Or at least they usually did. While the Gutsdorf siblings and Monica Boleau stood at attention as Maria went over safety precautions, Kirk Murphy and Diane Mercer were continuing to whisper to each other. At this point, Maria was deeply regretting letting them be a part of this trip. Had there been other volunteers available she would have made up some excuse why she didn’t need them, but as it was they needed every single person on the Cameron short of Vandergraf and his cameraman to play a part in this.
“So here’s how it’s going to work,” Maria said as she snapped her fingers in front of Murphy and Mercer to get their attention. “Normally for this sort of blockade action, we would prefer to have more boats, but today shouldn’t really require much of a show of force. We just need to stop the Tetsuo Maru from doing anything for an hour or so. We’ll have authorities coming to aid us after that. And besides, no one actually expects Captain Ito to be so blatant as to fish for sharks in illegal waters right in front of witnesses. To be completely honest, today is just about grandstanding for both our sides. They show us their disapproval at Westerners bullying them, we show them the law is on our side, and it should all break up peacefully.”
“But how can you know that for sure?” Simon Gutsdorf asked. While his sister still looked resolute, he looked like he was second guessing his reason for being here.
“Look, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ve been a part of these sorts of blockades before. As long as we did everything by the rule of law then nothing ever went sour. It’ll all be fine.”
“Why didn’t we just alert the authorities the moment we found out the Tetsuo Maru was on its way?” Boleau asked. “That seems like the smartest plan of action, doesn’t it?”
Maria tried not to show any outward sign of doubt. They hadn’t alerted anyone because she had insisted they not, at least not until they were between the Tetsuo Maru and the El Bajo protected area. Her thinking had been that it would make a better impression with the producer if they looked like the heroes here. Kevin hadn’t liked that, just like he hadn’t liked getting in front of the camera in the first place. Now though she was beginning to have the smallest doubts about Vandergraf and the way he would present things. This possible show might not be worth the risk of not having a bigger authority backing them up, no matter how small that risk might be.
It wouldn’t do any good to let the others see that she was having second thoughts, though.
“Just trust me, nothing we do or see today is going to be so dire that we’ll actually need the Armada de Mexico to intervene. They’ll just show up when we need the extra show of force. Now, I know we went over the basics last night but here’s the whole plan.”
Maria had brought a map with her clipboard. She knelt down on the deck to spread it out where everyone could clearly see it. It showed the lowest portion of the Sea of Cortez. She’d already marked everything she needed in black and red marker.
“This whole area here is obviously the El Bajo marine protected area,” she said, indicating the rough black circle that matched the one on Kevin’s larger map back home. In was in the sea between the Mexican states of California Baja Sur and Sinaloa, with the nearest land masses being the islands of Isla Partida and Isla Espirito Santo. Once they were in position, the two islands would be within visual distance, although not anything they could consider close. They would just be tiny spots on the horizon.
“We were prepared for the Tetsuo Maru to come from a variety of directions, but our eyes in the water indicated that they will be coming in from here.” She pointed to the east of the two islands and El Bajo. “So that’s where the Cameron is going to be waiting. We’ll probably be the only boat in the area, since the local government has severely limited the number of tourist boats there since last week’s incident. From our position here…” She indicated a specific point on the edge of the circle. “…we’ll be able to see the Tetsuo Maru coming. At that point, Gutierrez will maneuver us into a good position and we’ll put the two Zodiac rafts in the water. Monica, you’ll stay behind and help with anything we might need to do in a hurry on the Cameron. Simon and Kirk, you’ll be in Raft One to come up on the Tetsuo Maru’s leeward side. Diane and Cindy, you’re Raft Two and will be to the windward side.”
Diane tentatively raised her hand. Good God, this isn’t a fricking school, Maria thought. “Yes Diane, what is it?”
“I don’t know what leeward and windward means.”
Oh dear lord, help me now, Maria thought. I’m commanding someone who doesn’t even know basic nautical terms. Boleau looked equally disgusted while the Gutdorfs were obviously having trouble not laughing.
“Look, if the Tetsuo Maru is here and the Cameron is here,” she said, pointing at two spots on the map, “then you and Cindy will go to this position while Raft One goes here. Got it?”
