Grady was watching from the back row, as he would see the entire press conference unfold in front of him. They'd announced the IBRIS program a bit ahead of schedule, which did unnerve him- as he'd felt that he'd have needed more time. Another thing to talk with Claire about, he thought, as he watched her stepping into view. Grady smiled, waved, although the look on her face he could tell-
"Grady- we need to talk. I told you that when they moved the press conference that they'd give you more time- but corporate had a mandate." She looked stressed, which was part for the course with her. Not all the way flustered, but the redhead looked as if she'd not been sleeping well, there were some bags over her eyes, but there had been an attempt to patch it over with makeup. Of course he'd notice things things, especially after-
"It's fine." He rubbed his eyes, thinking it was very much not fine. "I can work with it. Just these raptors. They don't perform They're not trained monkeys. When I was in the Navy, it was always high stress situations, sometimes it comes down to more than the training-" He wondered if he was wasting his breath. Trying to explain something like gut instinct to her. Maybe he was.
It was complicated, way too complicated to get into right now. But here he was, and she didn't seem like she was going to leave anytime soon. Yes, there was no escaping this for either of them. The fact they needed to constantly report to each other, the fact she was technically over him- Back before, before it had all seemed clear and steady. Him fresh from the Navy, Her-
She didn't seem convinced, as she stepped closer, her hand resting on one of the chairs, as she stood over him. "I'm still operations manager. Maybe I can persuade them to go for something easy. No predators or anything." She hesitated slightly, as they exchanged glances. Beside them, the reporters were currently filing up to the microphone to ask questions.
"Can't. Won't. These raptors, they are unpredictable. Hard to tell how they'll react. We have reports of results from field reports, but also each species. The pachy one was their first real field test. However we did try recording animal calls- granted we can't be sure if they recognize them." Grady knew that the circumstances of the squad's recovery were something not too many people were aware of, even within Masrani. Maybe that was for the best.
"The point is. I don't think it's a good idea." He spoke in a low voice, realizing that there were people close by. "They went berserk after we recorded the Rex roar. Same for a Dilophosaur hoot." It had been almost impossible to calm them down, they had to wait a few days for them… and even then it had been a nerve wracking experience. So he'd as soon as rather not be in that situation. It had been lucky for everyone involved that the Pachy had hesitated. And only because there were four raptors. If there had been more than one- he shuddered.
"Fine. I'll take a few days and decide-" She did seem eager to get it worked out, which made sense. "I just wanted to make sure it wasn't too much for you that's all. Forget the raptors for a second. You said you had something to tell me?" That was right, Grady had almost forgotten he'd left that voicemail, he'd been afraid to say it over the phone, that was something…
"Claire I-" He began, as he raised his hand, the words almost coming out of his mouth, but cut off for a second, as he realized that there were two men walking towards him. One he recognized, dressed all in black as he was, was a dead giveaway. Ian Malcolm, survivor of Nublar and Sorna, he had been invited probably out of courtesy, and the second…there was a familiar tug about him. But he couldn't place it.
"Sorry to interrupt, but do you know…wait a second," The second man said as he stared at Grady. Grady waited, as he remembered that they'd used his face on the concept art. "Oh shit." The man said as he turned and looked at Malcolm, whose face seemed suddenly pale as a sheet. It wasn't quite reaching concerned levels, but it was 'getting there'. Grady looked at Dearing and back at the men, unsure what to do, but Malcolm's presence alone made him hesitate.
"Ian Malcolm. This is Richard Levine. You may recognize him from the Sorna files." Recognition dawned on Grady, and e could see understanding arriving in Dearing's eyes for a second, as he shook their hands. After a second, she did too, although she was likewise confused as to why they had chosen to come here. He could think that slide was still to blame, although by the look of it, they hadn't mentioned anything about wanting to see Masrani yet so far.
"Owen Grady," he replied as he let Claire introduce herself, letting his hand fall back to his side. "Can I help you?" Of course, there ws that gut feeling again, that tightening up of his stomach as he stared at the two of them. There was no confusion in their looks, they had not been mistaken for anyone. Odd, so he would just let them speak, hear them out.
"Grady. Listen to me. I know it was just announced, but I know that you are the trainer for these raptors." There it was, so blunt and out of the blue, that Grady blinked, he was not used to this, as he saw Dearing bit her lip, a note of panic in her eye. Maybe that concept art had been too on the nose? He'd told them not to make it too much like him, as he prepared an automatic denial.
"Or are you going to say this isn't you?" Malcolm took a photograph from Levine, and held it upright. There was a sudden silence, as Grady scratched his head, wondering just how he'd suddenly been put on the spot, for he was now not only on the spot, but right on top.
"Hold on a minute," there was Dearing, she had her hands up as she stepped in front of him. "You can't just come here and-" she stared at Malcolm. "I respect your work Dr. Malcolm and Levine. However, there is a time and place. This-isn't the right time for this. If you wanted to discuss this, you could have called Masrani, scheduled an appointment-" after all, Grady knew that she was a very organized person.
Malcolm paused, looking over at Levine. Grady got the sense that they'd already talked this over, and their minds were made up on this. "Wait. Let me hear what they have to say Claire. It's okay. Really." He looked at her reassuringly, and she paused a second just in a moment of hesitation before she stepped back. There- he smiled to himself. He still had it- at least for a moment in her eyes, he'd seen the Claire he used to know, and she hadn't said anything about using her first name.
"Thank you." Levine said as he sighed. He was holding a folder up, although didn't bother to show it. "We've been following the Masrani Global, that Mesozoic project as you put it. There's no denying it's a great show. You have things situated quite nicely here- although there's quite a bit of things we wanted to talk about- that photo is the tip of the iceberg."
"There's been some inconsistences here with the data. And when Levine showed me the picture- well, it put some of the pieces together, I was able to piece together from the scraps of information he had. A pattern emerges, not a stable one, but one that already has a bit of disorder within-"
"Right. Right. Chaos, chaos theory," Grady chuckled, wondering if that was all this was going to be about. Really, Malcolm was pretty well known, Chaos having now been almost a byword after his participation in 90s events had become known. Looking back on his face now, he sighed. No… "Listen. I get it. You guys have been through the war. Dinosaurs and all. But this is different-" he said, although honestly just how different he couldn't say. That shit about the reserve did feel odd to him too.
"Training raptors is a lot different then training velociraptors," Malcolm said calmly, as Grady swallowed, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Claire looking at him as well. How had they gotten -that? Well, his part in all of this had only come up now, plus the fact of how they'd even gotten the photo was troubling. "This is the variable in the pattern. This is what is going to cause an unpredictable change that will tip the scales-"
Grady felt his eyes roll, as he seemed to tune the rest out. Was he really going to just sit here and listen to a lecture? It seemed that was exactly what was going to happen. "It's dangerous, yes but so is life. I have been with them all their lives-" here he saw Claire step forward a second, as he held out a hand to indicate he was confident in himself. "There's no one who knows these raptors more than I do."
He didn't see Claire looking back and forth from himself to the men. "Be that as it may. That's just the tip of the iceberg. We have some data here that indicates that something is very wrong- something that maybe you've seen out in the field, things that don't make sense-" Malcolm was cut off, as Claire held up a hand to pause.
"I'm sorry- but Owen. We have to go," she held Owen's shoulder, as se walked with him very fast away from the men, she guided him so fast, he wasn't aware of what was happening, as he looked back at the men. "Keep walking," Claire said as she moved, barely giving Owen a chance to breathe. It really surprised him, But the men looked confused, as they walked away…