Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
A/N: Thank you to all my awesome readers for coming back to the next instalment, and hopefully those new to this story.
Today's story: 'Control' is slipping as Lex and Harry grow closer…
-oOo-
Chapter 12
-oOo-
August 9, 1993
Isla Nublar, Costa Rica
"This better be good, Benning," an annoyed John Hammond said as he walked into the control room. "I don't like being interrupted when I am talking business, especially when it is a representative of three quarters of our investors."
"You have to see this, John," Benning said. "Ray, go through what you just told me."
John walked over to the main controller's desk. The other three controllers looked to be working frantically. "Make it quick."
"We are going through the data and code, but there is a discrepancy in the vision recognition, the counting and the total number of animals in Jurassic Park. I am having Isla Sorna check this also," Ray said.
"What does that mean?" Hammond asked.
"I am not sure yet, but the park is supposed to have one hundred and fifty-six dinosaurs right now," Ray told him.
Hammond looked concerned, visions of the early days of this project and the genetic abnormalities, especially in the version one-point-ohs, that had caused problems for years. That was until Henry was hired and was able to figure out some of what was wrong. It wasn't uncommon for them to lose half a clutch in months, and the rest within a year, but version two-point-three clones had seemed to resolve that enough that at least half survived more than a few years. The current three-point-oh to three-point-five clones had a much better survival rate and acted more like real animals. Unfortunately, every new specie they found was like going back to the original version for the first clutch or two. Sometimes more. Which was what made Isla Sorna so important. Though, now that they were studying what they knew to be magic, some of the other issues they were having were starting to make sense, but Wu and Lockwood were years away from fully understanding why or how.
That didn't mean that they couldn't have huge problems still. "Have we had another die off?" Hammond enquired, nervous what that would mean to have his guests here this weekend and if they had enough stock maturing on Isla Sorna to replace them.
Benning snorted. "That would be a problem that we could handle. John, Potter just found evidence that there may be more animals in the park than we expect."
"So, we just miscounted them?" Hammond replied, a huge wave of relief going through him.
"According to our records, we have released one-hundred and ninety-two animals in the last three years. thirty-eight have died from disease, being hurt or other causes that have not been identified yet. That leaves us with one hundred and fifty-six animals. I can count one-hundred and fifty-six individual animals and have the radio tag count from the transmitters. What I don't have record of is six baby ankylosaurs that look to be about three to four weeks old with the herd that likes the west edge of the valley," Ray responded. "That was the heard that escaped last month."
Hammond looked at him. He blinked a few times, going over in his head what that meant.
"So, we had a release that wasn't documented properly?" Hammond guessed.
"We haven't hatched any ankylosaurs at Site B or here in two years," Ray said. "The current stock is healthy, eating well and should live another ten years or so, or so Dr Timmons says."
Hammond put a hand over his mouth and sat in an empty chair at the messy workstation where his lead programmer usually was. "Then how did they get there? All our dinosaurs are female."
"I don't know, but until we do, I called in all the field teams," Benning told him.
Hammond looked up sharply to Benning. "Are you mad? We have Genaro representing all our American investors, as well as the second largest Japanese group. If he gets word of this, we may be shut down. Is this why the ankylosaurs attacked the workers last month?"
"I don't know. I'm an engineer trying to get a zoo and major theme park up and running. You would have to ask your vets and Muldoon," Ray said a little testily.
Hammond made an aggravated noise. "Can you count and identify all the dinosaurs on the island?"
"We are trying, but there is something in the code that only looks for known animals, and then you have to add in new ones. Our team is trying to go through back logs of identified animals and find the ones missing. It could take days since they would need to be identified, put into the system, and then count for twenty-four hours to ensure the camera system has identified them all," Ray told him.
"You told me they count the dinosaurs every five minutes," Hammond said. "Ray, the board is getting antsy. I have two of the leading palaeontologists in the world here, a mathematician that will be smug as all hell if he is proven right, my grandchildren and eighty-five workers on the island. If anything happens, this place may shut down."
"We understand, John," Benning said. "We have all available resources here, at the backup control center and Site B working on this."
"Where is Nedry? He and his team were supposed to vet this all out," Hammond said angrily.
"He is already on his way for the weekend and next week to work on some bugs. I just need him to debug an issue with the backup generator if we lose power, the fences and then he will work on the tracking system to see if we can speed things up and ensure we find out what is going on," Ray told him.
"See that you do. When is Nedry due here?"
Ray looked at his watch. "It's about two now. He and his associate are to land in Costa Rica about three, so maybe four-thirty or five?"
"Get him here now. I don't want this messing with this inspection. If the teams need to be out there, let them stay," Hammond told them. "Muldoon's and Timmons' teams know what they are doing. Tell them it was a false alarm if you need."
