Chapter Text
When Cassandra and Tobias Kiramman began expanding their empires of hotel chains and amusement centres, a dinosaur park was certainly not at the top of their list.
They’d started off small in their property acquisitions, thanks to the not-so-small fortune Cassandra had inherited when her mother unfortunately passed away. Before that, Tobias had been the leading attending surgeon at Piltover General Hospital, with the only piece of property he owned being the small studio apartment he rented during his undergraduate studies and eventually bought to carry on the renting cycle to other students.
Twenty-five years, two children (one biological, one unofficially adopted), thousands of board meetings and an unholy amount of paperwork later, Kiramman Industries wasn’t just a fancy title at the top of every other building in the capital of Piltover: it was a household name. And when the news broke that the company had bought a small island off the coast of Ionia and would be building a state-of-the-art research facility and prehistoric zoo on the land, well, Kiramman Industries was soon known in the entirety of Runeterra.
The foundations of the island were built on the knowledge of the Kirammans’ two children: Jayce Talis and Caitlyn Kiramman. Jayce was the eldest of the two, and had been sponsored throughout his studies by the family in all ways possible: wealth, fame, popularity. If he needed a space to work in the morning, Cassandra had kitted out a vacant office block by the afternoon. If he needed money for textbooks, there would be enough in his bank balance to buy an entire library by the next day. The Kirammans cared for Jayce like he was one of their own, and in return, he worked tirelessly for them and their enterprises.
Which was why it came as a shock to both Tobias and Cassandra when he announced he’d be majoring in palaeontology at the University of Piltover. Both expected him to pick something more beneficial, more “useful”, like engineering or chemistry. But when he showed them both his research on pulling genomes out of newly-discovered amber crystals, with the help of his lab partner Viktor Lenkov, Cassandra didn’t see dinosaurs or degrees or peer-reviewed studies.
She saw dollar signs, and lots of them.
Caitlyn Kiramman, on the other hand, had made it very clear from a young age that she had no interest in following in the family’s footsteps. Her goal right from when she gained consciousness was simple: go to law school, become an Enforcer, and be the change she wanted to see in society.
Just like every other plan she’d made her entire life, Cassandra had stamped it out before any of it had the opportunity to come into fruition. As soon as she graduated summa cum laude from Piltover Law School, Caitlyn was appointed Chief Operations Officer of Kiramman Industries, with little to no say in the matter.
And her first industrial assignment? With no managerial experience, a fresh-faced graduate who’d only known silver spoons and cotton wool her whole life?
Overseeing operations and functions in and out of her family’s latest venture, Jurassic Park.
She didn’t even like dinosaurs.
The conversation was abrupt, clean-cut, sharp and precise just like every other aspect of her mother’s interactions.
It was a standard family breakfast. Tobias, sat at the head of the table flicking through the newspaper with a dull bowl of porridge before him, whilst her mother fussed over which milk to use in her coffee and while Caitlyn checked her diary for the day.
“I’ll be at the hotel on Loan Street today,” the youngest Kiramman stated in the open. “There’s been some complaints over the quality of towels being used. I’m going to see if we need to get a new supplier.”
Cassandra set her saucer down with a light clatter. “No, you’re not,” she replied. An order, not a discussion.
“Why not?”
“Because,” her mother continued, finally settling on oat milk and pouring the creamy liquid into her dark coffee, “we need more boots on the ground at JP. We’re sending you over.”
JP. Because saying Jurassic Park out loud would just be too much effort.
Caitlyn’s hand, prised around the second slice of her avocado toast, dropped onto the tablecloth. “Why the bloody Hell do I have to go over there?” she snapped.
“Language, Caitlyn!” Cassandra scolded. She took a long sip of her coffee.
“Listen to your mother, dear,” Tobias drawled uselessly. There was no doubt in Caitlyn’s mind that he’d zoned out of the conversation entirely.
“Why me?” she pleaded. “Why not- why not Jayce? He makes all the- the things in his lab, surely it’s his domain.”
“Jayce is over there. He’s been heading up the new asset project. The one you helped hire for, remember?” Cassandra tapped a file by her arm and slid it across the table for Caitlyn to look at.
She picked up the file carefully like it might turn around and bite her. Flicking open to the first page, Caitlyn stared down at the staff headshot looking back at her.
Of course. Caitlyn recognised the face now. As part of her role as COO, Caitlyn insisted on overseeing the hiring process for all individuals onto the island; from the cleaners all the way up to chief scientists. Any of the technical resumes she normally handed off to Jayce or Viktor, but the rest were entirely in her ballpark.
