“Look, tell us,” Joe yelled over the storm. “Your boss made it sound like this was a media thing, he wanted some good quotes from scientists. He’s not acting like this is a media thing. So what is it?”
Andy was driving them – slowly, and with her hands clenching the steering wheel – back towards the main compound. The road down the hill was narrow, and unbarricaded on the cliff side, and very nearly a river. Nile clutched the car and reminded herself that she’d been on shittier roads, in the field.
“That’s what he told you?” Andy yelled back. “Christ. No, it’s not a media thing. The board made him bring in consultants. They’re worried the whole thing is going to fall over before we even get any tourists here. And they’re not wrong to worry – it’d be fine if we’d stuck with the little guys, but the big ones…they’re unpredictable, and they’re hard to keep healthy.”
“Okay,” Nile said from the back, raising her own voice, “but losing his shit is still a dumb way to get us to say what he wants.”
“He’s a control freak who thinks he’s God’s gift to biotech, that’s all.”
“I thought it was Dr Kozak who did the cloning,” said Joe.
“Yeah, but he hired her, so in his mind that means he gets the credit.”
Nile and Joe made disgusted noises at the same time. Andy barked a laugh that sounded like agreement.
They made it across the creek, which was foaming up almost to the boards of the small bridge, and Andy started to put her foot down as they came up the small rise – then slammed on the brakes. Nile was thrown hard against her seatbelt. Joe yelped in surprise. Nile opened her mouth to ask what had happened, and then saw there was someone right in front of them, barely visible through the rain: Dr Ngo, waving her arms frantically. She ran around the side of the car and hopped in the back seat, next to Nile.
“Andy!” she said. She was still wearing a lab coat, and absolutely drenched, her hair sticking to the sides of her face. “Andy, don’t take them back. It’s not safe.”
“What the fuck?” Andy turned, hooking an arm around the back of her seat. “Not safe?”
Dr Ngo nodded, gulping air. She must have run to get to them. “Dr diGenova – he got into an argument with Merrick, while you were up at the raptor house. Merrick was trying to get him to say how impressed he was, and then the power started to go down, the backup generators weren’t coming on, Booker was frantic…and diGenova said he wasn’t impressed, there was no way he could tell people this was a good idea, what he’d seen told him it wasn’t ethical, not how the animals were being treated or how the park was being run.”
“He said on the helicopter he was going to be hard to convince,” Joe said, his brow furrowed. “But if it was me, I would have saved that for when I was back on the mainland.”
“Me too,” agreed Dr Ngo, “but Merrick was pushing – you know how he is, Andy. Anyway, we don’t have time for this, what happened is he had Keane march Dr diGenova off to lock him up in a room somewhere, Keane was carrying a gun, and we can’t take these two back there when he’s acting like a tinpot dictator.”
“Last thing I told him was that we weren’t coming back,” Andy said, throwing the car into reverse. “So, let’s not.”
“What about diGenova?” Joe argued. “We’re just gonna leave him there?”
“Merrick’s not going to have him shot, but we gotta let him cool down!”
“Andy!” Dr Ngo yelled, and Nile saw why – the creek was up over the bridge now.
“Fuck!” The brakes went on hard again.
Something crackled; it was a walkie-talkie in Dr Ngo’s pocket. She picked it up. “This is Quỳnh, over.”
“Hey, it’s me,” someone said, clearly talking quietly. It was a man’s voice, and a French accent, but not someone Nile had been introduced to. “Did you get to them? Video shows the creek’s up. Over.”
“We just found that out, and I think we’re on the wrong side. What’s happening? Over.”
“They’ve locked the Italian guy up. If you come round the back I can do something with the cameras there, but the power is down to the whole park. You’re not going to be able to open the vehicle gates to go to any of the secondary sites now. And this weather isn’t clearing up anytime soon. Over.”
“Fuck,” Quỳnh said, over him. “Copy that, thanks, Booker.”
Nile let out a shaky laugh. “You know, when we got on the helicopter I thought it felt a bit like being kidnapped. I thought I was being paranoid.”
Joe’s jaw was set, the way it did when he was really angry. “Is there another way off this island?”
“There’s a boat three times a week,” Andy said. “But they don’t sail in storms. And you couldn’t fly safely in this, either.”
They all looked at each other.
Andy shook her head. “I’m not going to make you go anywhere, but I think somewhere in the main compound Merrick doesn’t know you are is the safest place for you to be. If this blows through, we can put you quietly on the boat tomorrow and let him…do whatever he’s going to do. Probably just assemble the staff so he can yell at us more efficiently. Seriously. He’s all bark.”
Nile saw Joe glance at her, then back at Andy. “All right.”
“Boss,” Nile said, leaning forward. “I can take care of myself. Maybe better than you can, if there’s idiots running around armed.”
“Doesn’t mean I have less of a responsibility for you,” Joe said.
“Better?” Dr Ngo - Quỳnh – raised her eyebrows.
“I was in the Marines,” Nile explained. “Before university.”
“Well, I hope that’s not going to be useful,” said Andy. She drove the car forward, and then sideways, parking it in the forest at the side of the road. “Okay. I hope you're all hide and seek champions. This is gonna be the grown-up version.”
