Claire's lips were pursed tight as she watched the screens. Since the park had gone into evacuation mode, Control had been bustling to keep track of everything north of the resort. Under Simon's direction, she couldn't help but think that things could be running smoother. There was congestion on the monorail stations in Sector 4; Galimimus Valley, Triceratops Territory, the Cretacious Cruise, all were currently filled with a few hundred guests that were remaining, though Cretacious Cruise was thankfully almost cleared out and Triceratops Territory was on its way to being in a similar state.
And the Indominus Rex was somewhere close by the perimeter fence to them… she didn't want to think about what would happen if it broke through the Restricted Area perimeter. Sector 6 — including the Aviary, Carnivore Canyon and much of the historic park were, thankfully, evacuated. Rangers now patrolled and were doing asset counts under Vic Hoskins' direction.
The entire situation was beyond the pale of what Claire had expected. She had hoped that Owen would've been able to give a green light on the changes to the Indominus' paddock, and that they could move forward with the completion of the Indominus' attraction. Instead, now there were dead workers, she was fired after today and the park was in Simon's hands. Much as she appreciated Masrani for the job opportunity, he was scatterbrained and didn't really know what to do.
And then there was Douglass. The lawyer was watching from the back corner of the control room, practically eagle-eyed in his watching over the proceedings. There was no doubt that there was going to be legal trouble with Masrani after all was said and done. The park may shut down… the other parks may shut down! God, it was all Claire could do to keep from breaking down then and there as Lowery and Vivian worked in helping keep track of the evacuation efforts.
"Alright… that should be Cretacious Cruise all cleared out," Lowery sighed while he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "The last monorails back should be getting the guests back to resort."
"Get ranger teams out there," Vic demanded, "We need that entire north sector covered." Claire nodded in agreement, gesturing to Vivian, who was quick to call up the Sector 6 ranger station.
"There… you see that Masrani? This is how you keep people safe!" Simon only seemed to nod quietly, but his gaze was far off. He was likely thinking of all that was going to happen as well.
"Y'know, would it kill you to say please?" Lowery asked to the InGen department head. Vic's head seemed to swivel dangerously toward the man before he stomped over to him.
"Right now, 'please' and 'thank you' is option —"
"Mister Hoskins," Claire started, stepping between him and the technician with crossed arms. She had no intention of letting InGen's head of security bully her control room… Simon's control room. "Please, refrain from intimidating my staff here. We're already under a lot of pressure." Vic only chuckled, shaking his head at her.
"Y'know Dearing, after today, they won't be your staff anymore. They're Simon's. And right now, Simon has me in charge of patrol and finding your mistake." Claire was about to retort that her authority was still in effect until she was handed her pink slip. However, before she could, Hoskins was already stalking off to get status reports from other technicians. Lowery looked back to Claire with graciousness behind his glasses.
Much as she knew that she hadn't done the best job managing the assets at Jurassic World, she could at least ensure that her staff gave their best without being breathed down on my some meatheaded hotshot. And, speaking of the devil, the elevator door opened to reveal Owen striding on in, carrying what looked like a Styrofoam container.
"Sir, I need to see your ID before I allow you in here."
"Screw your ID," Owen stated simply, "I'm here to talk with my boss." She had almost strode toward him to speak, but Claire refrained when she saw him stalk over to Simon, yelling over to Vic to come back up.
Letting her lips purse again, she returned her attention to the screens. On one of the security cameras, she could see families reuniting in the crowded resort area, see entitled vacationers arguing with staff over the closure of the northern sectors, even children playing with the younger dinosaurs in the overcrowded petting zoo. There was a pang of guilt at seeing how one kid innocently hugged one of the Apatosaurs. Its long neck reared back as it clearly looked uncomfortable with such a tight reach around. While she couldn't really get a good look in the camera lens, she could see that the animals were clearly a little distressed with all of the activity around them.
"So I got some info out of Wu for ACU. Nothing we're not already aware of, but maybe it'll help," Owen started.
"And what would that be Grady?"
"Let's see… putting it short, it can hide from thermals and has the camouflage of those Sorna Carnos in the holding pens." Vic's brow raised at the implication, Simon looking between the two with a look of bewilderment.
