Author's Note:
galaxyeyes946 Thank you for so much for the reviews! I definitely think a good portion of this story is going to have Ms. Moynihan as the main character. And don't worry, Veloci is incredibly pissed John Hammond never wanted anything to do with him. :)

Matt - :) What an acute observation.

Chapter 5

Arena

They split up after stopping by the hotel to drop their stuff off. No one could agree on what they wanted to see first.

Fiona was dragged off with her sister by her parents to see the mosasaur show. They walked away with Mr. Flagstaff worrying about how he was going to keep his camera dry.

Rodger and Max when off together to check out the T-Rex, despite Max rolling his eyes, while Buzz convinced Caruso to go to the aviary with him. They would all meet up at the gyrospheres later.

Each group invited Ms. Moynihan to join them, but she told them to go have fun, explaining that Aaron had arranged a private tour for her.

Of course Aaron apologized that he couldn't bring them along, but said he got the permission to show them one of the labs the next day to make up for it.

"Sweet!" Rodger, of course, was the most excited about that.

Ms. Moynihan chuckled as Max groaned and pulled Rodger away before he could pelt Aaron with questions. Probably nerd questions about park operations Aaron wouldn't be able to answer anyway.

"After you, ma'am," Aaron said, opening the door to his employee Jeep while Ms. Moynihan kept an eye on her students, and Fiona's family, until they were out of sight in the crowds.

"Thank you, dear."

Aaron turned off the radio on his hip and the one in the car.

"So is the pteranadon the kid with the mohawk?" Aaron asked when they were in privacy.

"Yes, that's Mr. Buzmati." Ms. Moynihan set her cane out of the way.

"That's kinda a funny coincidence."

"How so?"

Aaron mimed spiking his hair. "You know, the crests pteranodons have, and he's got that hair …."

"Ahm yes."

"He ever go fishing? Maine has great fish." Aaron "politely" rolled down his window to wave some park-goers out of his way as he drove off the beaten path.

Ms. Moynihan laughed, ignoring some guests shooting Aaron and her dirty looks for inconveniencing them. "He was actually afraid of flying for a while after they all gained their abilities—and the adrenaline of their first mission wore off. I suggested it, but the carnivores didn't feel comfortable hunting. Fiona and Buzz got themselves sick eating some fast growing creep vines because they had trouble digesting it. Rodger and Caruso have tried eating foliage but didn't take much interest. They have fewer taste buds as dinosaurs. "

"Ech. That's lucky I supposed. I wouldn't think grass actually tastes good." Aaron paused. "Is it bad I'm jealous?"

"First of all, grass had not evolved, or at least was very rare, during the time of dinosaurs. At least I never saw any and fossil records paint a younger history for grass. My students' digestive systems might not be adjusted so well to it anyway. It does make me concerned for some of your herbivores actually." Ms. Moynihan then sighed, hiding a knowing smile while Aaron did no such thing and openly grinned.

They had already had this conversation before.

He was very pleased they had an inside joke between them. "I'll keep that in mind."

"And Aaron, the next time you visit home, I'll let you dive in the tidepools and we'll see what you turn into then."

Aaron cracked up at her reproachful look. "Nah, I'm good. It would be legit, but I'd rather work with dinos than be one. But once in a while I think about you and have second guesses."

"Well, I am the 'coolest' teacher you've ever had, if I do say so myself."

"Really? I thought Ms. Hillars in English was my favorite." Aaron pulled off to another dirt road and flashed his badge to a guard at a gate.

"You are a brave man, Aaron Okesty."

"Uh oh. The warning voice. Good thing we're here!"

"A brave and lucky man," Ms. Moynihan said while Aaron pulled into a parking space and she got her first look at the facility of interest.

It was smaller than she expected in all honesty. She wasn't sure how these raptors got the stimulus they needed. They needed to run. They needed open plains not bars and fences.

She shook her head. She needed to remember where she was.

Aaron busied himself with talking to a man wearing fairly casual clothes, handing him papers.

