They came out of the azhdarchid enclosure onto a hill near a human-built structure. It was dark now, and it wasn’t until they piled in the door that Nile recognised it as the raptor house. They’d crossed the headwater of the creek and come nearly in a circle. She collapsed into one of the chairs.
It was eerily quiet. Andy went immediately out into the enclosure, and came back five minutes later with her cheeks wet. “They came here first. Those fuckers. That was just to get back at us.”
“Are any –” Quỳnh started to say, taking her wife by the forearms.
Andy shook her head. “I don’t know. They might be hiding. I don’t know.”
They leaned into each other. Nile felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up at Joe.
“You alright?” he asked quietly. “Not the field trip I told you it was going to be.”
She nodded. “All good. Or as good as any of us are. And no way in hell you could have known this was going to happen.”
He squeezed her shoulder, and went to inspect Nicky’s bandage. “Andy, is there a proper first aid kit here?”
“I’ll get it.” Quỳnh stepped back, and went to the cupboard under the sink.
“It’s fine,” Nicky said.
“Uh-huh.” Joe took the first-aid kit off Quỳnh. “At least let me put a clean bandage on, okay?”
Nicky made a sort of resigned gesture with his good hand. Nile bit her lip not smiling.
“Power’s still not back on,” Quỳnh said, side-eyeing Booker. “I thought that was being fixed.”
“Ah, about that.” Booker scratched the back of his neck. He’d been very quiet, the whole way out of the enclosure. Andy whirled on him, laser-focused.
“About that, Book? You have something you want to share with the class?”
He raised his hands, which he hadn’t done when he’d had guns pointed at him. “I want to make it clear, Merrick’s still paranoid, I have not been talking to his competitors – ”
“I hear a but coming.” Andy folded her arms.
“It’s a long story. The good news is, we can definitely get off the island tomorrow.”
“I think we’ve all got time,” Joe said, dryly. Nicky was staring at Booker very intently. Nile would not want to be on the receiving end of that stare. She felt sorry for Nicky’s students.
“I…” Booker let out a long breath. “I’ve been talking to someone in the CIA.”
“The CIA?” almost everybody in the room said in bewildered unison, with notes of fresh outrage from Andy, distaste from Quỳnh, and very careful neutrality from Joe. Nicky sounded almost thoughtful. Nile wasn’t sure how she sounded. She was sure she had not been expecting that one.
“This is all…a lot, right?” Booker waved a hand wide, apparently meaning to encompass the entire island. “The cloning facility, the security, all of it. They thought it might be bioweapon production. They didn’t believe me until I got them photographs, and they still didn’t really believe me, so they’re meant to be coming tomorrow. The power didn’t go down by accident. I took it down, so they could land at the second dock. Keane isn’t technologically inept enough for me to just route around the cameras or anything like that. And it would have been perfectly fine, if Merrick hadn’t invited some random scientists to visit for the weekend because of having the Board on his back and then lost his goddamned mind.”
Andy collapsed back against the wall, hand over her face. “You fucking lied to me, Book. You said it was your family.”
Booker shrugged. “That wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t – everything.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, Andy.”
“The fucking CIA,” Joe muttered. “Wonderful.”
“What have you got against them?”
“All of post-World War II geopolitics, but I can be more specific.”
“Were you doing it for money?” Nicky asked. “Or something else?”
Booker hesitated. “It’s not – I didn’t know it wasn’t bioweapons, when I got hired. Or that the whole thing wasn’t a cover, somehow.”
“He did it for the money,” Quỳnh said authoritatively. “But maybe not entirely for the money.”
Booker scowled in her direction, but didn’t say anything.
Nile shook her head, and stepped outside. It was full dark, and a new moon; she couldn’t see shit. If she listened, very carefully, she could hear noises in the distance that might be dinosaurs, or might just be birds.
She couldn’t hear anything from the raptor enclosure. That was, weirdly, the thing that got to her. They’d been so amazing, beautiful even, and Andy was so proud of them. A genuine, tiny miracle, somehow more real than the sauropods, or even the azhdarchids. Whether they should have been brought back, or could be cared for, or were even anything like their relatives seventy million years and more gone…they were alive now. Had been alive. Merrick had chosen to build all of this to make them, and then had let them be killed.
She felt her eyes welling up, and pushed the heel of her hand against them, one after the other, hard. Breathed in. Breathed out.
“I want to set watches,” she said, stepping back inside. “Isn’t this the most obvious place for us to be?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. We doubled back.” Andy sounded exhausted. “But watches sounds sensible.”
“I’ll go first,” said Joe, standing up. “Nile, get some sleep.”
“I was going to go first.”
“Get some sleep,” he said again, kindly, and Nile meant to stay awake for a little while – to eat something, at least – but found her eyes closing as soon as she lowered herself to sit on the hard linoleum floor.
