Owen was staring at the screens above him, as he saw the footage playing on repeat as if on a loop. Of course, he had not expected the media to just let this slip by, but the timing could not have been worse. Maybe if they had this sort of incident before announcing anything they could have slid by. Somehow managed to avoid working with the fallout. But no, there was a reason that he was standing on the edge of the raptor pen with Masrani. Claire was there, but she was avoiding his gaze, and that woman- that woman was there too. Jessica something.
Masrani was first to speak. "Mr. Grady. We are down to three raptors, and what I'm being told was that the animal didn't survive?" Grady rubbed his eyes. He had not expected everyone to ask to meet him here, but he could understand why. Claire was here because as operations manager she had to figure out next steps. Masrani was footing the bill, and Jessica…well, she need to know the facts to determine how they were going to spin this.
"Zia is operating on it, it's not looking good," Grady said as he looked down at the pen. Blue, Delta and Echo were still there, although they were looking at him, and then looking away. Crap. He knew that an incident like this might set him back weeks, but he also figured that there was something else, he hoped Masrani wouldn't bring up. Still, he knew what they'd shown to the public, something that they couldn't just forget happened. He didn't like playing this sort of game, it was beyond him.
Claire looked at him, she was next to him, and there was some warmth in her gaze, and not devoid of sympathy. He looked out, as he would sigh, not really knowing just what next steps were. "Owen. I understand if you need to take time. I've already arranged for Mr. Cooper to take the second case…" Owen looked back at her, somewhat incredulous, but at the same time, he was still digesting it.
"No. No. I mean I trust him, but at the same time, he doesn't know these animals like I do. I'm the only reason they were even able to be calmed down…" He felt that was right. Still, at the same time, he wasn't sure in his heart if that was the entire reason. Maybe he was thinking it too much. But at the same time, there had been no questioning the morse state of the raptors ever since they'd returned. A day and a half, and they weren't eating. They'd tried snapping at the feeder guys, jumping up when they came to drop in a goat. Maybe the most disturbing thing was the corpse of the goat that lay there, they'd killed it right after it had been lowered in, but they had left it. Right now there were flies around it.
It was the buzzing of the flies that droned in his ears, as he swallowed, his hands clenching the rail. "Mr. Grady. We all saw that footage, and while we sympathize, I am on a timelien here," Masrani said, not unkindly as he stood up straighter. "There has to be some accountability to the public. Otherwise, this…this doesn't work. If they don't believe that we can capture these animals."
Grady nodded, even he could understand that. There was a certain amount of tension he could hear in the news, even as the screens above him blared footage of what had happened, content warnings notwithstanding. That had not stopped the late night comics from making jokes about it. It was unavaoidable, as he felt that grip around his stomach tighter. "Just …give these animals time. Don't rush the next one, I don't know about how they will react if you put them out in the field right away." He couldn't tell just how they would react.
Masrani looked uncomfortable, as he turned and fiddled with his tie. Behind him, Jessica was taking notes, her head cocked to the side, almost as if studying them. Her glance dropped occasionally up to the raptors, and then at him, almost like he was being scrutinized. "I'm sorry. We're going to have to- at least, these animals aren't on a schedule as you said. Eventually there's going to be another- that was what you told me about the IBRIS training regimen. These animals can be replaced…"
"Mr. Masrani… I'm sorry but it's not that simple. There's a reason that I don't get mauled automatically when I let them out. These raptors…my raptors…the training that they've been through, it's not that easy." He felt he was being defensive, and he could see Claire next to him, there was a look in her eyes, shaking her head. As if to say to back off of this. Crap, he knew he didn't want to cause problems, but at the same time, it was feeling like there was something there.
"What about that one you have? The baby?" All of them turned to look at Jessica, as she leaned on the railing, smiling slightly. Grady frowned, as she continued. "What? Mr. Masrani, you pay me to know what's going on so that I can tell the public what they need to know. Also- I saw that animal when we were passing by the veterinary area." That was true, Beta hadn't been hidden, but he still couldn't understand why he was pondering it as Claire had a hand on his shoulder.
"Grady. You were telling me that it's a relationship. Maybe you could work on training this raptor-Beta from a young age, I know that this is sudden, but it's probably the best chance we have-" Owen considered it, he really did. It was not a terrible idea, not on the face of it. The truth though, was that he was not sure of how he felt about the prospect of this idea. He had no idea of how the other raptors would suddenly adjust to the presence of another raptor. They really didn't know anything about these animals, he thought, as he would turn, to them.
"It's possible- but Beta-that's her name- I haven't worked with her as much as I'd like. She's…well she's…" There was no easy way to say it. Something stopped him from saying it as well. No reason why, but a primal, gut part of his instinct told him that now was not the right time. "She needs time." He thought he could buy time with that statement, as he needed to think. More than time to think, figure out what had gone wrong with everything. Not that he thought he'd get the chance.
"Don't think of it as a negative Grady," Masrani was saying, although his voice seemed in the background now. Really, Grady was thinking it over, as he really was unsure of what to do going forward. "Just…we can fix this. We'll get this Beta set up, introduce her to the other raptors, and then Jessica can smooth it over. Maybe we can even spin it as a positive?" The way he said it though, he could already see the wheels turning in the mans mind. Jessica though seemed to be standing straighter, not perturbed by it at all.
Maybe he was right. Maybe this was something fixable, that they could get easily done…he thought so, hoped so at the least. Still, Grady stepped away, and the group followed him, as he walked down the stairs. There was still something he had to check on, as he knew it might be a bad idea, but he had to tell Masrani. Things seemed to be moving at a rapid pace, and Beta joining the team might be premature. At least with what Zia had said before doing the surgery.
There was no getting around it now, he thought as he swiped in the keycard for access to the converted warehouse. The group walked through, as they'd pass the rows of people working. The Vet area was where he was heading, as he saw that the vet techs had modified the space to provide more room for the incoming animal. Zia was already there, to greet them. Great,he thought, as he wondered just what the news was going to be… They had come in to see Beta, but there was something else. "Grady… We found something in the animal." He turned, heading towards the raptor area automatically, and so did the others, but she shook her head, as her gaze ran to Mr. Masrani and the rest of the group.
Masrani stepped forward. "Ms. Rodriguez? What is wrong with the juvenile velociraptor? I believe the last report had her condition as stable?" Grady exhaled a deep breath, as he would exchange another glance with Claire. No…Zia was already turning, pulling the curtain aside, as she showed the rolling table beyond. The Dilophosaurus was already strapped to the table, completely sedated, as it was clearly out of it for the moment. The monitors were reading that it's vitals were stable, and there was a guard standing on the other side of the table, rifle at the ready.
The group seemed to step forward as if at once as they fanned out around the table. "No, M Mr. Masrani. The issue is with the Dilophosaurus that Grady dealt with the other day." She would point to a few printouts that were on a table. The image seemed to be the outline of a chip, as they studied it. "It's not one of our chips. This side, it should already have the M embossed on the side, even on the x-ray. This symbol, it looks almost like a –" A logo, Grady thought as the sudden silence seemed to descend on the group, although of what, he couldn't quite tell.