"What kind of purpose would we have for a dinosaur that can camouflage?" Masrani quietly asked in bewildered shock.
"What kind of purpose would we have for a dinosaur that can spit permanently-blinding venom?" Owen tossed back. "From what Wu told me, your memo just told him to make it cooler, and the docs obliged." Claire had turned back now to listen to the conversation, trying to consider it.
"But we saw that thing bright as day. It doesn't camouflage like the Carnos, where it just happens," Vic pointed out.
"See… that's what concerns me most. There's something else here that doesn't sit right with me," Owen hummed, opening up his container and setting it on a nearby unoccupied desk. "She was having to focus on camouflaging. The Carnotaurs from Sorna just do it. And then there's the thermal modulation."
"What do you mean 'thermal modulation'?" Simon asked again.
"Wu said that some of the tree frog filler that's used comes from from animals that can regulate their internal temperature deliberately. I know nothing about treefrogs, but that doesn't sit right with me. If we could get a shot of her on thermals outside the paddock, I'd be more convinced."
"What's there to convince you of? It can hide really well!" Vic blustered. Owen shook his head.
"It's not just really well Vic… I wouldn't give it to you to understand, but as intelligent as animals are… there's something more there. She's highly intelligent, and crafty. She set that ambush with expert precision; that river was closed, confined and put ACU all in one spot."
"Isn't that just the raptor in it though?" Owen looked back to Vic, his lips pursed before he took a seat. But before he could start eating, an alert blared on the central monitor.
"There's a perimeter breach, Gate Two, Sector Four!" Vivian called out.
"The Hell?!" Vic stormed away from Owen and Simon toward Lowery and Claire, looking up to the screen as they pulled up the gate camera.
"Bring up thermals too!" Owen called out, mouth practically full of whatever it was he was eating.
"Lowery? Gate Two… what's the closest attraction to it?"
"Umm… Cretacious Cruise, b-but I told you already. Everyone's out from there already."
"Got feeds from gate cam and rangerpoint cam!" called another technician across the room.
"Bring them up," Claire firmly directed. As soon as the cameras were brought up, she could already see the gate was slammed open. Without sound, the Indominus seemed even more terrifying as she rampaged into the open plains beyond the gate. The rangerpoint camera, which was on thermal mode, could clearly outline several dinosaurs. Three Apatosaurus and the Indominus.
"Vic?" Simon questioned with a concerned tone, now slowly regaining sense from his stupor.
"You, get ACU on now!" he barked to Vivian. The woman meekly nodded and called up the ACU team and the rangers.
"ACU Team Three, this is Control! Asset has broken containment and is rampaging in Sector Four, repeat, Asset has broken containment and is rampaging in Sector Four!"
"Gimme that!" Vic grunted, grabbing the phone and yelling at the ACU commander to get lethals over near Gate 2 immediately. Then the entire control room went into a stunned quiet at seeing the Indominus chase down one of the Apatosaurs, using its claws to slash at it and heft it down into the ground. When the rangerpoint cam lost sight of it, Claire was first to try and get a handle on the situation.
"Someone turn the camera!"
"Asset'll be out of sight!"
"What about from gate cam? Raise it up!"
"It's already raised as much as it can be!" Claire's breaths were now coming out shaky. She was losing control of the situation again. The apatosaur in frame of both cameras was not moving, and the Indominus had went after the other two as well. Lowery was now in utter, bewildered shock and no one was doing anything. By the time ACU would get there, the Indominus would probably be long gone and the herd dead.
"Lowery… are there any gyrospheres left in the valley?" The technician looked up, his eyes wide and watery before he gave a sniff to cover up what was likely his distraught at his favorite dinosaur getting taken down so violently.
"What… no, they're all accounted for. It's my job." Pulling up the attractions panel, Lowery's expression faltered before he gave Claire the bad news. "What… y-yeah, there's one in the field…" Claire moved quickly, grabbing a headset as Masrani watched passively from above. If he wasn't going to take charge, she needed to do it before she got her pink slip anyhow. It was her job to ensure asset containment here, not Vic's.
"Security, we need a search and rescue in the valley!"
"It's gonna be a while, we got our hands full out here."