"John, I don't think that is the right thing to do," Benning said.
"As long as everyone is safe, we have to do this," Hammond informed them.
"I don't think it is safe," Ray replied. "All teams were just called back about ten minutes ago. I think that Timmons team and the construction crew on the aviary were the only ones that had tasks they had to finish before they came back."
Hammond ran his hand over his mouth again. "Have my grandkids and daughter arrived?"
"They are with Rogers and Potter right now. They should be to the visitor center soon," Benning told them.
"Damn," Hammond said, banging his cane on the floor. "Just figure this out! We can't afford a setback if any of the investors decide they want to back out. The bio-medicine division is not yet profitable, and probably won't be for a few years yet."
Benning gave John a look. "You know that Lockwood has petitioned for Wu to look at human cloning? A program to have hearts and such ready for cloning could be ready in two or three years."
Hammond banged his cane. "No. It is one thing to clone extinct dinosaurs, cure cancer or save endangered condors, but I will not clone humans, parts of any animal or look at gene re-sequencing that way."
Benning frowned. "Yes, John."
John sighed. He was so close to seeing Margaret's vision coming to reality. They couldn't stop now. "Figure out what is going on. Send out a few more guards to make sure Grant and Sattler are well. Once my grandkids and daughter are here, bring them here. Ask Harry if he would give them a tour and I'll join them for dinner. Are the cars ready?"
"We have only run them through the east loop a few times. We think we have troubleshot everything, but I can't guarantee it until we finish the shakedowns," Ray told him.
"I want them to go through the tour first thing in the morning, and then have Grant and Sattler spend time with Muldoon and the vets," Hammond told them, forcing a calmness into his voice. "Grant has taken to Harry. Perhaps he could go with them?"
"Do you really want them out in the park if we don't know how many and exactly where all the dinosaurs are?" Benning asked.
"Is it a threat?" Hammond put to them.
Ray and Benning shared a look. "Most likely. How could we have more dinosaurs than what we have released?"
"Get Wu back here and have his team investigate it. Notify Benjamin. He should be involved too," Hammond said.
"John, we are just under a year away from our scheduled opening. Maybe you should listen to Grant's and Sattler's opinions on what we can do better, instead of selling them on this," Benning said.
John shut his eyes. "Have dinner ready for seven. I will figure out what to do. I still want the tour ready for tomorrow."
"Sure, John. I would like to send out three cars so that they have an engineering crew with them," Ray said.
"Have them ready in jeeps. There isn't anywhere on the tour that they can't get to them within twenty minutes," Hammond said. "Tell Muldoon that I want him ready, even if he has to follow them just out of eyeshot."
"Yes, John," Benning said.
"I don't think you should do this," Ray voiced.
-oOo-
Later that day...
Isla Nublar, Costa Rica
It was raining hard. It sounded like it was trying to beat through the roof of her grandfather's house. Coming out of the room she was going to share with her brother, she was in a more reasonable jean shorts and a nice t-shirt. Looking around, she saw Harry standing before the large windows at the back of the house.
Lex had seen how troubled he looked at seeing the ankylosaurs. She hadn't known him long, but he had seemed really open with her, sharing many stories of Hogwarts and his friends when they were on Martha's Vineyard, but she had to admit that she had a hard time matching the boy she was coming to know with the boy that fought trolls, deadly yellow eyed snakes, dragons and three-headed dogs. Looking at him now, as he stared out into the darkened day and the pouring rain, there was something different about him.
The way he looked out into the storm, his shoulders squared, his body taught, as though expecting trouble, and the sword on his back, had her thinking that Harry Potter was dangerous. That conflicted with the vision in her head, or the boy she thought she knew. Harry was sweet, gorgeous, and fun to be around...
His hard body was starting to make more sense, especially knowing he hadn't played sports like her. Flying brooms just didn't sound that physical. Not like swimming.
She had heard him when he told her he had had a hard life... maybe not in those words, but she could tell... she just hadn't fully understood it until now.
Lex walked up to him, standing next to him. Her hand reached out to his, and he took it. He cast his eyes towards her. They were green orbs that seemed to radiate a power she felt inexplicably drawn too. At the feel of the warmth and small fire in her chest, she was thinking it was her magic pulling her to him. Even if it wasn't, she felt something stirring in her as she looked into his eyes. "All you need is some armor and you'd be any girls dream of a knight in white armor," she teased, hoping to get a smile on his face.
Harry smiled, some of the tenseness in him lessened. "If you want," he offered, his hand moving to interlace his fingers in hers.
Feeling reassured by his gesture, Lex shuffled to close the distance. "Those dinosaurs are really cool."