FILL: Nicky/Joe, Jurassic Park AU (7/?)
It was eerily quiet. Andy went immediately out into the enclosure, and came back five minutes later with her cheeks wet. “They came here first. Those fuckers. That was just to get back at us.”
“Are any –” Quỳnh started to say, taking her wife by the forearms.
Andy shook her head. “I don’t know. They might be hiding. I don’t know.”
They leaned into each other. Nile felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up at Joe.
“You alright?” he asked quietly. “Not the field trip I told you it was going to be.”
She nodded. “All good. Or as good as any of us are. And no way in hell you could have known this was going to happen.”
He squeezed her shoulder, and went to inspect Nicky’s bandage. “Andy, is there a proper first aid kit here?”
“I’ll get it.” Quỳnh stepped back, and went to the cupboard under the sink.
“It’s fine,” Nicky said.
“Uh-huh.” Joe took the first-aid kit off Quỳnh. “At least let me put a clean bandage on, okay?”
Nicky made a sort of resigned gesture with his good hand. Nile bit her lip not smiling.
“Power’s still not back on,” Quỳnh said, side-eyeing Booker. “I thought that was being fixed.”
“Ah, about that.” Booker scratched the back of his neck. He’d been very quiet, the whole way out of the enclosure. Andy whirled on him, laser-focused.
“About that, Book? You have something you want to share with the class?”
He raised his hands, which he hadn’t done when he’d had guns pointed at him. “I want to make it clear, Merrick’s still paranoid, I have not been talking to his competitors – ”
“I hear a but coming.” Andy folded her arms.
“It’s a long story. The good news is, we can definitely get off the island tomorrow.”
“I think we’ve all got time,” Joe said, dryly. Nicky was staring at Booker very intently. Nile would not want to be on the receiving end of that stare. She felt sorry for Nicky’s students.
“I…” Booker let out a long breath. “I’ve been talking to someone in the CIA.”
“The CIA?” almost everybody in the room said in bewildered unison, with notes of fresh outrage from Andy, distaste from Quỳnh, and very careful neutrality from Joe. Nicky sounded almost thoughtful. Nile wasn’t sure how she sounded. She was sure she had not been expecting that one.
“This is all…a lot, right?” Booker waved a hand wide, apparently meaning to encompass the entire island. “The cloning facility, the security, all of it. They thought it might be bioweapon production. They didn’t believe me until I got them photographs, and they still didn’t really believe me, so they’re meant to be coming tomorrow. The power didn’t go down by accident. I took it down, so they could land at the second dock. Keane isn’t technologically inept enough for me to just route around the cameras or anything like that. And it would have been perfectly fine, if Merrick hadn’t invited some random scientists to visit for the weekend because of having the Board on his back and then lost his goddamned mind.”
Andy collapsed back against the wall, hand over her face. “You fucking lied to me, Book. You said it was your family.”
Booker shrugged. “That wasn’t a lie. It just wasn’t – everything.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, Andy.”
“The fucking CIA,” Joe muttered. “Wonderful.”
“What have you got against them?”
“All of post-World War II geopolitics, but I can be more specific.”
“Were you doing it for money?” Nicky asked. “Or something else?”
Booker hesitated. “It’s not – I didn’t know it wasn’t bioweapons, when I got hired. Or that the whole thing wasn’t a cover, somehow.”
“He did it for the money,” Quỳnh said authoritatively. “But maybe not entirely for the money.”
Booker scowled in her direction, but didn’t say anything.
Nile shook her head, and stepped outside. It was full dark, and a new moon; she couldn’t see shit. If she listened, very carefully, she could hear noises in the distance that might be dinosaurs, or might just be birds.
She couldn’t hear anything from the raptor enclosure. That was, weirdly, the thing that got to her. They’d been so amazing, beautiful even, and Andy was so proud of them. A genuine, tiny miracle, somehow more real than the sauropods, or even the azhdarchids. Whether they should have been brought back, or could be cared for, or were even anything like their relatives seventy million years and more gone…they were alive now. Had been alive. Merrick had chosen to build all of this to make them, and then had let them be killed.
She felt her eyes welling up, and pushed the heel of her hand against them, one after the other, hard. Breathed in. Breathed out.
“I want to set watches,” she said, stepping back inside. “Isn’t this the most obvious place for us to be?”
“Maybe. I don’t know. We doubled back.” Andy sounded exhausted. “But watches sounds sensible.”
“I’ll go first,” said Joe, standing up. “Nile, get some sleep.”
“I was going to go first.”
“Get some sleep,” he said again, kindly, and Nile meant to stay awake for a little while – to eat something, at least – but found her eyes closing as soon as she lowered herself to sit on the hard linoleum floor.