"No, no, no, no! There are guests missing in the valley! You need to make this your top priority!"
"There's a lot of guests missing! We're doing the best we can!" With that, Claire practically slammed down the headset. She didn't want excuses. She wanted action. It would be up to her then.
"Okay, fine! I'll do it myself!"
"Whoa, hold up!" Vic called, Simon following as she managed her way toward the elevator. "That thing's out there in the valley! Let ACU deal with it!"
"I will not let ACU just deal with it! There's guests out in that valley with the Indominus around them!" Vic seemed intent on keeping Claire right in the control room,
"Owen, something's up!" The crackle of the trainer's walkie-talkie cut through the room as he pulled it up. "The girls… they just… started freaking out!" That statement alone got a look of concern from the trainer, and had stopped Claire's attempted escape past Vic.
"What?" he answered back. "What happened?"
"I don't know! I left them alone to rest for a minute, and now Blue's barking up a storm!" The trainer could easily hear the barks of the raptor on the other end, as could anyone close by to his walkie. And as he finished part of his steak, he replied.
"Alright… alright, I'll be there in a bit Barry; you just stay put, make sure they don't try to jump up at the rail to get out."
"Got it!" With that, the trainer started making his way toward the elevator, Claire in utter shock that he was abandoning this effort on the Indominus for the Velociraptors, who were still contained!
"Owen!" she called out, now stomping toward her. "What are you doing?!"
"I'm going and making sure my raptors don't escape too! You need to stay here and keep barking at people to do things!"
"Excuse me?!"
"Claire, do what you're doing right now!" Owen clarified, "Keep eyes on the Indominus from Control. I'm going back to my girls to calm them down, then I'm going after your guests myself!"
"What?! Mister Grady, you need to stay here! Peoples' lives are at stake!"
"Miss Dearing!" Owen started. The formality from Owen's tone absolutely took her by surprise as he practically gritted his teeth at her. "You brought me into this only to look at that thing's paddock! I gave you what I could get out of Wu! You want more from me when I wasn't even supposed to be back to work yet?! Get your head out of your ass! You have guests missing! You have an evacuation to manage! I have four velociraptors to take care of, since you wanted me back to work so badly, and if they escape, even more peoples' lives will be at stake!"
With that, Owen slammed down on the elevator button, opening up the door. The security guard tried to stop him almost immediately at Claire's desperate look, only for Owen to march up to him furiously.
"Hey! Do you think I'm the one you need to be worried about right now?! Back up!" the trainer barked. It then happened so fast. As the security guard attempted to restrain him, Owen pushed back at the man. He was by no means small, and Claire knew that Owen was in the Navy at one point… but the strength that he shoved the guard back with unsettled everyone. He'd gone practically flying back into one of the rails, and before Vic could attempt to restrain him, Owen was already in the elevator.
"Somebody get him back up here!" Simon ordered, well before Claire could do it herself. She was in utter shock at what just happened as Vic helped up the security guard, looking at the elevator with a look that could only be described as oddly fascinated in what just happened.
Owen couldn't believe he'd just done that … he couldn't believe he just attacked another employee like that. On one hand, it was frustrating dealing with that level of incompetence, where they never learned and only cared about what was happening in the moment. Much as he appreciated Simon Masrani, he disdained and despised the disconnect that management seemed to have with the park.
Such feelings of discontent were only made that much stronger by the aches in his body, by the irritation of his eyes — which were now returning — and by the bitter, bitter smells that only got stronger whenever the Indominus seemed to be on screen. As he stalked down the staff tunnel, he could hear heavy footsteps following him.
"Owen!" Owen's disposition seemed to worsen at Hoskins' booming tone. "Where do you think you're going, Grady?!"
"To my girls!" He answered simply.
"And how do you propose you get there, huh?! You and I got here by helicopter, remember?!" Owen then turned around, looking dead on at Hoskins who seemed to stop and look at him with bewilderment at how quickly he turned to face him. Holding up his hands defensively, Vic then explained further before Owen could get another word in edgewise.
"Listen. Owen. You need to think carefully 'bout what's going on right now. All those people out there? They don't know what's happening… they think that it's just some technical difficulties. You go stomping out of here like that, people're gonna start asking questions."
