eyebrows rose. He was curious as he listened closely…

Baselton leaned over, trying to persuade Dodgson. "I mean, why don't I call the police and give them an anonymous tip: tell them about my broken arm and Howard's bashed knee? Like how we did on the island—only this time, we make sure the story sticks. This way, he'll be considered 'armed and dangerous'. He's already a wanted man, and that description makes him sound godawful, like he's robbed a bank at gunpoint."

King made an odd croaking noise. It sounded like he wanted to speak up but was holding back. Wu watched him, noticing King sink into his chair. It was obvious he didn't want any part in this. Nor did he want to be there. Wu almost felt sorry for him, but then realized he was more trapped than King was. King could probably run off tonight and Dodgson wouldn't even bother to ask where he disappeared to.

"I would say 'hell yes' if I knew that phone call wouldn't be traced back to us."

Dodgson took out a pen and began marking up the picture, humming as he did so. Wu didn't think anyone knew what he was drawing in the newspaper. When Dodgson was done, he held up the picture to everyone as though doing show-and-tell.

"It won't be. I'll call from a cell phone that can be disposed of quickly."

Dodgson still held up the picture as he responded to Baselton. "Do it and make fucking sure that your call can't be traced back. Otherwise, you're next on the chopping block."

"Excellent, Lew!" Baselton stood up, ready to leave, but then stayed to watch everyone's reactions to Dodgson's masterpiece.

"Those scars are very becoming," Tembo said. "Looks like Robert Muldoon's. I told that park ranger about his scars of inadequacy."

Sonya busted out laughing. Wu thought it was odd that this was the happiest he had seen her since Tembo had been discharged from the hospital.

"Aren't they spectacular?" Dodgson faced Wu so that he could see the full photo. "That's exactly what I was going for—gold stars for you, Roland, for catching on so fast!"

Tembo gave a curt nod.

Wu noticed he had drawn a lower case "j" without the dot on the right side of Nedry's face. It started above the eyebrow, went down the cheek, and ended at the jawline. A short diagonal slash was drawn on the left side of his face. He realized that Tembo was right: Dodgson was drawing the scars that Muldoon had on his face from the raptor attack.

"I'm posting this in my office." Dodgson stood up, ready to conclude the midnight meeting. "Gives me motivation to fuck with InGen again. In the meantime, I want you to—"

"Find him and drag him back here," Lopez eagerly threw in.

It took all of Wu's self-control to not shake his head in disgust. He stood up from the table as did everyone else.

"Extend him an invitation to meet me in-person so we can have a nice chat; it's long overdue," Dodgson said, tapping his pen on the torn page bearing Nedry's prison photo. "Meeting adjourned."

Without another word, he left the group standing and staring at each other in amazement. Baselton and King followed him out.

"From mercenaries to bounty hunters," Tembo scoffed.

"I'm all for it," Sonya said. "What about you, Raúl?"

"Finishing off that hacker is great in my book, but we should be focusing on who's in front of us," Lopez said gesturing at Wu as though he were a magnificent painting on display in a prestigious museum. "We have Henry Wu so that we can eventually recreate what we lost. It'll take us time, but we can do it. Jurassic World sounds better than Jurassic Park, anyway."

Wu didn't bother to listen to the rest of the conversation as he left the conference room and went back to his office on the fourth floor. He couldn't stand being made to feel like he was just a tool for Biosyn and nothing more. Before he left, he grabbed the newspaper from the table. Lopez, Tembo, and Sonya were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice. As he closed the door to his office and heard the thunder crashing again, he started to wonder if running into Nedry would be a good thing. That's a strange thought. Wu tried not to focus on it.

Instead, he flipped open the newspaper to page three and scanned the headline. Above the article that detailed Nedry's criminal record and "escape" from prison (Wu knew it had been Dodgson who broke him out) were four photos. Wu remembered when they were taken: Nedry's highly publicized trial. One photo showed Hammond trying to get through a crowd of reporters. Hammond appeared flustered and nervous. A second photo showed Grant, Ellie, and Malcolm waiting on the courtroom's steps. They were firm in their resolve to support Hammond. Arnold, Muldoon, and Wu were in another photo and Gennaro was in front of them holding up his hand as though trying to ward off a photographer. Arnold appeared calm unlike his usual tense nature, Muldoon was stoic as always, and Wu had a curious expression on his face. Gennaro was irritated that the media was there.

The fourth photo showed Nedry in a bright orange jumpsuit in full restraints with two police officers on either side of him. A third police officer, whom Wu recognized as Antonio Contreras, the arresting officer, was in front leading them. Contreras was scowling, clearly annoyed that he had to bring Nedry to court. Nedry showcased a devious grin in the photo, although he was on trial. Anyone else would be mortified to be forced to do a perp walk, but he was proud that his betrayal was humiliating for Hammond. Annoyed, Wu shoved the newspaper away.

"You're famous," he whispered to himself as he recalled Nedry's trial.

Wu thought about it more. Wouldn't he want to be known for his achievements and not his failures? Nedry's "fame" as he perceived it wasn't really fame at all. He was known for his crimes. Wu knew it was absurd to wish that he were the one in the photo smiling—of course, with different and positive circumstances. Then he imagined himself in the photo, beaming and taking questions at a press conference where he was asked by local, out-of-town, and international news networks how he managed to accomplish the unthinkable: clone dinosaurs. Lopez's words rang in his mind, "we can eventually recreate what we lost". If Wu recreated dinosaurs again—this time designing a hybrid species, or anything that Dodgson wanted, would it be worth it if it meant he received accolades and recognition?

No, he shook his head and he realized this was the first time he rejected what he desired most. I betrayed InGen and no amount of success will erase that. He knew it was the same as Nedry: no matter what he did with his life, he would always be haunted by what he had done to InGen—and especially Hammond and Muldoon. Then again, Dennis had redeemed himself or tried to, Wu thought. He wondered if redemption was possible for him too. It seemed so far away and out of his reach. Redemption and friends—two things he wanted but didn't have. He smiled sadly as he remembered a snippet of a conversation they had about their status as traitors.

"From one traitor to another, welcome to the world of having only enemies and no friends." Nedry had said.

"Takes one to know one." Wu had given a half-smile at the time and now he finished the conversation quoting Nedry:

"Touché."

Being with the Biosyn team meant fighting for yourself. Friendship, trust, and rapport were nonexistent. Lopez just saw him as genetic sequences and recreating dinosaurs. Sonya craved attention. Tembo didn't trust him. Baselton and King were indifferent. And Dodgson was ruthless and vengeful. Wu knew one thing was certain: he'd leave Biosyn sooner than later. It was just a matter of when and how. The thought he had entertained moments ago flitted into his mind again: running into Nedry could be a good thing. A chance encounter with his former co-worker could turn into his first-class ticket exit from Biosyn…