FILL: Nicky/Joe, Jurassic Park AU (4/?)
Andy was driving them – slowly, and with her hands clenching the steering wheel – back towards the main compound. The road down the hill was narrow, and unbarricaded on the cliff side, and very nearly a river. Nile clutched the car and reminded herself that she’d been on shittier roads, in the field.
“That’s what he told you?” Andy yelled back. “Christ. No, it’s not a media thing. The board made him bring in consultants. They’re worried the whole thing is going to fall over before we even get any tourists here. And they’re not wrong to worry – it’d be fine if we’d stuck with the little guys, but the big ones…they’re unpredictable, and they’re hard to keep healthy.”
“Okay,” Nile said from the back, raising her own voice, “but losing his shit is still a dumb way to get us to say what he wants.”
“He’s a control freak who thinks he’s God’s gift to biotech, that’s all.”
“I thought it was Dr Kozak who did the cloning,” said Joe.
“Yeah, but he hired her, so in his mind that means he gets the credit.”
Nile and Joe made disgusted noises at the same time. Andy barked a laugh that sounded like agreement.
They made it across the creek, which was foaming up almost to the boards of the small bridge, and Andy started to put her foot down as they came up the small rise – then slammed on the brakes. Nile was thrown hard against her seatbelt. Joe yelped in surprise. Nile opened her mouth to ask what had happened, and then saw there was someone right in front of them, barely visible through the rain: Dr Ngo, waving her arms frantically. She ran around the side of the car and hopped in the back seat, next to Nile.
“Andy!” she said. She was still wearing a lab coat, and absolutely drenched, her hair sticking to the sides of her face. “Andy, don’t take them back. It’s not safe.”
“What the fuck?” Andy turned, hooking an arm around the back of her seat. “Not safe?”
Dr Ngo nodded, gulping air. She must have run to get to them. “Dr diGenova – he got into an argument with Merrick, while you were up at the raptor house. Merrick was trying to get him to say how impressed he was, and then the power started to go down, the backup generators weren’t coming on, Booker was frantic…and diGenova said he wasn’t impressed, there was no way he could tell people this was a good idea, what he’d seen told him it wasn’t ethical, not how the animals were being treated or how the park was being run.”
“He said on the helicopter he was going to be hard to convince,” Joe said, his brow furrowed. “But if it was me, I would have saved that for when I was back on the mainland.”
“Me too,” agreed Dr Ngo, “but Merrick was pushing – you know how he is, Andy. Anyway, we don’t have time for this, what happened is he had Keane march Dr diGenova off to lock him up in a room somewhere, Keane was carrying a gun, and we can’t take these two back there when he’s acting like a tinpot dictator.”
“Last thing I told him was that we weren’t coming back,” Andy said, throwing the car into reverse. “So, let’s not.”
“What about diGenova?” Joe argued. “We’re just gonna leave him there?”
“Merrick’s not going to have him shot, but we gotta let him cool down!”
“Andy!” Dr Ngo yelled, and Nile saw why – the creek was up over the bridge now.
“Fuck!” The brakes went on hard again.
Something crackled; it was a walkie-talkie in Dr Ngo’s pocket. She picked it up. “This is Quỳnh, over.”
“Hey, it’s me,” someone said, clearly talking quietly. It was a man’s voice, and a French accent, but not someone Nile had been introduced to. “Did you get to them? Video shows the creek’s up. Over.”
“We just found that out, and I think we’re on the wrong side. What’s happening? Over.”
“They’ve locked the Italian guy up. If you come round the back I can do something with the cameras there, but the power is down to the whole park. You’re not going to be able to open the vehicle gates to go to any of the secondary sites now. And this weather isn’t clearing up anytime soon. Over.”
“Fuck,” Quỳnh said, over him. “Copy that, thanks, Booker.”
Nile let out a shaky laugh. “You know, when we got on the helicopter I thought it felt a bit like being kidnapped. I thought I was being paranoid.”
Joe’s jaw was set, the way it did when he was really angry. “Is there another way off this island?”
“There’s a boat three times a week,” Andy said. “But they don’t sail in storms. And you couldn’t fly safely in this, either.”
They all looked at each other.
Andy shook her head. “I’m not going to make you go anywhere, but I think somewhere in the main compound Merrick doesn’t know you are is the safest place for you to be. If this blows through, we can put you quietly on the boat tomorrow and let him…do whatever he’s going to do. Probably just assemble the staff so he can yell at us more efficiently. Seriously. He’s all bark.”
Nile saw Joe glance at her, then back at Andy. “All right.”
“Boss,” Nile said, leaning forward. “I can take care of myself. Maybe better than you can, if there’s idiots running around armed.”
“Doesn’t mean I have less of a responsibility for you,” Joe said.
“Better?” Dr Ngo - Quỳnh – raised her eyebrows.
“I was in the Marines,” Nile explained. “Before university.”
“Well, I hope that’s not going to be useful,” said Andy. She drove the car forward, and then sideways, parking it in the forest at the side of the road. “Okay. I hope you're all hide and seek champions. This is gonna be the grown-up version.”
They got out of the car.