Harry's smile broadened, bringing up the butterflies in her stomach. "I think so too."
"Then why do you have a sword on your back?" she asked. "Is that a wizard thing?"
"The sword isn't a wizard thing. Well, not from when I came. I think they were something many wizards had at one time. We have others if you want at some point," he said, before sighing. "The dinosaurs are wicked, but they are wild. I would never want to hurt them, but I won't allow them to hurt you or others."
Lex was not a girl to believe in the whole damsel in distress thing, always sticking up for herself and others, but there was something to be said to have a young man that looked ready to go to hell and back for her. Shifting, she kissed his cheek. "Are you going to protect me then?" she challenged.
There was a haunted look that crossed his face that she didn't understand. He let out a stuttering breath. "Lex, I won't let anyone else I care for get hurt again. Not if I can prevent it. Muldoon is really concerned about the extra dinosaurs," he informed her.
The steel in his voice had her really concerned. She had had only two glimpses of this side of him before. As much as it didn't seem like him, there was a certain rightness about it too. What had really happened to make him this way? Had she not understood who he was? Or was there more to the stories than he let on. "Grandpa won't let anything happen to us. You talked to, who was it again?"
"Muldoon. He's the man your grandfather found to be Game Warden and Head of Security here. I've learned a lot from him and his guards," Harry said.
"When did you talk to him?" She had only been in the room for fifteen or twenty minutes. This sounded like they had a long conversation.
"While you were getting changed. Your mum and Tim are at the Visitor Center. We should go join them. Your grandfather wanted me to give you a tour," Harry replied.
She looked at him. Harry was looking out the window again as the rain was starting to let up. "Okay, Harry. Are you alright?"
"Fine," he said, his voice a little distant and cold, very unlike when he usually talked with her.
She didn't like the answer and reach up to pull his face to look at her again. In a sudden inspiration, she thought she understood how he told her he wouldn't let anyone he cared for get hurt again. "I'm sorry about your friends. Do you really think we are in trouble?"
He shook his head. "I don't know, but I just feel something. It's... there is just something off right now."
She went up on her toes just a bit to kiss him. It was a sweet kiss. More a peck on his lips. As her lips touched his, she felt the tingling and warmth that always seemed to flood through her at Harry's touch. When she backed up just enough to look into his eyes, the power in them had shifted. She still could see the concern, but now there was something else. Something that brought up anticipatory butterflies in her stomach. It was so intense, she let go of his hand, wrapped her arms around his neck and he leant down to meet her lips. It was no time at all before their tongues met. She moved to press her front against his, enjoying the way his hard body felt against hers through their clothes. Harry put a hand on the side of her face before pushing his hand into her hair. His other hand drifted to her bottom. She started to kiss him more desperately.
It may have gone further until Harry pulled back as a radio on his belt went off. She yearned for it to get a little more handsy again. The last two weeks had been torturous to not have him around...
"Harry, are you there?"
It was an older man's voice.
"Hold that thought?" Harry said to her, pulling his hand away from her head. He sounded a little breathless. Speaking into a radio she hadn't noticed, he said, "This is Harry."
"I just want to confirm you and Ms Murphy are still in the compound?" the man queried.
"Yeah. We were just about to walk over to the Visitor Center," Harry replied while pressing the button on the radio.
"That should be best," the man replied.
"We'll be right over," Harry replied.
Lex giggled. "Your hair is a mess."
Harry gave her a wry grin. "When isn't it?"
She giggled again. "I mean more than normal. Here," she said, running her hands through his hair to try to lay it flatter. He closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh. "You like that?"
"Very much. Come on, you can play with my hair later," he said cheekily.
"I'm not trying to play with your hair. Don't you ever comb it?" she asked, taking his hand as they turned for the front door.
He chuckled. "I've given up on that. Don't suggest a haircut either. It always grows back overnight."
"If it didn't make you look sexy, I would be offended," she said, before her face heated a little.
Harry's wry grin reappeared. "Sexy? Huh?"
"Yeah," she told him, owning her comment.
Outside the air was less oppressive than it had been. Everything was wet and small streams of water washed down a small spillway at the side of the road. Small droplets were still coming down as the storm pulled out. "We may get another storm later," Harry said, looking to their left.
She looked that way to see the sun coming out and more storm clouds in the distance. "Does it rain every day?"
"Most this time of the year, or so I've been told. It gets dryer in the fall," Harry said.
There were four jeeps with the Jurassic Park logo out front of a large building. "Harry? What is Jurassic Park?"
"It's this island. It's like a zoo and nature preserve that your grandfather and Sir Lockwood have created," Harry told her. She found it curious that his eyes didn't seem to stay on one place, constantly scanning, but often drifted back to her. "It's supposed to open next year."