"Madame Moynihan, it is a pleasure," the man shook her hand with both of his. "Barry Sembène."

"It's lovely to meet you, Mr. Sembène."

"Please, call me Barry, ma'am."

"Well if that's the case, you'll have to call me Joanne."

Barry smiled and let go on her hand to gesture at Aaron. "Of course, Mademoiselle. Was he trouble as a boy?"

Aaron grimaced. "What are you? Comparing notes?"

Barry laughed and clapped Aaron on the back. "I'll be showing you around the place, Joanne. I'm sure your students back home will love to learn about our raptors."

"On that note, am I allowed to take photos of your animals?"

"Tell you what, do you have a camera? Not on your phone?"

Joanne patted her bag and nodded.

"If you're alright with it, after you take your pictures, I'll take your memory card and me and some people in charge can review the photos and make sure there's nothing too important. It should all be fine for educational purposes so long as you don't try to sell the photos or give your students copies of the files."

"I understand. Top secret research, eh?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Barry shot her a wide grin and a wink.

Aaron dramatically rolled his eyes. "She's way out of your league, Barry."

"You break my heart," Barry sighed as Joanne laughed. "If you will follow me, Joanne? Are you joining us?" he asked Aaron.

Aaron nodded. "I got an hour for lunch, but I might be leaving you early."

They made the short walk to the facility, Barry keeping up polite conversation and asking about Kittery Point and what Joanne taught at the high school as they climbed up a set of stairs alongside the arena, greenery peeking over the top from within the containment zone.

"Hey good timing!" a voice called from behind them. Another man ran up the metal stairs to great them.

"We have a guest today," Barry said.

"I see that. Mr. Moynihan, right? Owen Grady. It's a pleasure." He wiped his hands off on his vest and gray pants before extending his hand, although they didn't seem to be dirty.

"Pleasure is mine, Mr. Grady," Joanne greeted, taking his hand.

"We don't get many visitors to this part of the island," Owen said. "Sorry for all the extra security." He gestured at a couple guards walking the catwalks. "Don't worry. You don't bother them; they won't bother you. They look scary but they're all a bunch of teddy bears. Ain't that right, Chris?!"

One of the guards good-naturedly shot Owen the bird before he realized they had a guest.

"I'll keep that in mind," Joanne chuckled pretending like she didn't see it.

Owen turned to Barry. "Hoskins in today?" His tone was light but there was a slight dip of irritation that was hard to miss.

Barry shook his head. "Non, he sent a memo about dropping in tomorrow."

"Keep your eyes peels. It'd be just like him to drop in unannounced to 'see us in action'," Owen said.

"Oh dear, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Oh. No don't worry about, Ms. Moynihan," Aaron assured. "Just some work and research stuff. What did you mean by "good timing," Owen?"

"You need a watch, man."

"It's one o'clock."

"Then you need a calendar."

"What are you…OH! Wednesday. Yeah. Whoops."

Aaron sheepishly directed Ms. Moynihan to a section of catwalk that was more out of the way of everyone as she prepared her camera and Barry and Owen went to do their job.

"Enrichment schedule," Aaron explained as a loud alarm sounded, followed by a clank.

"Pig," Owen ordered into a radio, standing on a catwalk that was positioned right over the pen.

Joanne watched with intense focus as some foliage to her right rustling before it abruptly stilled. A small pig suddenly streaked across the clearing and her eyes tracked it.

There was a sharp whistle from Owen and four large shapes burst from the trees and gave chase.

Joanne sucked in a sharp breath as the uncannily familiar shapes expertly streaked below them. That pig didn't stand a chance.

Over the radio, she vaguely heard Barry ask if they were letting them catch the pig or not. But she was too busy staring at the streaks of blue and green, yellow, and stripes. Her camera rested on the railing, forgotten.

Apologies for the scattered updates! Please leave a review or two! Thank you. I like feedback and would love to hear what you have to say, even if this is a side project.