“She’s the lead wrangler on the project,” Cassandra offered, pointing to the employee file. “She’ll be your point of contact your entire time on the island. The investors want to know how far along we’ve progressed and when the assets will be ready.”
Caitlyn had jumped at the opportunity to hire this individual in particular. There was just something about her, a gravitational pull she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Maybe it was the wild, pink-red hair, or tiny scars littering her complexion, or the army background, or the piercing grey eyes Cait would’ve loved to see-
“I’ve never even been to the island,” she said bluntly, snapping her train of thought away from whatever dark and dirty place it definitely shouldn’t have been going at the dinner table.
“That’s sorted. You’ll be met on the island by one of the PAs. Macey- Maya- M-“
“Maddie,” the youngest Kiramman corrected. “Maddie Nolen. Yes, I remember her.”
That must’ve been one of the CVs she picked up during her bi-weekly bottle of wine and eeny-meeny-miney-moe hiring sessions. Oh well.
“Yes, Miss Nolen,” Cassandra said coolly. “She’ll meet you at the staff drop-off point and take you to the asset enclosure, then pick you up when you need it. Apart from that, you’ll be spending your days with the lead wrangler.”
With a sigh, Caitlyn let the employee file drop down onto the table, jutting up from her seat and brushing toast crumbs from her blouse. “I best get packed, then.”
Her mother smiled sweetly. “No need; your bags are already in the car.”
That told Caitlyn everything she needed to know.
***
Caitlyn had never been a nervous flyer. It felt as though she’d spent half of her life in the air, zipping from city to city in business class, either with her parents or solo, for work meetings or pending deadlines or another charity gala her mother insisted on her attending.
However, flying in the rear of a noisy helicopter as it barrelled over the ocean was an entirely different kettle of fish. She stared out at the sea below, clutching her sick bag and thinking of anything but throwing up right now, debating every single life choice that had led her up to here.
“How much longer?” she shouted over the sound of the rotary blades. Even with the in-flight headsets, there was no way of holding a conversation without screaming.
“Nearly there, ma’am!” the pilot announced from the front seat. Caitlyn sighed again, holding her vomit back a little tighter, and glanced out of the window just as the island came into view.
Caitlyn had seen pictures, of course. Mainly from promotional content but a lot of photos from when construction had just started, and the different phases throughout. But seeing it in person, she didn’t know what she was in for.
Birds ripped past the helicopter towards giant double doors right at the front of the island, where a single-file monorail was already beginning to ferry visitors in for the day. Rich emerald foliage spilled out onto the tracks, ferns and shrubs reaching for the carriages effortlessly. Two words, bold and simple yet effective, were embossed in yellow and red letters at the top of the gates, backed in stone:
JURASSIC PARK
The helicopter flew over the gates and broke out into the main park area. Thousands of visitors, small dots in the distance, were already milling about, slipping into colourfully labelled gift shops and fast-food joints and other amenities. Announcements over the speakers dotted across the walkways shrieked through the park. A ring of mountains lined the various buildings, small lamps and maintenance huts dotted against their surface.
Their journey then took them over a large man-made lake of sorts, where Caitlyn could just about make out a large silver body gliding through the water beneath the waves. Was that a dinosaur? Could dinosaurs swim? Since when was there aquatic fauna to worry about as well?
“Most of the dinos are at the north of the island,” the pilot explained, dropping his airspeed slightly as they approached a large pad marked with a yellow “H”. “It’s safer that way, theoretically. You got a couple of the less dangerous ones down here, like the herbivore petting zoo, mosasaur, compies, but the big boys are all held securely up by the mountains.”
A herbivore petting zoo? Who the bloody Hell signed that one off?
Caitlyn didn’t say anything else as the pilot continued. “We’ll be coming into land soon, so hold on tight, please don’t vomit either.”
The mention of vomit made Caitlyn’s stomach lurch. Instead, she grabbed onto the handle for dear life as the chopper began its descent, blowing plumes of dust and dirt around the ever-growing helipad.
When the helicopter finally shuddered to a halt, its rotorblades whining down and stopping, the pilot hopped out and slid the door open for Caitlyn. She nodded a thanks, grateful to put her feet back down onto solid stable earth again, when an incessant calling of her name interrupted her reunion with the earth.
“Miss Kiramman! Miss Kiramman! Caitlyn!”
Caitlyn looked up slowly. A short, overly-excited ginger young lady came bouncing over, teeth flashing a sickly-sweet grin as she stuck her hand out for Cait to shake. She had a tinge of an accent Caitlyn couldn’t quite put her finger on; Piltovian, for sure, but she didn’t know which dialect. “Maddie Nolen, I’m assuming?”