"And why does that matter to me?"
"Look… I know you don't like me much, Grady. But right now, there's people in danger out in that valley… maybe god damn kids! Trying to walk back to your paddock? That's on the east side of the island; that's a twelve mile trip, and right now we could be there to help ACU look for 'em instead. We'll keep some cameras on the raptor paddock, I'll tell Simon to do that much; but right now, you're needed here, helping us contain this mess." Owen didn't bother to let his distaste for Vic's suggestion of simply leaving his girls to panic… but to an extent, he couldn't help but feel like Vic was right.
If it just wasn't for the bitterness in his nose, Owen might've considered Vic's helpfulness to be motivated by something other than his self-interest as InGen's head of security.
"Hoskins, if those raptors get out, we're not putting them down with tranqs… I'd rather my girls not be casualties in all of this, and I'd rather less people die than what we got right now.
"Come back up… tell Simon you and ACU can get those guests out of there… and I'll see if I can't fly you out there to get back to your animals. You got what's-his-name back there, right? He can handle 'em." Pinching the bridge of his nose, the trainer sighed aloud.
"Not without ACU help. Barry's just one guy."
"Then I'll get Masrani to send in the boys from Sorna! We keep our eyes on the paddock from control, and you and I can focus on the Indominus!" Vic pleaded, waiting patiently for a response other than abject irritation. Vic got what he wanted in the end, it seemed though. He had no real choice, and started to head back to the elevator.
"We make sure that they keep eyes on those raptors though… I know that they're going to try and escape. When Blue gets antsy, she's —"
"Yeah, yeah. I gotcha Grady," Vic dismissed, earning him a glare from the trainer. Not that he seemed to notice as he pressed the elevator button. Getting in, it was an awkward, quiet ride back up to Control, and exiting it was even more awkward. The security guard didn't even bother to stop him this time, Vic showing his ID and vouching for him. But that bitter stench that permeated everywhere seemed all but impossible to avoid now, making him wrinkle his nose.
"Masrani!" Vic called out. "Grady's got a suggestion." Simon had turned to look expectantly at the CEO, who merely walked over to him and put a hand on Owen's shoulder. It was the bad one, which seemed to twinge ever so slightly under his grasp.
"Owen?" he asked simply. The concern in his tone made the raptor trainer feel like an ass in that moment. It was clear that, even if Simon didn't make the wisest decisions, he was still caring for his employees. Offering a shrug of his good shoulder, Owen answered as best as he could.
"I'm fine boss. Look, we have to have someone help Barry out in containing those raptors. Direct some rangers from Sector Six there, and get some help from the boys out on Sorna."
"InGen?" Masrani asked skeptically.
"I don't like it any more than you do, but I have four velociraptors that, if they escape, we don't have the ACU coverage to detain them before they start killing. We need to be proactive in this, and InGen's got security teams on Sorna; we keep eyes on the paddock, we have people over there, we shouldn't have trouble." Owen's glare fell on Claire, very clearly referring to her lack of control over the situation. Simon, for all his faults, at least took the suggestion into serious consideration.
"Alright… I can make that work. But what about the guests in —"
"I can go."
"What?!" Claire asked incredulously, having heard Owen state the obvious. The trainer rolled his eyes, not at all amused. "You just assaulted our security guard! I can't let you leave!"
"I'm not about to be kept from doing the job you wanted me back for," Owen shot back.
"Then at least let me go with you!" Claire practically begged. "Those guests are my responsibility!"
"You lost your right to be responsible for these people when you ordered the creation of a monster," a voice from the backside of the room responded. Everyone turned to look at Douglass at that point. Since he'd arrived at Control, he'd been nothing but quiet. Owen hadn't even realized he'd been there until Doug said something. "Owen, you shouldn't be here, planning things out. You should be out there, doing what your job is: handling the animals; Claire, last I checked, Mister Masrani fired you. You do what he says, you don't get to do what you want. Right now, your job should be saving lives and ensuring no catastrophe befalls the public that's out there."
"I'm more help out there than I am in here!"