"This is why you know so much about dinosaurs," she stated.
"Yeah. Since Sirius and I got here, I've studied a lot of the literature about them, finding it to be maybe fifty percent accurate from what we have seen. Muldoon has taken me on, sort of like an apprentice, to learn about them, though, I find them easier to handle than many of the magical creatures that..." he stumbled for a second, as though his emotions were over taking him. She squeezed his hand. "Hagrid was in love with creatures. He was my first friend, even before Ron. He taught us more than I realized about creatures, and dinosaurs are just a little different."
She was about to respond when he snorted. "Hermione would wonder what was wrong with me with how much reading I do now."
The way he said her name, Lex found herself a little jealous. It had happened a few times on Martha's Vineyard, but he had told her he never dated his old friend and said a few times she was more like his sister. Still, there was a connection there that Lex didn't have with Harry yet, and it made her jealous. "You said she was a bookworm?"
Harry chuckled again. "She was brilliant though. Not the same type of brilliant as you," he added quickly.
She tried to keep a frown off her face as they entered a twelve-foot-high set of doors into a building. "LEX! HARRY! Look at this," Tim called out to them as soon as they stepped into a huge lobby. Tim pointing to the skeletons before he really took in Harry. "Wicked! Is that a real sword?"
"Yeah. I want to go check in at the control room and then Mr Hammond asked me to show you around," Harry told them.
Ms Murphy didn't look that pleased. "Do you know where my father is?"
"I don't, Ms Murphy, but Mr Arnold or Mr Benning may," Harry told her, leading them over to a door on the far side of the skeletons. He used his work badge to open the door by swiping it like a credit card through the slot above the handle. When the light on the door turned from red to green, he heard the click. With the compound on alert, all the doors that were normally open were closed now.
Lex didn't let go of his hand.
"Where do all these doors go to?" Tim asked. "Oh, look this wall is all glass. ARE THOSE EGGS! That lady is holding a baby dinosaur! I want to go in."
"Timmy, not now. Let's find your grandpa then figure out what we are doing," Ms Murphy said.
"But mom! Look! I think another dinosaur is hatching! How wicked is that... I want to watch," he called out as Lex grabbed his collar.
"Are those hatching dinosaurs?" Lex asked.
"Yeah. Dr Wu took so... put them in the labs about a week ago. I know your grandfather says he wants to see them all hatch," Harry said.
"Dad would." Ms Murphy said, before sighing. "Mom would have loved to see this."
Passing the round windows that looked into the control room, Harry used his card again. Mr Arnold, Benning and two of the other controllers were talking around a computer screen. "Are you sure that this code won't update the logs automatically? I know the specifications say it should."
"I can't see anything that does that. All it does is match key characteristics to already known characteristics. There is nothing in here that adds or analyses new ones. There looks to be structure to do so, but half the code looks unfinished," a woman said. Harry was pretty sure her name was Marcy Deshell.
"You agree, Trevor?" Mr Arnold asked.
"I think Marcy is giving Nedry and his team credit. There is no real code to do any of the independent analysis that this code is supposed to. I might be able to work on something, but some of the algorithms in the main code are advanced. Even without the self-adding code, this module is a master work. It might take me months to get something working the way we want it too," the man named Trevor said.
"Great, a genius that doesn't finish the work they said they did," Mr Arnold said. "How did we miss this?"
"All the trials were set with known dinosaurs," Marcy replied.
"Well, can't we just ask Nedry for the missing code..." Mr Benning started before Ms Murphy cleared her throat. Harry was finding it interesting, and very worrying, what the men and woman had been talking about.
"Do you think I can look at the code?" Lex asked, feeling excited about the possibility.
"We'll have to ask," Harry replied.
The four in the control room turned to them. "Ah, Lynne. It's been a long time. And is this Alexis and Tim. Last time I saw either of them Alexis was missing both her front teeth."
"I don't have time for this, Gary. Where is my father?" Ms Murphy demanded.
Mr Benning nodded. "He is still in the conference room with Genaro."
"How do I get in?"
Mr Benning sighed. "I don't think now is a good time to interrupt him, Lynne."
"Either you tell me how to get in to see him or I will find a way to break that door down," she told him in no uncertain terms. Tim's eyes were wide to see his mother this way.
"Mom is really pissed," Lex whispered next to him.
"I'll let you in. Harry, why don't you give Alexis and Timothy a tour. You can take them into the lab if you suit up," Mr Benning said, indicating for Ms Murphy to go first.
Tim moved towards a monitor. "Is that a Tyrannosaurs Rex?"