“Yes!” Maddie responded a little too enthusiastically. “That’s me. Someone’s coming to get your bags. I’ll be driving you up to the raptor enclosure, then back down again for tea, and after that wherever you want to go!”
Raptor enclosure.
Raptor.
Velociraptors.
Caitlyn’s stomach lurched again. She thought she’d be looking at a few triceratops, maybe even a new T-Rex paddock, something relatively safe.
But velociraptors? She didn’t need to be a dinosaur expert to know that spelt danger. Bloodthirsty, pack-hunting, viciously intelligent beasts, and Caitlyn was in charge of inspecting them.
“Well,” Maddie pried, flashing that grim smile one last time, “shall we?”
***
I probably should have checked this girl’s driving license before hiring her, Caitlyn thought to herself as Maddie drove them along dirt paths up to the enclosure. She’d swerved twice, nearly hit a small lizard that was casually laying in the road, and had most definitely scratched the paintwork of the nice expensive Jeeps her mother had bought for the staff to use across the island.
“Oopsies!” Maddie kept saying as she drove into another bump at stupid speed. Caitlyn just rolled her eyes and tucked herself into the passenger seat.
After ten minutes of a rollercoaster ride of a drive, the car finally burst into a clearing, trees opening up to circle a large grey concrete dome in the middle. Various utility trucks were parked around with uniformed workers scrabbling to unload supplies and caches from their rear. Maddie parked up, Caitlyn sighed in relief that she’d survived another treacherous journey, and they both hopped out.
Caitlyn saw the wrangler before the wrangler saw her. It wasn’t difficult; with hair as bright as hers, she stuck out against the dark green and dull grey of the jungle and buildings like a sore thumb. She was deep in conversation with one of the other workers when Caitlyn and Maddie arrived.
“Vi! Vi! Vi, you have a visitor!” Maddie began shouting across the clearing. The wrangler turned away from her conversation, patting the man on the shoulder before going to greet the pair, and Caitlyn took the opportunity to drink her in.
Her choice of outfit was most definitely something under the “Don’ts” section in the employee handbook. Her shirt, a plain tee with the Jurassic Park logo printed on the front, had been ripped at the sleeves to reveal thick, muscular biceps and dark grey tattoos running up the back. She wore black cargo trousers and sturdy combat boots, and was eyeing Caitlyn up and down in unwavering curiosity.
Cait was suddenly very self-conscious of the fact she was wearing an airy white blouse and smart dress trousers, and was extremely overdressed.
“Hey, Maddie,” the wrangler said airily, a half-smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she came over. She crossed her arms over her chest, muscles in her wrist bulging as she did so. “I thought corporate wasn’t due until next week. Must’ve got my days mixed up.”
“Oh, you are one for that, Vi,” Maddie swooned. The pair exchanged a glance and Maddie gestured to the other woman standing awkwardly. “Oh, Vi, this is-“
“Caitlyn Kiramman.” Caitlyn extended a hand for the wrangler to shake.
“Violet Vanderson,” Vi replied, taking her hand. “But you can call me Vi. I’m only Violet if it’s the government or when I’m in trouble. Thanks for getting her in one piece to me, Maddie.”
“Of course.” The pair exchanged another awkward glance, before Maddie jerked a nod and retreated back to the Jeep. Then, it was just Caitlyn and Vi standing amongst the hubbub of movement, Caitlyn watching the interaction with peaked curiosity.
“We haven’t slept together,” Vi blurted out.
The other woman tilted her head. “Pleased to meet you too, Miss Vanderson. And I wasn’t thinking that; she doesn’t seem to be your type.”
“Vi, please. And what would you know about my type?”
“Well, she’s not scaly and doesn’t have a tail, for starters. Anyway, I’m here to check the growth progress of our latest assets,” Caitlyn stated sharply. She pulled her sunglasses off of her face and slotted the arm down the front of her blouse.
“Assets,” Vi repeated, tasting the word carefully on her tongue. “You talk about them like they’re a hotel chain, Mrs Kiramman.”
“It’s just Miss,” the other woman corrected.
“Miss. Right. Whatever. Anyway, these aren’t nameless commodities, they’re living beings. It would do you city-slickers good to remember that sometimes.”
Caitlyn cringed at the comment of city-slicker. Regardless, she pressed on. “Are they in there?” she asked coolly, pointing a finger at the great enclosure before them.
“Yup,” Vi stated, tone bordering pride, as she strolled over to the iron bars at the exterior of the enclosure. It was a small cage with two doors, one small enough to fit a human through but the other large enough to fit something much bigger.
