Wrecked Intel (Immortal Outcasts®): An Immortal Ops® World Novel

by Mandy M. Roth

  None.

  Not happening.

  He thrashed and went at a large tiger shark who had come in too close to the child.

  The tiger wisely retreated but didn’t go far.

  No.

  It, along with countless others, circled the perimeter, stalking their prey. They didn’t seem to understand that if the finning crew didn’t get them, Cody would. In truth, they stood a better chance of survival with the finning ships than they did with Cody should they make a move to attack the child.

  Gathering as much control as he could, he pushed out with his mind, sending a signal to the marine life around him. No harm was to befall the child. Period. The signal was similar to how he could communicate to other men like him—other Outcasts. They had a shared mental pathway they’d all been taught to use.

  For now, he could only hope the very way he’d reach out to his brethren when they were in shifted form would reach the non-supernatural marine life. That his warning would be understood and respected. He didn’t want to take any of their lives if he could help it. Already the finning vessel had slaughtered so many sharks. Ending more wasn’t in Cody’s plan but he would if given no choice. He’d kill them all if it meant the little girl was safe.

  Cody heard shouting in a foreign language. Then the sounds of a motorboat reached him. The engine was small, meaning it didn’t belong to the fishing vessels. Deep down, he knew that whoever was coming would assist the child. That didn’t mean he was leaving her just yet.

  He circled under her, and she sank once more.

  This time, her eyes opened. Her hair lifted again, showing him the gash on the back of her neck once more. It was severe.

  Her tiny body twisted in the water, turning with the force of the current pushing around her. Her gaze locked on him. Still, no fear showed in her.

  She couldn’t have been more than nine or maybe even ten years old, and scarcely weighed anything.

  He expected fear to show in her dark brown eyes. Grown men would have been terrified given the circumstances. She was drowning, was injured, and a giant shark was next to her.

  That wasn’t the case.

  Curiosity was there…and a strange calmness.

  No signs of terror at all.

  Was she in shock?

  Maybe she was too young to fully grasp the danger she was in.

  He went toward her, his intent to push her to the surface for air again.

  Her tiny hand darted out—and she did the strangest of things when he was close enough.

  She ran her hand over his head, petting him as if he were a dog, not a nearly three-ton predator.

  As her fingers connected with his skin, the fierce need to protect her and keep her safe intensified to the point it was maddening. It became hard to hold on to anything close to his focus. The shark took hold of the momentary lapse and ripped away any small thread of control Cody had from him.

  He roared from within, fearing the shark’s nature would leave it harming the little girl.

  When the shark nudged her up to the surface before darting wide to circle and come at her again, he calmed slightly. It repeated the act several more times, each time pushing her with as much care as it could to the surface for air.

  The sound of the approaching small craft intensified.

  Cody went wide again, needing to tip sideways slightly to maintain a visual on the child, his intent to remain close to the girl until help arrived.

  He was almost to her again when something pierced his back, sending pain shooting through him. He’d been tagged once before, by well-meaning scientists, but it hadn’t felt like this. He’d barely felt anything when they’d done it. But the act had left him having to dig a tracker out of his back when he’d returned to human form.

  It had also given Wheeler one hell of a good laugh because Cody had needed the man’s assistance.

  Getting tagged was nothing like what he’d just felt.

  Nothing at all.

  In the next second, netting was under him, closing him in, yanking him toward the surface in the direction of the fishing vessel.

  He was hardly a small shark.

  His species alone was massive. Cody, being supernatural and not a normal shark, was even bigger than others.

  Lifting him out of the ocean in full shifted form wasn’t something that should have been possible with the ease in which it was occurring, yet that was exactly what was happening.

  He thrashed, trying to free himself, to no avail.

  As he broke the surface, he saw men leaning over the side of a vessel that was positioned near the fishing boats. He’d not noticed it before. The markings on the side weren’t ones he’d ever seen. The shark couldn’t make any sense of them, but Cody could. The logo read Donavon Dynamics Corp Research Vessel.

  Great. I’m getting tagged again. Never going to live this down.

  He waited for the men huddled near the rail of the ship to set about tagging and releasing him. The researchers in the past had always been very quick about taking their measurements, applying their equipment, and getting him back in the water. It was why he’d never shifted back into human form to get away.

  There was no need to reveal the secret that supernaturals were real.

  But there was a need now.

  The little girl required his assistance. He didn’t have time to play the dutiful part of the research shark for eggheads. They’d have to get their data elsewhere. He tried again to take control and shift, but the shark was stunned, its sensors off more than normal around large metal vessels.

  Something was wrong.

  Cody saw one of the men on the research vessel holding a small box. When he realized the box was emanating a sound wave that was interfering with his shark side, he took serious note of the men there, all watching him with nothing short of glee in their eyes. Not the excitement typically seen in biologists elated to be close to one of the biggest white sharks they’d ever seen. No. This was far different.

  Disturbing even.