Mr Arnold gave them an annoyed look while Marcy smiled. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"Wicked," Tim said in wonder.
Lex moved over, finally letting his hand go to look at Rexy by the lagoon. "That doesn't look too big," Lex commented.
"Rexy is only a few years old. She'll be twenty feet tall in another three or four years," Harry told her. "Mr Arnold, do you know what is going on?"
Mr Arnold reached for a cigarette and lit it. He took a long drag before replying, smoke coming out of his mouth. "Well, we aren't sure yet, but those ankylosaurs aren't the only ones with numbers that are off," he said. "Keep them in the compound for now."
"How many others?"
"We counted the six ankylosaurs you found, four young stegosaurus, one less dilophosaurus, almost double the compys and possible edomontosaurus nests," Marcy said.
"I am telling you I saw eggs in those nests," Trevor said.
"At least the tyrannosaurs and the raptors don't seem to be breeding," Mr Arnold said. "Go take them on that tour while we figure this out."
He didn't like feeling he was being treated as a child.
"How does the vision system work?" Lex asked, moving towards a screen with lines of code.
"It's rather ingenious. It uses twenty points on each dinosaur and comes up with a ninety-six percent match each time a scan is done. The issue is the system is supposed to learn when new dinosaurs are introduced or as they age," Trevor said.
"Trevor, get back to that code. I am not trying to be rude, Alexis, but we are a little busy right now," Mr Arnold told her.
Tim finally looked up from the computer monitor. "Did you say we can go see the baby dinosaurs?"
"Yeah. Just suit them up," Mr Arnold said to Harry, turning back to two controllers. "Call down to the Hydro plant control room. Tell Regy that I want him to get things ready to take over full backup. Once Nedry gets here, we'll ask where the code is. If he needs to shut down or cycle the main computers, I don't want to lose control of the fences."
Lex sidled over to him. "I'll have to ask grandpa to let me look at the code. What is really going on, though?"
Tim was already bouncing by the door. "Come on! I want to go see the dinosaurs."
Harry frowned. "I don't know. I think the dinosaurs are having babies. I want you and Tim to stick close to me."
She had no issues with that. "If you insist," she said in a joking tone, hoping to make him relax a little.
Harry let them out with his card and took them through a back corridor. "Dr Wu wants everyone that enters the lab to put on some protective overalls and gloves to keep the dinosaurs safe while hatching. Once they are a few days old, you can touch them without gloves."
Tim's eyes became saucers. "I can really touch them?"
"Charlotte does all the time. I don't see why you can't. You are Mr Hammond's grandkids," Harry told them.
"When did you see Charlotte?" Lex asked.
"She was here just before I went to Martha's Vineyard with you. I think Sir Lockwood was taking her back here next weekend. I talk to her every week or so," Harry replied. Now that she knew about Jurassic Park, he figured he didn't need to hide it anymore.
Lex liked Charlotte, even if she seemed a little pushy at times. They usually saw her a few times a year at functions for her grandpa.
Harry showed them into a room where he helped her and Tim get into white lab suits. "Wash your hands," Harry reminded Tim for the third time.
Once inside the lab, Tim ran over to the nearest stand holding a half dozen eggs. A woman looked up from a desk. "Hello, Harry," the woman said. "I take it these are Mr Hammonds grandkids?"
"Hello, Taylor. This is Alexis, my girlfriend," Harry said a little proudly. She felt herself preen on the inside. "And that is Tim. Mr Arnold said I could show them around."
"Yeah, we were told. Tim, is it?" When he turned to look at her, she said, "Those won't hatch for another week or two. We do have a few velociraptors hatching over there. Look, but don't touch. Your grandfather should be back soon. He likes to watch."
Lex felt Harry stiffen. "I thought we weren't hatching anymore raptors," Harry asked.
Taylor shrugged. "I just hatch and do my tests on what is ordered."
"Lex! You have to come see this," Tim said, standing next to an egg that had just made a cracking sound. Another technician was standing by the eggs, watching it. She looked curiously as a robotic arm reached into another of the nests and gently turned the egg. Watching it and realizing how much programming and finesse it would take to do that had her wide eyed. This place was amazing.
Harry walked over to Tim as she moved in closer to the arm. "How do you control this? I don't see a control panel," Lex asked to the woman.
She looked up. "It's automated. I don't know how it works."
"Really? How?" she asked.
Someone laughed from nearby. "I bring you here to watch the dinosaurs and you are more interested in the robotic arm?"
Lex smiled. "Hi, grandpa. How does it work? That's advanced programming for it to work on its own. Where are the sensors? How do you control how tightly it grabs the eggs?"
Her grandfather chuckled this time, shaking his head. "Hello, Alexis. I'll have you talk with Ray and his staff later."