"You?!" Vic guffawed. "Look Dearing, I don't know what's gotten into your head… but did you forget the part where there's a killing machine out there?! You're a middle-management stooge, not ACU, not a park ranger!" Claire looked fit to burst at that, but before she could respond, Owen looked to her to try and defuse the situation.
"Listen Claire… your job was managing the park and its assets, yeah? You've demonstrated over and over again that you don't know how these animals think, let alone can handle a crisis in the moment… take a seat."
"Hey, I am not one of your damn animals!"
"Owen has a point Claire," Masrani stated poignantly. "You are better at directing this evacuation than I would be…"
"Mister Masrani, with all due respect, I would be better-suited to getting the congestion and lost guests dealt with personally instead of sitting here while rangers and ACU are busy looking for a rampaging dinosaur!" Masrani pursed his lips at that. Wanting this shitshow to end, however, Owen piped up.
"You'll last two minutes out there Claire, less in those ridiculous shoes." Claire seemed to take particular offense to that, her mouth agape for a single, solitary second before she started doing the unthinkable.
"What're you doing, Dearing?!" Vic asked in absolute amazement as she took off her belt, rolled up her sleeves and unbuttoned the blouse she was wearing, giving everyone an eyeful of her sports top. 'Business chicks,' Owen thought. He thought he heard an awkward cough from the central technician's desk… Lowery, that was his name.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Owen asked in astonishment.
"It means I'm ready to go!" she shrugged. Masrani was now taking a seat, pinching the bridge of his nose as he likely regretted hiring Claire at all now. But having a feeling that she wouldn't take no for an answer, Masrani had seemed to take a backseat.
"Okay," Owen nodded, "Let's get one thing straight. I'm in charge out there. You do everything I say, exactly as I say it."
"Excuse me?"
"I'd listen to him, Miss Dearing," came Douglass' interjection again. When she didn't object, Owen nodded, pursing his lips as he looked to Hoskins.
"First thing's first… I need my gun though. That means we're going to raptors first. You alright with that Simon?"
"If it means saving lives quicker, get on the helicopter and go," the CEO responded, turning to Control before giving off a new order.
"I want all cameras on Sector Four on and looking for the missing gyrosphere! Vic, get your men from Isla Sorna!" Miraculously, Hoskins seemed to obey the order without question, leaving Owen to try and ignore the stench of rotten meat nearby.
The helicopter ride to the east side of Nublar was quiet. Owen couldn't believe he'd just allowed this woman to take charge like that again… Claire was something else, that was for sure. Stubborn, bull-headed, hot-tempered: traits that would've been great for someone like Claire anywhere else besides running a place like this.
Not that it mattered anyhow. As JW001 landed outside the paddock, Owen was quick to jump out, gesturing for Claire to stay in the helicopter, in spite of a clear protest from her, and directing the pilot to turn down the rotors of the helicopter. As soon as the helicopter was but a distant thrum in the air, Owen could hear the hell that Blue had been raising. It'd been, what, 30, 45 minutes at this point?! How was she still barking up a storm?!
"Owen! For god's sake man, where've you been?!" Barry called out.
"Bullshit, that's where I've been," he answered. The light of the afternoon sun was starting to irritate his eyes again, and he had no time to get into specifics with him. "Go get my gun and put it in the helicopter; I'll go and see if I can't get Blue's attention." The Frenchman merely nodded as Owen walked over to the stairs leading to the catwalk.
When he got a view over the railing, he could see that Blue was insistently patrolling around the west wall, turning back and barking to make sure that Delta, Echo and Charlie weren't leaving her behind. In between a few moments of barking, Owen gave a shrill whistle to catch their attention. When the whistles didn't work, Owen called out loudly to them.
"Blue! Hey!" The raptor snapped her amber gaze up to him before running over to the catwalk with a snarl.
"Hey! Enough of that!" Owen ordered, giving the clicker in his pocket three clicks to try and get them quiet. Echo was looking at him with murderous intent, but the others seemed more "glad" that he'd come along to shut up Blue.
"Good! Good. Were you good for Barry?" Blue only hissed at him, but her body language seemed to click at something else besides being frustrated he wasn't there… the way that she looked at him, the way he saw her move. It wasn't just anger… there was… nervousness. Owen had thought himself pretty good at reading these animals. He'd been around them for enough time to know how they acted… but the way that she hissed, the way that she moved… it was like he could understand it a little more.
