Claire Dearing shut the door to her car, as she looked over at the compound. It had been a bit of a drive from the Airport, but that was the idea, she supposed, keep it away from most civilian populations, so that not too many people got curious. A matter of public safety, or so it was claimed. Public safety. That was interesting, she thought wryly, as she straightened herself, pulling her jacket closer to herself as she walked up to the guard post. She'd already walked past one checkpoint, but Masrani had insisted on multiple layers of security, redundancies, that was the word he repeated to the shareholders.
Showing her badge, she stopped and waited for him to compare her face to the badge, sighing, as she looked over the compound. Ringed by electrified fencing, most of the compound was steel, stainless walls, Knowing what she did about why- it made sense, but she also understood if some of the other investors or high level employees did not. She was one of the few that walked in both areas of Masrani's domain.
It had come as a surprise to her, although not to people that knew her very well, that she should have been hired by Masrani Global. Claire had built her career on management, and she had shown herself capable of juggling highly complex workloads. Before Masrani, she had been in the corporate world, which was not entirely easy given it's somewhat cutthroat nature. Still, she'd found a path for herself.
Waved through, Claire would head over to the large octagonal structure , it was similarily reinforced, but was open at the top, with two catwalks crisscrossing. There were guards everywhere, each carrying the latest electroshock taser rifles, as a precautionary measure. Eyes flickered up, as she'd follow the line of sight to see a figure coming down the stairs of the structure, he smiled, leaning against the railing, giving a short wave. Claire sighed, as she stepped forward, walking towards him.
"Claire! Out from her ivory tower!" The man called out, in a voice that was just a little too casual for her liking. Far too casual, she repeated to herself, as she composed herself, determined not to let herself be rattled here, that was what he wanted after all. To get some sort of reaction, as she gave him a slight smile. Hopefully not too forced, as she could understand why it might read as strained to him. After all this time, they had found each other working at the same place. At the same time.
"I am sorry, but this is not exactly a social call," she was right about that. Not that she thought it would ever be again, but by the look on his face, she could see the hope written there plain as day. But he was smart enough not to say it, maybe that was better for the both of them. After all, today was awkward enough as it was, as she indicated the structure.
"Oh right. Right. This about that thing at the park? Was lucky I got there when I did. That pachy- she was just about to-" he stopped, as she looked at him, "Right. Right. He wants to make sure everything's on the up and up." The man chuckled slightly, as she rubbed her eyes.
"Mr. Grady- Owen." she began before he interrupted. Maybe that at least would get things 'moving' so to speak. This operation is very sensitive. We made a cover story for what happened, called the…assets…. escaped animals. The public doesn't need to know what we're doing here. At least not yet." There were certain ways what the project was about could be misunderstood, she was well aware.
He seemed to understand, at least she hoped he did, as he looked back at the structure, than back at her. "Allright. But right here, that's where your wrong," he said pointing a finger at her, which she raised an eyebrow at but said nothing. "These are not assets. You treat them like that, that's how you end up like these people back in te 90s," he gestured for her to follow, as he would walk back up the stairs. After a brief moment of hesitation, she would follow.
As they reached the top, she could see that the roof was not open, however, they could see below through what appeared to be transparent glass. "Bulletproof. Like they use for the president," Owen said as he stepped near her, as they saw there were guards on each side of the octagonal structure. Clearly they were not taking any chances at all, which leant her a small measure of relief.
Grady would step up to a platform, as he clapped his fingers. Below, they could see what appeared to be a large containment unit, stocked with various jungle plants, as she'd see nothing at first, until one reptilian head came into view, looking up at them. There was a blue stripe by the side of it's head, and she had a feeling that it's stare was almost akin to a birds.
As they watched, it was joined by another…and another still, until there was about three more of them, three raptors. They were staring up at the ceiling, watching…waiting. She looked down, unnerved, as they seemed to be almost staring past the ceiling, staring up at them. "Oh they know we're here," Grady said unhelpfully, as he would clap his hands again, the dinosaurs below revealing themselves, four Velociraptors.