"Grandpa! The head is coming out!" Tim called out excitedly.
Her grandpa put a hand on her arm as he passed. "Come enjoy the dinosaurs. You will have lots of time later to see how we did everything else."
She looked at the robotic arm again. Then she followed to take up at Harry's side.
"Oh, look at her. Isn't she beautiful, Tim?"
"I want one," Tim said as grandpa let him help clear a bit of the egg away.
She looked at Harry, who was looking at the little dinosaur. "You don't want one of those, Timmy."
"Oh, ease up. These little raptors are harmless at this age," her grandfather said. "You see these markings on the head and neck, they are unique to each raptor."
"Wicked," Tim replied, gently holding the raptor.
"I like to be at every hatching on the island. Come over here, Alexis. You can touch her," her grandfather said.
Seeing the way Harry looked at the little dinosaur, she felt a little apprehensive. "Is there another I can touch?"
"We have a clutch of brachiosaurs that should hatch tomorrow," the technician told them.
"I'll come back tomorrow. What else is in this place?" she asked Harry.
"I can show you if you are done," Harry told her.
"I want to stay," Tim told them.
"I've got Timothy if you want. Dinner is at six and don't go outside the compound for now," her grandfather told them.
Harry nodded.
-oOo-
Dinner that night...
Lex sat next to Harry down the end of the long table. With so many people around, they were in the restaurant tonight, with a few tables put together to make a long one.
Tim was talking excitedly with his mother and Sirius about the dinosaurs while Grant and Sattler were talking with Mr Hammond and Genaro. They seemed to be deep in conversation about the safety of the park.
"So, it's Harry, right?" Dr Malcolm put to him.
"Yes, sir," Harry replied.
"What is your real opinion about this whole place? You are one of the only ones to have reservations," Dr Malcolm said.
Harry shrugged. "I wouldn't say reservations. Where I grew up there were many dangerous animals with less control than Jurassic Park, but people lived alongside them. I won't say it's safe here. There have been some dangerous situations, but I don't see why we can't learn to live with the dinosaurs. I agree with Muldoon, we can't control them, and some of the dinosaurs are dangerous enough we should consider getting rid of them, but on the whole, this place is brilliant."
Dr Malcolm chuckled. "I think you are about the only reasonable person I have really met here. And you, Alexis?"
"You can call me Lex, please. I don't know yet. I've only seen the ankylosaurs so far and the velociraptor babies. They both seem a little scary. The ankylosaurs were as large as the jeep and trying to protect their babies. Harry doesn't much like the velociraptors. Maybe after I see more tomorrow, I can let you know," Lex told the man.
Dr Malcolm chuckled again. "Children with more sense than most of the grownups here. This is Chaos theory in action. And what would you do to make this place safe?"
Harry shook his head. "Jurassic Park will never be safe, but that's part of the fun. Did you see the Tyrannosaurus Rex?"
"That's a really big one, right?" Dr Malcom asked.
Harry laughed this time. "Depends on which one you are talking about. Romilda is big. She stands about twenty feet tall, weighs about five tons and has a mouth full of teeth about six inches long. You want to talk about chaos, you should see what it looks like when she tears after a goat or cow. Until that point, though, you may never know she is there."
"Harry, how can such a big animal not be seen?" Lex asked.
"Well, that is where the scientists are wrong. The Tyrannosaurs aren't lumbering giants, or scavengers. They don't run at thirty miles an hour. What a tyrannosaur is, is a hunter. Romilda may be large, she may make a ruckus, but when she doesn't want to be seen, or she wants to be stealthy, it is very hard to see her," Harry responded.
By now, most of the table was looking at him. Dr Malcolm raised an eyebrow. "What is your point? This sounds different from what you were saying earlier."
"Not at all. We just need to understand all the dinosaurs to be able to keep them happy in their cages. Romilda is in a large cage. By allowing her to hunt with free ranging food, she is happy where she is. In her home, as much as she pretends to not like the young Rexy, they get along and share some of the space. It shows that Tyrannosaurs are somewhat social. We aren't controlling her. I'm sure if she really wanted to get out, she could, but she is content. That is the safety we have. Keeping her in is the job of Mr Arnold, Muldoon and the veterinarians. We must put our faith in them and find ways to keep the dinosaurs happy. I don't know if that is chaos theory, but it is the way I see things," Harry told him.
Dr Malcolm just looked at him.
"Did you understand that?" Dr Grant asked to Dr Sattler.
Sirius just shook his head. "You are too in love with these damned things."
"That is twice now this boy has said we don't have control? I told you children shouldn't be here," Mr Genaro told Hammond.