Of all the weird things that tipped him off that something was amiss, it wasn't just those factors. It was something else. It was the same, bitter stench that he smelt in Control, albeit muddled in other, jungle flavors. Animals communicated through scent and body language… the velociraptors were no exception. But that smell… it was the exact same, bitter one that he got when he lashed out at the security guard, and that, on top of everything else, made something click a little easier.
It wasn't just guesswork based on previous behaviors. He could understand Blue… well… somewhat.
"Blue?" he asked, clicking the clicker again, trying to get her attention. Another hiss, alongside an ending chuff. This one was different too… was it a question? Owen almost thought it was a question, and given the tap-tap-taps of her toeclaws… there was impatience.
Why weren't you here? That was the question that came to mind. He almost wanted to answer… but it was crazy! Getting to understand the behaviors of animals was one thing… but talking to them?! Nah. He couldn't do it. Looking to the other girls, he could see it in their eyes and body motions too. Charlie was full of energy, following the beta's lead. But she wasn't stressed like Blue was. She was just curious. Delta had a very clear sense of boredom, looking to the ground at something that caught her attention. Giving an experimental sniff, his suspicions were confirmed.
"Charlie, Delta, Echo! Eyes up!" he called out. Of course, they followed the command, the motion of his hand, before he grabbed his walkie from his hips with the other.
"Barry? Grab me a bucket," he said simply. No response was given as he waited patiently. Just like the drills.
"Aaaand… we're moving!" The raptors followed him across the catwalk toward the east side, with Barry heading up the steps. There was a low snarl from Delta to Blue, who chittered back in her direction. Owen couldn't get anything out of it. He knew that they always had conversations, but now he could at least understand the intent clearer, as though he always knew it. Delta was impatient, bored and confused. Blue was… he felt like it was an order to shut up.
"Ho!" he called. Barry was already walking over to him with the treat bucket.
"Charlie!" he called first. Owen was astonished when he got the message when she curiously turned her head up to him. Yes, I hear you. He tossed one rat down before calling up Echo, who snarled. He didn't need to understand it any clearer. She was still mad at him… but it was less anger and more stubbornness. A mouse for her before she chose to left of her own accord with a snort. She was done there, in spite of Blue's attention-seeking screech.
"Hey, hey! Blue! Eyes on me!" Owen firmly called out. Blue's toeclaw tapped a few times before she snorted. A resigned acceptance. "Delta!" A hiss was given in response. It wasn't hard to read persey, but it wasn't all that clear either. Owen almost wanted to say it was something like a 'Yes?', but he couldn't confirm it. Tossing the treat down, he then looked over to Blue.
"Alright… Blue?" Blue gave the same sound, though was much more expressive, as though exasperated by calling her name. "You stay quiet, you get yours," he called out. There was an aggressive snap. A demand, and given the body language she exhibited, it wasn't a demand for the treat. It was wanting him to look at something instead. Over here! Of course, she had been meaning the west wall. Looking at it and beyond it, Owen gave a sigh as his vision seemed to brighten considerably for a few moments, blinding him.
"Son of a bitch!" he grunted, dropping Blue's treat into the paddock. A few calls sounded from Blue and Charlie. Concerned calls. They wanted to know if he was alright. It wasn't out of the realm of possibility for them to be concerned there. But he felt that was enough.
"Barry… you got any glasses?" Barry raised an eyebrow as he looked at Owen's eyes, practically squinted shut in spite of now looking away from the midday light.
"Yeah… I've got some," Barry answered, already heading off to grab them from the control tent nearby. That was when Blue made a sharp scree in his direction for attention. Looking as best as he could down to the raptor, she was clearly unsatisfied with both the dead rodent on the ground and the circumstances of what had happened. His vision was blurred significantly in that moment, and he could only rely on listening to what he had heard.
Snorting defiantly, Blue then gave another screech, similarly shrill to the one that he'd heard on the ranger cam back at Control from the Indominus. The sound now had a meaning to it, and it chilled him that he knew exactly what Blue's screech there had meant.