  One of the men put his hand on a taller man’s shoulder, patting it as he did. “Well done, Jasper. Looks as if the witch was right. He would be summoned here with the right bait. Get him in the holding tank and be sure to begin administering the drugs to keep him from shifting back. The acoustic disruptor won’t keep him sedated long. See to it the vessels around us are paid to look the other way. And handle the small boat that came from the island.”

  “Yes, Helmuth,” said Jasper. “Can I watch when the nerds cut him open to see what’s inside? What makes him tick?”

  Helmuth’s gaze swept to Cody as the netting was brought up and over the deck. “I plan to keep him alive as long as possible. A dead wereshark is no good to me. He’ll give samples and what I need for centuries. Perfect.”

  Wereshark?

  They knew what he was?

  Reason said Cody should have been worried about himself, since it was clear he was in jeopardy and these men were no ordinary boatful of eggheads. That they were more than likely supernaturals themselves, and Cody was in a world of shit.

  But Cody’s only concern was for the little girl. He’d lost sight of her in the chaos.

  “David!” yelled a woman, her voice shrill, loaded with fear. It sounded as if it were coming from the direction he’d first heard the small craft approaching from. “Do you see her?”

  “Cut the engine!” shouted a male before Cody heard the distinct sound of a boat slicing through the water.

  Had help reached the little girl?

  Was she going to be okay?

  As he was lifted fully from the water, he realized he wasn’t going to be okay. In fact, he was about as far from okay as he could get.

  Chapter Three

  Present day, Savannah, Georgia…

  Gena Alexiadis looked over the data she’d logged from the Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVS) she and her team of researchers and scientists had taken to using to help document vital information about marine life, speci
fically sharks. While she loved everything to do with the ocean and its inhabitants, she was partial to sharks.

  More to the point, she had a soft spot specifically for Carcharodon carcharias, or in layman’s terms, the great white shark.

  Freediving with them was her favorite thing to do. There was nothing like being able to reach out and stroke one as it glided past her in the water. The sharks came back, again and again, rubbing against her hand, liking the feel of being touched. It probably had something to do with the fact the act of touching them helped to knock off the parasites that no doubt caused them discomfort, but still.

  Countless hours had been spent underwater, exploring, soaking in the sights and sounds around her in what felt like another world. An alien planet under the sea. A planet that felt like home.

  She could hold her breath a freakishly long time under water and was often told she swam like a fish—fast and with fluid ease. She loved the water, and getting to dive with sharks was simply the cherry on top. There was a certain peace to be found out in the ocean. And while she’d had it drilled into her head again and again that she should never dive alone, she always did. It was something she’d done since she was younger, and even then, it upset her parents.

  While she’d never recommend others go it alone, there was a certain tranquility found only when she was under the water by herself. Plus, she could be herself then. No need to hide the fact she could go almost thirty minutes without taking a breath. Maybe longer, but she’d never tried. It was bizarre enough, the fact she could last so long without coming up for air. Then there was the speed with which she could swim, both underwater and above. Phelps had nothing on her. Not that she’d advertised as much.

  Her parents had noticed the oddities when she was small and had stressed that she not discuss them outside of the family. She wasn’t the only one of her siblings who could do things termed outside the normal. All the things they could do were certainly strange and unheard of, but it wasn’t as if anyone was shooting fire out of their eyes or anything. They were simply stronger and faster than most others.

  Deep down, Gena knew there was more to the story. That was part of the reason she’d decided to take DNA samples and blood from herself and send it all through one of the labs used by the facility she worked for. That had been several weeks back. The results hadn’t come in yet, which was unusual. Normally the lab was speedy, but on this, they’d been moving at a snail’s pace. She’d even gone so far as to reach out asking about the status of the samples, only to be told a number of different and conflicting stories.

  They’d also been very curious as to the samples’ origins. Wisely, she’d only put Subject-X on the paperwork, and she had no intention of telling them more. If something was off, she didn’t want the company she worked for to know.

  “My luck, it will come back I’m part fish or something,” she said with a chuckle. “Area-51 thinking for sure.”

  Not that she believed in aliens or anything.

  No matter the reason the lab gave, the samples weren’t in yet, so she had nothing to work from. Only a hunch. And that hunch said she might be presenting markers that indicate a new step in human evolution. Then again, she was a scientist and tended to look for answers to everyday mysteries within the field of science.

  There was more to it all than being able to swim fast and hold her breath a long time, but Gena wasn’t sure she was ready to face it all fully, let alone acknowledge it out loud—even if just to herself.

  No.

  There was a certain satisfaction that came from not knowing or understanding. Even though such a thing went against her natural curiosity. For now, she’d wait on the results of her tests and continue to seek out time to free-dive with sharks.

  The stigma surrounding them still left many afraid to get in the water with them. The brave who did often did so in a cage rather than face-to-face. Not that she could blame them. Everything Hollywood showed of the great white was scary. Fear sold. Curious beasts with brains didn’t. It was easier to see them as mindless killers. Sold more tickets and got more ratings.

  To hell with what it did to the shark populations because fear led to the needless and senseless killing of the creatures.

