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He sighed, looking at the stack of paperwork on his desk. When he signed up to be the Raptors' handler, he never imagined there would be so much paperwork involved. Knowing Claire wanted it done immediately and not wanting a million emails, he grabbed a stack and began working on it.
He was halfway through when he was distracted by his girls barking and growling at someone. He groaned and forced himself to get up and deal with Hoskins. Along the way, he sent a message to Barry asking him to hurry back before he killed Hoskins. He’d been more pushy recently and nearly got one of his interns killed. He’d lodged a complaint against him, and so far, he’d been quiet for the last few weeks, until now.
“What are you doing here?”
He demanded, storming out of his office, hoping he could easily force him out. He looked around, surprised when he didn’t see anyone. His girls were still barking, and he tensed, turning around. It was too late, and he was grabbed. The knife on his belt was ripped away, and his military training kicked in. He fought back, ignoring his girls' barking. The man cursed, and he felt a shock go through his body. He cried out in pain and looked over to see his assailant holding a stun baton meant for the dinosaurs.
He tried to dodge, and the man pulled him closer, shocking him again. He struggled, feeling his back against the railing. The man smirked and threw him inside. His body hit the ground with a thud, and his head smashed into the ground, leaving him unconscious. Charlie and Delta rushed over to check on him while Blue and Echo tried to escape and attack the one responsible for hurting him. Blue was especially angry, her tail whipped side to side, and she almost managed to grab the man's sleeve and pull him closer. The man fell and slid backwards, his eyes wide with fear when he realized just how angry the raptors were and that there was a chance they could escape. He took off running back to his car and called Hoskins, telling him the job was done while speeding off.
Once they couldn’t hear the car anymore, Blue and Echo went to his side. They found Charlie and Delta protectively curled around him. Worried Blue nudged him and checked to make sure he was still breathing. All of them were relieved that he was still alive, but worried because he wasn’t saying anything and seemed to be asleep.
Having received Owen’s message, Barry got there thirty minutes later and expected to hear the two fighting like usual, along with the girls' familiar barks and growls as they backed their Alpha up and made their disdain for Hoskins known.
Instead, he found it eerily quiet. Looking at the raptor padlock, he noticed the girls weren’t there to greet him. Worried, he stepped inside and looked around, checking for any signs that they might have gotten loose. He hid a gun behind him even though he knew it wouldn’t do much if the girls decided to attack him.
Carefully looking into the padlock, he found the girls cuddled together asleep. He sighed in relief, feeling a wave of tension leave him, and he decided to visit Owen in his office. Blue must have realized he was there because she looked up, and that’s when he saw something that made his blood run cold. It was something out of his worst nightmares. Owen was lying on the ground, unmoving, while surrounded by a pack of Velociraptors.
“Owen!”
He shouted, grabbing his walkie to call security.
“Owen!”
He shouted again when he got no response. He couldn’t see most of him, and he shuddered, wondering if the girls had eaten him and how he’d gotten into their padlock in the first place.
The girls glanced at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation, and then they got up, letting him see Owen. He looked fine. There were no visible bite or scratch marks, which meant the girls didn’t turn him into a snack. If he didn’t know any better, he’d assume he was sleeping.
“Owen!”
He called again, getting no response. He glanced at the girls and was shocked to find them willingly going into their harnesses without being asked to by Owen. He reached up and pressed a button that would keep them inside, not that any of them made a move to break free.
He carefully opened the door and ran to Owen. Flipping him over, he checked for a pulse and was relieved to find him still alive.
“What happened to you?”
He muttered. If Owen survived this, he owed him a drink. He dragged him out of the raptor padlock and shut the door before letting the girls go. They came to the gate, all of them chirping worriedly as they tried to speak to him.
He grabbed a walkie and called for an ambulance. Reaching up, he felt a bump on Owens' head. He looked above him at the padlock and wondered how Owen could have fallen inside the padlock. Glancing at the girls, he didn’t think they did it; all of them seemed worried instead of guilty.
He felt a chill run through his spine as he wondered if someone had pushed Owen into the raptor padlock. He looked at the last message Owen sent him and decided Hoskins needed to be investigated. It wouldn’t surprise him if Hoskins tried to kill Owen, especially because Owen had just lodged a complaint against him due to his recklessness, which almost got one of their employees killed.
Before he could think too much about it, the ambulance appeared. The park's paramedics looked nervous and refused to enter the padlock. He was forced to carry Owen out, being careful to support his head and spine, not wanting to injure him further.
“Will you be coming with him?”
“Yes.”
He glanced back at the girls and found them watching. All four of them looked nervous. If he were Owen, he would have reassured them. All he could do was silently nod, promising to look after him as he got into the ambulance.