Dr Malcolm was bobbin his finger up and down as he regarded Harry. "How is it you have turned what I have been saying on its head? John and Donald want to control them. Muldoon acts as though he is a game warden out on safari, and you tell me that the way to keep the dinosaurs in their cages is to make them happy? What does that have to do with control? Chaos theory says that control is just an illusion. Any minor change could have a large impact on the system. Happiness is not a variable that can be calculated."
Harry just shrugged. "I just know what I see. The only dinosaurs I am truly afraid of on this island are the raptors. They are not happy where they are. The big girl, Fern, wants out. She wants to hunt with her pack and be top of the heap. That is one that is far from being in control."
"Are they really that bad?" Lex asked.
"I don't think we need any more of that talk. There is an excellent fish on the plates, and we have home-made ice cream and cakes for dessert. Everyone should just hold off on deciding if things are in control or not until tomorrow. You will all be going on our tour in the morning," Mr Hammond said, giving Harry a hard look.
Harry had been looked at worse before so just ignored Mr Hammond when Dr Malcolm said, "That is what I meant about chaos theory. There are always elements that do not want to be contained."
"Would you want to be stuck in a cage if you realized what it was?" Harry asked, knowing that feeling well. He did not miss his relatives or even Hogwarts now. He had recently realized that had been a cage as well.
Dr Malcolm leaned back, a self-satisfied smile on his face. "We all want our freedom."
Lex put a hand on his leg under the table. "Please don't upset grandpa tonight. My mother and him are already upset with each other."
Harry nodded, turning back to his plate. "I wasn't trying to upset him."
"I know. Can we go for a walk or something after this?" Lex asked.
Harry smiled. "Yeah."
-oOo-
A little later...
"Don't stay out too late and don't go outside the fences," Ms Murphy called after them.
"We'll stay inside the fence," Harry called to her.
"I'll be fine, mom!" Lex waved as Harry pulled her away. "Where are we going?"
Harry looked up. The moon would be up soon. Even with a half moon, they should be able to look down into the valley. "Do you want to look down into the valley?"
"Not really," Lex said next to him. They were both happy to get out of the dining hall where all the adults were still talking and drinking.
Harry raised his eyebrows. "Then what do you want to do?"
"I haven't seen you in two weeks... We have only kissed a few times. What do you want to do?" she put to him, giving him a look she hoped would make him want to take her somewhere to make-out.
Harry had a huge smile as he led her to the dimly lit stairs of the overlook at a run. His boots clanged on the metal grates as they went up. "Well, kissing you is nice," Harry replied.
"Just nice?" she challenged; her brow raised this time as they made it to the top.
"Hmmm. I may need a reminder. It may have been more than nice," Harry said, a cheeky smile on his face now.
"Hmm," she said, folding her arms under her chest and drawing his eyes there for a moment. "A reminder?"
Harry chuckled, feeling the desire for her in him grow. He leaned against the railing. "Maybe some practice?" Harry put to her.
She took a shuffling step closer, her eyelids dropping a little and mouth in a half pout. "Practice might be nice."
"I think practice is a good thing." Harry reached out. She didn't resist when he put his hands on her elbows and pulled her against him.
"What if I don't want too?" she asked, easily moving to him, her face uplifted and looking ready for Harry to kiss her.
"I could convince you," he stated, slowly bending over to move his lips near hers.
"I might need convincing. I think I'm more than nice," she said.
Harry took in a breath of her smell as his lips slowly made contact. Lex pushed up on her toes to meet him. It was a sweet kiss. Her lips moved gently against his as she pressed herself into him. Harry moved his hands to her hips. Before her tongue even flicked out of her mouth, Harry was already rock hard against her. Lex unfolded her arms and ran her hand to his sides and them up to glance over his chest. She couldn't do more with how her chest was pressed against him.
It still brought a moan to his lips as he deepened the kiss, his tongue invading her mouth this time. It wasn't the desperate kiss they had at the helicopter. This was deeper. Needier.
Harry ran his hands up her side and she just opened her mouth, a deep moan leaving her throat as his hands caressed the side of her chest.
Lex pulled her head back. "Just nice?" she whispered. She shifted in a way that allowed Harry to run his hands over her shirt, enjoying the soft swells below it and the way her eyes shone her desire. It had him pressing hard against his pants, and against her body pressing against him.
He shrugged. "Just nice."
Her hands wandered down and landed on his arse. "It better be more than just nice if you want to keep touching me... ahhhhhhh," she let out in a contented sigh as he pushed his hands between them to rub her nipples through her shirt and bra.
"Nice is really good," he said, dipping his head to kiss her. She grabbed his arse, pulling him in as close as she could and started to attack his mouth.
