Before Jurassic World

Chapter 26

I left Owen's before sunrise so I could go back to my place for the first time in what felt like a week. I had to mentally prepare myself for what could turn out to be one really bad day, and still beat Simon into the office. A normal person would probably call to schedule an appointment if they needed to talk to the CEO of the company. I was anything but normal so I bypassed that step. Plus, I didn't want him to see me coming.

It was just before seven o'clock in the morning when I broke into Simon's office. Technically speaking, I didn't think picking the lock on his office door constituted breaking and entering, but a pesky little thing called the justice system disagreed with me. I wasn't really sure what time he normally arrived for work so I stretched out on his leather couch, cradling my pumpkin spice latte like a blanket, to wait him out.

About an hour later I heard Simon talking to his secretary in the hallway right before he walked through the door. He passed by without noticing me sprawled on his leather furniture. Simon's situational awareness really sucked. I sat up slowly finishing off my coffee as he puttered around his desk.

"Good morning," I called out to him. He jumped about three feet in the air grabbing his chest. It was really funny.

"My god Jo! You scared me half to death. What are you doing here so early?"

"I need to talk to you," I said, stating the obvious. I stood up and walked to his door, locking it. This was the type of conversation that needed no interruptions.

"What's wrong?" Simon asked alarmed.

I walked over taking a seat in one of the chairs facing his desk. Simon might not know it, but this wasn't going to be a conversation, it was going to be an interrogation. I needed to assess whether he had lied to me about anything regarding the raptors or the Indominus Rex. A person's body language, breathing, and even the way they structured their responses could be a tell as to the truth or deceit of their statement. I was trained to sniff out a lie with the efficiency of a bloodhound.

"I need to ask you some things and I want you to be honest with me," I told him slowly. "It won't be easy to hear and there are certain things I can't tell you, but what questions I can answer, I will."

He eyed me critically and I saw his persona change from Simon to the CEO of Masrani Global Corporation as he raised his guard. Whatever blows your skirt up man. I didn't care what kind of emotional armor he dawned as long as he didn't think he could lie to me. We could do this the easy way or the hard way, but we were going to do this.

"Your company intends to retrain the Velociraptor's instincts to serve human needs, correct?" I asked already knowing the answer. His eyes narrowed in on mine no doubt trying to figure out the source of my insider information. Good luck with that one.

"Yes, that is correct."

Good. So far one question and one truthful answer. I didn't have time for bullshit and apparently neither did Simon.

"Were you aware of InGen's intention to use that development for military purposes prior to me bringing it to your attention?" I was easing into it. I didn't want to go for the knock out punch right out of the gate.

"No," Simon answered leaning back in his char snapping his jaw shut. He was pissed. I could tell from his body language he was not a happy camper about being kept in the dark by his employees. I felt my nerves relax the slightest bit. It was still a shit situation, but at least Simon wasn't a lying, manipulative bastard. Yet.

"You do realize the probability of them ever being retrained enough to even be incorporated into the park is slim, and the notion they could be used effectively as a weapon is preposterous?" I said watching him closely.