"That'll be Blue. Delta. Echo, and Charlie," Grady said as he named each of them in turn as she watched the raptors pacing back and forth, eyes never leaving them. For some reason, she felt a shiver down her spine, as she felt like something primal, some fear of the dark was awakened there.
Yet, there was also something else. Curiosity, she watched him with some unease, as she was not sure how he could be so calm. Claire knew what raptors were capable of, even if she'd never been out in the field like he had. Being this close to these animals, she was always on edge, preferring to remain at a remove, handling out reports and the like, now that was what was her comfort area.
"Masrani wants me here to talk with you …these animals. Grady. You've done excellent work for us. No one denies that. No one spends more time with them then you do- however, I will say that this…what happened- " She felt that she was trying to get it out, her sense of frustration out, for that was what she was feeling. Frustration at her work possibly being ruined.
Grady turned, smiling as he pulled out a whistle. Blowing on it, he gestured down, and she could see all the raptors looked up at the same time. Almost like they were at attention, she thought. Really, that was something, and then he blew it again, and gestured to the side. There, the raptors immediately all stepped to the right, no hesitation whatsoever. Another whistle, gesturing to the left, and they followed as well, and that was what got her.
"It's not training, it's a relationship," Grady said finally as he smiled, looking at her. "It's all about how they're raised… How Masrani got four raptor eggs out of their nest, I don't know…but this has been one of the most educational experiences I've ever had." Claire was still staring at him, it did not seem to add up in her mind.
"Don't bullshit me, Grady. you were standing…right next to them. Multiple witnesses, plus the handlers saw you." Indeed, that was one of the things Masrani had asked to discuss, as that was something concerning. On one hand, it meant that the training program was most likely much farther along than anyone was anticipating. On the other hand, she didn't want to think of what it meant.
Grady said nothing for a second, as he would walk along the catwalk, as she followed. The raptors followed below, matching their pace with every step, she was afraid to look, as she watched. "That was the first time, Claire. The first time they let me in close. The first time I really felt accepted by them…" There was a way he spoke about it, almost reverence in his voice, but she saw in his eyes it was tempered by something else.
He was a navy man after all, she realized, as she thought she might understand. Or maybe she could at least put forth the effort to try and understand as much as possible here, in a place where not much would make sense otherwise. "Honestly? I think they were focused on the Pachy. They had him cornered pretty well. They didn't attack him either, just contained."
He was saying nothing that wasn't in the report, and that was what furthered her suspicions that he was not telling her everything. Or was he mainly not telling her what he knew, or what he thought he might know? There was a vast difference there, and they both knew it. They came to the end of the catwalk, as Grady would point out to her the feeding areas, as well as the staging areas, where they could be tranqued, and loaded into waiting vans while being prepped. "Masrani had a good idea. The dinosaur problem is getting out of control, so why not use a dinosaur to catch a dinosaur?"
Claire had heard this rhetoric before, as she gave him another glance. "Grady. Just tell me. Can you control these things?" That was her primary question here, and whether it was yes or no, she could deal with the answer, after all, she was a big girl. But having evasiveness for replies did not help at all,
Grady paused, as a goat appeared in the enclosure, pushed unceremoniously through a side door. Grady blew the whistle again, as he watched, the raptors all paused for a second, surrounding the goat as they could hear its bleats below, sounding very tinny and sad below.
At least, they paused for a second, as the first of them jumped, and then the others followed suit. Claire turned away, but Grady kept watching, as he looked down. "You want the truth? I …need more time to work with them. I don't know if what happened at the park was a fluke, or I actually got through to them. I need some time. That's what I'd like most. Time to figure this out. Can you give me that?" He asked her, there was a note of pleading in his voice.
There was a pause, as Claire looked at him, back down at the raptors, as they were feasting on the corpse. "I have to check in with Masrani. But I think we can get you until the press conference at least to get it all figured out." It wasn't exactly a promise that bot knew… but they could make it work to some extent. She hoped they could.