The pair of them had been driving for hours, until they reached the raptor compound. Owen had been silent the entire journey, and Claire couldn't blame him. After their encounter with Richard Levine, it felt that they had been a bit at a loss wit how to deal with the fallout of this. The Carnotaur…she closed her eyes again, still it was too fresh in her memory. She had turned on the radio a while back, hoping that would take her mind off of things. It had been a mistake.

They had both listened as the radio had talked nonstop about the incident, and what had happened. Maybe if that had been all, she would not be so bothered now. No. What was worse, was what had happened right after it had come back from commercial. There had been a public service message reassuring people that the animal had now been contained, as she shook her head.

"I thought they were going to wait for you?" She had managed to get back to Masrani a bit later, after they had been put on hold. Still, it was not a good feeling overall. The uncertainty of it all.

Grady shook his head, as they pulled into the lot finally. He seemed pensive, but that was to be expected. "They didn't. You heard what they said. They used my raptors for that one-" He shook his head as he got out, Claire following close behind. They had agreed to meet here at the compound, and as she did so, she could see Owen at the guard station flashing his credentials. There seemed to be some minor fuss, as Owen was arguing with him already. "What do you mean it doesn't work?"

Claire was already up, as she would show her own badge. The man waved her through as Owen looked at her, arms raised. "Look- it's probably a misunderstanding. I'll get this sorted," she reassured him, as she took a breath. Whatever had gone on since they had been gone, she was not too sure. Still, it was troubling portent for the future, as she would leave them both at the gate. Looking down at her phone she could see a text to meet them inside of the building. She didn't know why here instead of at the Masrani Headquarters, though.

Claire opened the door, as it swung open to reveal Masrani and Jessica standing there with someone she didn't recognize. Maybe it was one of the other guys who had been with Grady. She still had not learned all of their names, they were mostly names on a spreadsheet for her most times. "Sorry I'm late, Mr. Masrani," she said as she would walk over to the center of the group. "I know that I've missed a lot, but I'm here now." She smiled thinly, aware that she hadn't slept since the incident. Oh yes, maybe she had taken a bit of a nap in the car, but that hardly counted.

Nobody else smiled though, as she swallowed. She could feel the tension in the room, as Masrani cleared his throat. Still, she'd continue on- "Mr. Grady was kind enough to give me a ride back. There seems to be a problem with his keycard though. Not letting him through." She saw Jessica and Masrani look at each other for a moment, as she would pretend to look over to the side. She wondered if she'd said the wrong thing. They had seemed pensive on the phone, and the Masrani she'd seen on the screen?

That was hardly the sort of welcome that she had been expecting. Finally, Masrani spoke. "Ms. Dearing. Grady has been put on leave for the moment until we complete the investigation. Unfortunately it was public enough that we can't just let this go." He paused after a second, seeing the look on her face.

"But the Mesozoic project, someone still needs to work with the raptors. There's no one else is qualified to deal with them the way that he is." She had not seen it in the field, but she had seen enough of the after- action reports. Grady had gotten results, that was for sure.

"Yes- that's what we're gathered here for actually. There is someone else who has this sort of expertise." He turned to the man next to him, as he would notice him just or the first time seemingly. "Martin Cooper. He served with Grady in the Navy. He's also eworked with him closely. He's seen the way that Grady works with the raptors." Cooper nodded, as he seemed to adjust himself.

"I guess I'll be submitting my reports to you Ms. Dearing." He was a scruffy man, but she guessed that he was the type to have been a career soldier. Just something about the way that he carried himself, his entire demeanor. She frowned slightly, feeling put on the spot for some reason. Not sure why she should feel that way, but she picked herself up slightly.

"Right. Right. I look forward to working with you Mr. Cooper." She looked back at Masrani, as she would think back to what Levine had said. Things she needed to tell him, about the Mesozoic project, that it was feeling like it was going to require explaining sooner or later. "Mr. Masrani. If I could have a moment?" She had been running herself ragged since yesterday. Had it only been twenty-four hours? It felt like it had been a year, she thought.

She sighed, as she looked over at Jessica, but the woman only matched her gaze, there was a difference in the way she looked, it was not quite cold, but not quite warm either. She felt a shiver run down her spine, almost like she had felt back at the bar. Again, there was no real way to put it.

"Claire," she frowned slightly, he was using her first name, as she would nod automatically. "I was thinking that could wait a bit. Jessica has a few things to fix up on the public end, but…there is something that I want to say." He cleared his throat, and Claire thought she knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"As operations manager, you were supposed to have been in charge of determining if that area was as cleared. An animal like that…Claire. We have been doing this for three years. An animal tht size…"

Claire felt herself at a loss, as she swallowed. Again, she felt like she was looking at something, this situation from far away. "Mr. Masrani. Listen to me. That animal, you mentioned that you have it. Have you examined it yet?" She thought that might be good, as she would be able to prove- prove what?

As confident as she had felt on the drive back, she could see that there was a diminished look on his face. "I'm sorry Claire. Unfortunately, there was a new policy in place put after that incident. Any animal that kills a human has to be put down." It might have been the policy for a while now actually, but this time it had been formalized. There was too much bad publicity surrounding it.

Publicity, she looked at Jessica, pondered her smile, as the woman seemed to be cool and collected. Claire knew that she had to be careful what she said next here. She did not want to come across as being overtly hysterical due to her trauma.

The speed with which it had happened took her by surprise, and she did not like that one bit. Not letting it show on her face though, Claire would endeavor to maintain her composure. "Of course. I understand that an incident like this is very tragic. My heart goes out to the victims." She clasped her hands together, still breathing hard, as she would nod. Masrani seemed satisfied with this, as she gave him a smile back. Sure, she thought. Everything was a bit too neatly wrapped with a bow.

Jessica was by her side now, a look of concern on her face. "Claire. I understand that you felt that you needed to go with Grady. I really do. However, the position that you put us in right now. Our operations manager almost died on live television." It was true, Claire had felt that her life had been in danger, that if Owen had not saved her that they both would have died.

Her eyes flicked back to Masrani, remembering that he'd wanted to talk to her. "Claire. I commend your willingness to go out there. Although unfortunately she's right. Putting your life on the line was not a smart decision, and I shouldn't have signed off on that. It's on me." He rapped a nearby table lightly, as Claire looked between Jessica and Masrani suddenly, feeling like she were trapped in a box.

"Mr. Masrani. I am very sorry. It won't happen again. I assure you-"she said, trying to make sure that she was sounding sincere. Masrani stared at her and shrugged. It seemed he bought it. The man sighed, looking down at his watch.

"Now Claire. I have a very important business meeting to get to. I appreciate your candidness with this. We are all glad you're safe. Also, just one more thing. I am going to announce this tomorrow, but Jessica will be handling everything with the press from now on- no more solo field trips." He nodded, as he passed by her, waving as he left.

Claire turned, watching, and as she turned around, she noticed Cooper was already returning to studying some files, and Jessica was following Masrani. It seemed that they already had dismissed her, almost completely so, it seemed.

However before she did so, she'd turn around to face Claire. "Look. I'm sure this will be a tough time for everyone. But remember. You ever have any trouble; you can just call me."

And then she smiled. That charming smile.