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They are also hilariously capable of killing people. As most non-domesticated animals are.

Adequate precautions being the responsibility of the buyer, as such is very much the case.

Now, what can I do for you?

Why not just deal in regular arms then? Profit margins are about the same at the high ends and I'm pretty sure the overheads aren't as massive.

Why compete in a crowded market when I can be a pioneer in a new one?

[She shakes her head.]

Besides, certain governments get...upset when you play in their pond - and quite frankly the return on a single adult dinosaur is actually far better than you'd expect.

[To say nothing of the fact that the clientele are...vastly superior to your average warlord.]

Heh. You know what, I'll give you that one. Can't knock an innovator.

[He rolls his shoulder. It blends well with his skin tone, but the entire arm beneath the short sleeve is an advanced lifelike prosthetic.]

Might caution one, though. Even if the earnings forecast on the trained lizards holds steady... and I'm still not sold on that - there's ducks at this end of the pond too. Ducks with guns they're liable to pull if their feathers get ruffled.

[As a member of said gun-toting flock, he can speak with some authority on the subject.]

[She smiles, briefly.]

The thing is, it's like a collection - one is never enough. They want a pair, or the next species, or a red one, or a child wants a Sinoceratops for their birthday...it goes on. As long as the product can keep flowing, people will buy.

And I assume you mean the sort of people who gave you that wonderful prosthetic - but ah, there's ways to deal with that, in time.

[He chuckles at that, acknowledging the point with a tilt of his head and a close-lipped smile.]

Them and the sorts they gave me this to deal with, yeah. Some of the ones in the know got a little spooked after that mess with the, whaddayacallit, Andoraptor? A little paranoia over Winter Soldiersaurus kicking 'em off the top of the food chain.

[There's also the part where he got contracted to do something about it, but why get into that now? They're having a nice talk.]

Indoraptor.

[A gentle correction, as she moves to a shelf, selecting a bottle of white wine. And, in so doing, gently palming an innocuous-looking part of a gold bracelet on her wrist. No reason not to be prepared, after all.]

Not the first nor the last time Doctor Henry Wu's experimental work becomes a problem - a lesson Masrani, Eli Mills and others have learned to their cost. You perfect the product before you sell it. But that's the problem with hybrids.

[She sighs with a slight smile, pouring out two glasses, offering one over.]

Which is why I avoid the business.

[And has had to deal with her own scientists who have...deviated from the party line, as it were.]

That's the one.

[He accepts the correction with an absent nod, his attention seemingly caught by the row of paintings lining one wall. One in particular, a tableaux of two dinosaurs locked in combat, draws a sideways grin out of him that's almost approving.]

Someone should've pulled the trigger on Wu years ago. He's Gerald Bull all over again - he went off the reservation, and then he got sloppy.

[Kane's dark eyebrows lift in mild surprise, but he graciously accepts the wine glass from her.]

Do you offer drinks to all your uninvited guests?

[She picks up a small remote from the table, clicking it to provide some background music. Beethoven, as it happens, one of his piano works. It is, after all, her space he's in. It's a quiet way of making a point. So is what she says next.]

Better to have properly used his talents. Wu's genius is unparalleled in human history, after all. But he never had the vision to make anything of them on his own. Always at the feet of others, that one.

Of course, too much the other way and...well. Suffice to say I have no room for that in my organization.

[An encounter with an albino Baryonyx had seen to that.]

And what was it Lady Montague said? 'Courtesy costs nothing.'

[Her turf, but not her home. A small but important distinction he'd been very deliberate in choosing. Kane tries not to break into where someone lives unless he's pretty sure he's going to kill them. It's not about making any particular point; he's just old-fashioned that way.

The corners of his mouth turn up a little in recognition as the music starts playing. Beethoven. Usually when he's treated to classical it's by pompous rich types trying to assert their superiority over him. But that's obviously not what this is.]

I don't know about Lady Montague, but the meanest old cuss I ever knew once told me politeness and a gun go a lot further than just politeness.

[He smiles pleasantly as he lifts the glass to his lips for a healthy sip.]

Your pet Wu, Sarr. He found that out the hard way, didn't he?

[The intrusion itself is hardly a new thing - and she travels enough that 'home' is a very...mobile, fluid concept to her. She seats herself casually, gesturing at him to do the same. She leans her head back, soaking in some of the music for a moment.]

Direct, but accurate for many things. Certainly Dr. Sarr believed in the latter, in his own way. But that is no match for cleverness and planning.

[Though the fact that this other man knows that means he is exceptionally well informed. Which underlines that he is, in fact, dangerous and worth taking seriously.]

Which he also discovered, albeit briefly.

[Mobility. They've got that in common, her and him, despite their very different upbringings. He takes his seat smoothly, with uncommon grace for a man of his size. Resting his massive arms, one natural and one artificial, on the thin armrests, he breathes in and allows the elegant melody to wash over him.]

That's half my job done, then. Thank you for the confirmation. He was being scouted by a target of mine, lab geek at Essex by the name of Dr. Karl Lykos, that's how he got on my radar.

[Not his usual practice, divulging that sort of information to someone that isn't his employer, but she did tell him the truth about Sarr. Fair's fair.]

And I think you've already guessed the other half, Ms. Santos.

A warning, at least. A quiet assassination if I proved...obstinate?

[She sipped at the wine, putting the glass aside and folding her hands.]

Nothing so gauche as a blatant threat.

Courtesy isn't a priority for my employer. Neither is discretion, for that matter.

[He shrugs, and the gesture is nonchalant, but his nose wrinkles slightly in a subtle tell of distaste.]

He believes in making examples.

[And she nods, just the tiniest bit.]

It might surprise you, given my line of work, but both are key parts of my business. It might be that you're in the wrong line of work.

Subtle is the very axiom of my business in fact.

[She pauses, tilting her head a moment, having already taken the precaution of pressing the call button she had palmed earlier.]

Would you like to see?