  She teared up just thinking about it.

  She’d recently gotten her PhD in marine biology and was doing a privately funded postdoctoral fellowship with an amazing team of researchers specializing in shark conservation. It was the opportunity of a lifetime for her, and she was thankful for it each and every day.

  Gena intended to devote the rest of her days to the study and conservation of sharks—great whites on the forefront. Some might think that odd, but she didn’t care. She wanted her life to mean something. Wanted to leave a positive lasting mark on the earth long after she was gone. And shark conservation was a very important mission.

  She looked at the screen once more. “Good girl. What else can you tell me?”

  The data from the BRUVS had been coming in at a steady pace since the team had deployed the devices, and already the researchers had been able to analyze the preliminary findings. Each time additional information came in, it felt like Christmas to her and everyone else involved.

  Geeking out over data was just one of the reasons she loved being a scientist and had spent so much time and hard work in school. It was also part of the reason why she didn’t have much in the way of a social life outside of work.

  That, and no man had ever really appealed to her enough to want to go on a date. Of course, it had to be pointed out to her more than once that she was, in fact, being asked out at all. Those types of things tended to fly right by her.

  Romantically stunted.

  It’s what Clara, a childhood friend, often referred to her as.

  That summed her up nicely.

  She’d have taken offense but, in all honesty, the assessment was accurate.

  Case in point, she was here on her morning off to see what, if any, new data had come in. Sleep had been elusive at best for her as of late. When she was able to nod off, bizarre dreams came to her. The common theme had been dreaming of an incident that had happened when she was ten, but in the dream, she wasn’t a little girl. No. She was a fully grown woman.

  That wasn’t all that kept changing in the dreams.

  They managed to get X-rated very quickly.

  Her upper chest heated just thinking of it all.

  “You’re still at it?” asked Dr. Bonnie Fowler, the senior scientist and director of research at the facility, as she entered the laboratory. Her dark curly hair was pulled up into a thick ponytail, which was pulled through the back of a baseball cap. She was dressed in clothing that had the logo of their primary benefactor on it. Their research facility had been named after the corporation for the longest time as well, but had recently undergone a name change. But everyone who knew them still referred to them as Donavon Dynamics Marine Research Institute.

  Bonnie began setting down everything that she’d brought in with her, which was two backpacks, a messenger bag, and a laptop. The woman was always weighted down with countless items.

  Gena had once tried to lend a hand and ease the load, only to realize Bonnie had a system and messing with it threw Bonnie into a tailspin. So now Gena only helped when she was asked, which was very rare.

  Bonnie’s light brown skin had a tinge of pink to it.

  “You didn’t use the sunscreen I got you, did you?” asked Gena with a shake of her head.

  “I did. I just forgot to put it everywhere. I got distracted after I did my shoulders and one leg.” The woman stepped out from behind the partial wall that was the same height as the desk, with a small ledge on it. The thing was hardly functional and screamed old, but it was there all the same.

  As Bonnie stood there, Gena saw how unevenly burned her friend had gotten.

  Gena tried but failed to keep from laughing. “I once had too much in one spot on my forehead and too little elsewhere. I ended up with a big white spot circled i
n red. The tan line later was awesome.”

  Bonnie chuckled. “I bet. But seriously, thank you again for finding me ocean-life-safe sunscreen. I refuse to pollute the water with the crap they peddle to the public. The number of reefs dying is at an all-time high and the chemicals in everyday normal sunscreen are dangerous, plus… Wait, I’m preaching to the choir. Sorry.”

  “No worries,” said Gena with a smile. “I feel the same way. We can soapbox it together.”

  “Sweet,” said Bonnie as she opened her laptop and set it on the ledge. A paperback spy novel fell from the bag. It skidded to a rest on the ledge as well. Bonnie nudged it back with the laptop, paying it little mind.

  The woman had a serious weakness for thrillers and spy novels.

  Her laptop woke and on the screen was a blog Gena had seen Bonnie reading more than once. From what Gena could tell, the blog was dedicated to government conspiracy theories. The topics got downright insane, as noted by the current image shown on the blog—it was a drawing of a wolf morphing into a man.

  Gena lifted a brow but didn’t comment. For as science-minded as Bonnie was, she had a love of the weird and wacky.

  Bonnie logged into the research center’s private system, or at least tried to log in. When it didn’t work, she slapped her laptop. “I don’t know what is with our system here, but it’s been so temperamental lately.”

  That was putting it mildly. The computers and the entire database had been off. Gena dreaded having to tell Bonnie that the problem they’d thought they’d gotten fixed as far as their computer systems were concerned had started up again.

  Bonnie gave up on her laptop and checked the box on the counter where incoming mail was placed. As she did, Gena got a better look at everything the woman was wearing.

  She couldn’t hold back her laugh at the sight of Bonnie. Logos were on everything that Gena could see and probably places that weren’t visible either. “Is there anything on you that doesn’t have Donavon Dynamics stamped all over it? Shouldn’t you have gone with our new logo and name change?”