It was a while later, his hands under her shirt, which was pushed all the way up, as he groaned. Her hand had started to stroke over his pants and were now at his belt. He was hoping she might go further when they heard the steps ring with feet on them. "Shite," Harry exclaimed.
Lex gave a small squeak. Knowing that anyone would be able to see what they had been up too, he reacted quickly. Lex pushed her shirt down, frantically trying to fix her unclasped bra. Harry reached for the cargo pocket on his pants. Pulling his invisibility cloak out, he pulled Lex to him, pressing his mouth to hers as she looked ready to scream. He twirled his arms, bringing the cloak around them. He just managed to get it over them as two people came up onto the overlook.
It was Muldoon and Benning. Harry stopped kissing her and motioned for her to be quiet.
"Are you sure no one is up here? I thought I heard something," Muldoon said, looking around. His eyes crossed over them a few times. The man sniffed, possibly smelling the light perfume Lex had on.
"No one is up here," Benning said.
There was a night call of a Brachiosaurus from the valley. It took another moment for Muldoon to settle. "What do you want, Benning?"
"I'm worried, Robert. We are not ready to have all these people here this weekend and I don't like that there are more dinosaurs in the park than there should be," Benning said.
Harry put a hand over Lex's mouth. In the light of the half moon and the dim lights of the platform, Harry could see her eyes go wide.
Muldoon moved to the railing. "You are sure that the Rexes, Dilo's and raptors are not breeding?"
"Timmons said it would be too early to know about the raptors. They take about two months to hatch and haven't been here long enough for a clutch to hatch. The small rex is still too young. I don't know about the Dilo's. We haven't caught anything on video yet," Benning said.
Muldoon nodded. "Hammond is determined to do this tour tomorrow. Harry will be with them, and I think I've convinced Sirius. Not sure they would be safer with anyone else on this island."
Bennings snorted. "You trust them that much? Potter is only sixteen. He's only a kid"
"I would trust him with my life. That 'kid', as you call him... he's seen real action and can read an animal better than anyone I have ever met. There is something about him that should scare most any dinosaur out there," Muldoon commented, indicating the mostly sleeping dinosaurs in the valley.
"I still don't trust him. I still don't think that him and Black aren't some spies," Benning countered.
Muldoon chuckled. "Harry has fallen in love with those beauties. He's no more a spy than I am. Sirius may not care for it here, but he would do anything for that boy. No. He isn't a spy. He's a man looking for his place in this world. Let him go and explore. He'll always come back here if Harry is here."
The two men were quiet for a short bit. "I've rarely heard you so sure of people."
"I've hunted just about everything out there that can hunt you. I've fought in wars. I can tell a man that will crack or that is a coward. If you really want to look at anyone, I'm not sure how much I trust Nedry or Wu. They are both hiding something, and Lockwood and Hammond are too blind to see it," Muldoon answered the unasked question.
"Maybe. You will be ready in case anything goes wrong tomorrow? Nedry says most of the new programming is downloaded now and he needs to reset the main frames," Benning said.
"You said that is scheduled to start at two tomorrow?" Muldoon queried.
"Yeah. Everyone should be back by then and we are curtailing all activities in the afternoon. Nedry and his associate are going to handle the changes between here and the backup control centre," Benning confirmed.
Muldoon nodded. "I want permission for live ammo. If any of the dinos escape, I want to do what I need too."
Benning frowned. Lex shifted.
Benning answered after a few. "I will ask Hammond again. We can't afford to lose any of the current adult stock. We have nothing to replace them for another year or two."
"I won't let anyone else die if I can help it. I have come to like living here," Muldoon commented.
"You've come to love those beasts and that kid. I'll see what I can do," Benning said.
They both left after a few. When Harry was sure they were walking away, he took his hand off her mouth.
"What the hell was that about? And what is this thing over us?" Lex demanded.
Harry took the invisibility cloak off them. "This is an invisibility cloak. As for what that was... I'm not exactly sure, but I don't like it."
"Have people died here?" she asked.
"Yeah. There were two workers killed when a fence failed just before I went to Martha's Vineyard. I heard there were some others," Harry told her.
She looked a little scared, moving in and folding her arms between them. "Is it safe to be here?"
"Mostly. I will keep you safe," he promised.
She leaned her head against his shoulder. It was a few minutes before she reached for the silky feeling cloak. "This made us invisible?"
"Yeah," he said, his mind going over what they had just heard.
"It makes us completely invisible?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Nothing. It might be fun to use again. I think I need to go talk with my mom or grandpa," she told him.
Harry had a small smile come to his face. "We can use it again. Come on, I'll bring you back to your grandpa's bungalow."
-oOo-
Next Chapter: There be dinosaurs! The tour… will everything go well?