Something with a lot more teeth. Caitlyn grimaced a bit more.
There was a second set of doors on the other side of the cage, which actually led into the enclosure. Both sets had a flashing green light above them. As Vi opened the first door, pushing it open with a gruff and stepping aside to let the other woman in, the light on the doors leading into the enclosure turned red.
“Only one door can be open at a time,” Vi explained as if reading her mind, following Caitlyn’s eyeline. “For, you know, obvious reasons.”
“I see.” The door slid shut behind Caitlyn, making her jump, and the red light switched back to green. “And this was all custom-made?”
“Shouldn’t you know that?” Vi asked sarcastically, although there wasn’t any bite to her tone.
Caitlyn huffed air through her nose. “I’m just making conversation, Vi.”
“Right. Um, yeah. Had it built before the raptors went in. They had to get me involved in some of the steps, you know, how much space they needed, floor plans, patterns on the walls, things like that.”
“Ah.” Caitlyn glanced through the iron bars into the enclosure. Dense foliage sat at the centre, tall trees and luscious flora spilling out into the dusty ground. There was a small watering hole tucked into the corner, and she spotted a small crane with a fabric harness overhead. “You certainly know a lot about your… pets. Did you go to university?”
“College? Nope.” Vi blew air between her lips. “I worked with dogs in the army. You wouldn’t believe how similar they are to raptors. Maybe they’re genetic distant cousins, but you’d have to ask the labcoats about that.”
Caitlyn certainly had many more questions for the scientists now. Jayce better be ready to have his ear chewed off.
Suddenly, Vi whistled very lowly to the right of her, a flat steady note through pursed lips. There was a rustle of movement in the bushes ahead, and Caitlyn narrowed her eyes in curiosity.
Four figures darted out of the foliage, bodies low and slick like missiles. They formed a semi-circle around the cage, heads bowed, guttural clicking noises emitting from their throats. Caitlyn took a step back without meaning to.
She’d never been this close to a dinosaur before. She’d seen some of the herbivores when the park was first being built, at their temporary enclosures back in Piltover, herds of brachiosauri and stegosaurus marching through rolling pastures as they were being prepared for shipment.
Never this close. And never a carnivore, let alone four.
The first creature took a step forward. Green and brown-hued scales rippled over powerful thick muscles, twitching as it jerked its head around and scanned the new surroundings. A single dead amber eye settled straight on Caitlyn as if trying to stare straight through her. Its lips peeled back to reveal rows of razor sharp yellowed teeth and it made a few more clicking noises. Clawed hands flexed and retracted, and a single giant talon on the raptor’s foot tapped at the ground.
“And that’s Ringo, our beta.” Vi pointed to the velociraptor at the front of the pack.
“Ringo?” A quizzical eyebrow shot up on Caitlyn’s forehead. “I never would’ve taken you for a Beatles fan.”
“Beetles? Nah. Never liked bugs.” Vi cleared her throat and raised a hand to the scaly beast. “It’s because he has a ring around his eye, look.”
Caitlyn leant as close as her fight-and-flight reflexes could take her. It was true; there was a single circle of dark scale around the raptor’s piercing eye. “Who’s the alpha?” she asked cautiously.
“Me.” Vi nodded and whistled again. The beasts took a few steps backwards, craning their heads and necks lower. “Couldn’t make any of them the alpha. They get too territorial.”
“Right.” Caitlyn was amazed; the wrangler was talking about these prehistoric beasts like they were simple wolves at a zoo. Perhaps that’s what spending too much time around them did – you forgot they were vicious creatures from the past, and just saw them as regular animals. “And the breeding program? Where are the young?”
“The babies? Not here. If the mothers caught whiff of the scents and couldn’t get to their offspring they’d go crazy. They’re in the labs with the scientists, and once they’re old enough, we’ll release them into the pack.”
“I see.” Caitlyn hadn’t taken her eyes away from the velociraptors. They continued to stare, their cold dead gaze unwavering, chittering amongst themselves.
“They won’t attack unless I give the command. Well, we’re working towards that.” Vi had read Caitlyn’s mind.
She finally pried her eyes away, eyebrows furrowing as she looked over at the wrangler. “Why are you training them to attack on command?”
Vi just shrugged. “I thought you of all people would know that. Beats me. I do what I’m told, get my paycheck, and try not to think too hard.”
Nodding briskly, Caitlyn brushed herself down. “Can we go see the offspring now?”
“Uh, sure.” Vi rolled her shoulders out. “How are you with quadbikes?”