“Yes,” Diane said. She didn’t look at all like she did. Maria glanced in Cindy’s direction, who nodded almost imperceptibly as if to say Don’t worry, everything will go according to plan.
“Uh, Miss Quintero?” Murphy’s hand started to creep into the air.
“Guys, you really don’t need to do that,” Maria said.
“Oh. Uh…” Murphy lowered his hand. “Can’t I be on the same raft as Diane?”
Shoot me. Just shoot me now, please, Maria thought. She could think of no idea more disastrous than to put those two in one Zodiac together. “No, I made the assignments in a way I thought would be best for everyone.”
Despite Maria’s earlier admonition, Diane raised her hand again. At least this time she didn’t wait to talk. “I really think me and Kirk should go together.”
What the hell were they planning on doing, getting some quality make-out time in while a ship bore down on them? “I said no.” Maria had trouble keeping the growing anger out of her voice. “People, I know I keep saying this is relatively low risk and mostly for show, except there’s still a danger here. All we’re going to do is form a short line that they won’t be able to get around, and if they move we’ll move too. But there’s still a chance they could hit you on accident. Or even on purpose, although Ito has never struck me as that kind of person. Trust me, if the hammerheads are still as aggressive as they were last week then you don’t want to end up in the water.”
That finally appeared to seep into Mercer’s thick head, considering she dropped her head and looked away. Murphy, on the other hand, looked like he was going to continue arguing the point until Cindy Gutsdorf thankfully interrupted him. “So what are the safety procedures then if we somehow end up in the water?”
Maria made sure to check that Vandergraf wasn’t coming back up before she replied. She didn’t exactly want to hide anything, but she didn’t want him to have any more fuel for the fire either when it came to misrepresenting sharks. Once today was over, they could all finally get back to an honest study of whatever weird event was happening here. They even had all the equipment below already for their real studies. If they were lucky, they might soon be able to identify what was causing the hammerheads’ strange behavior or even fix it.
“If you can, get back into the Zodiac as quick as you can. If for some reason you can’t, the first step is not to panic. You’ll all be wearing life vests so obviously you won’t drown. If one of the sharks starts coming for you, remember that it’s much more practiced than you at swimming so don’t even try to turn around and get away. Normally, most sharks are more afraid of you than you are of them so kicking and splashing around will hopefully keep them away. If that doesn’t work then you need to do your best to attack first. If it’s right near the surface you can hit them on the snout right in the middle of their hammer-shaped head. However, if the shark is farther below the surface, the water resistance will make punching ineffective. As a last resort – and do remember that we’re trying to protect them here so I do mean last, like they’re going to take a bite out of you – then go for their eyes. No matter how endangered they are, if it’s your life versus theirs then fight for
your own first. Do not try to be a hero. With all that said, we’re not expecting anything like that at all. Are there any other questions?”
She almost expected either Murphy or Mercer to do or say something else stupid. Thankfully, both of them kept their mouths shut, although Maria didn’t miss the quick look they gave each other. She wasn’t sure what that meant, nor did she particularly care at this point. All she could hope for at this point was that neither of them did anything stupid to screw this up.
“Okay then. Both of the raft teams, better do a final check of your equipment. Monica, go ahead and see if Gutierrez needs anything from you. If anyone needs me, I’ll be right here.”
They all left her alone. Maria let out a deep, long sigh. This wasn’t exactly what she had signed up for when she’d started life with Kevin, but it would all be valuable experience once she got her own degree and was able to do the science on the same level. Until then, she would just have to use the little moments between to keep her sanity.
It was with that idea firmly in mind that she rested on the guard rails and stared out over the water, taking in the endless beauty, waiting for her first glimpse of the day of the sharks of El Bajo.
5
Maria didn’t have to wait long. The Cameron had already gone around Isla Espirito Santo by the time she’d finished briefing the volunteers, which meant that they were on the edge of the El Bajo protected area. Kevin had instructed Gutierrez not to go straight through for fear that a fast moving boat might further disrupt whatever odd event was currently going on. Maria didn’t have nearly the encyclopedic knowledge of sharks that Kevin did, but she knew enough to guess that if they were here in such force, it had to be because of something to do with mating, whether this fit their typical mating pattern or not. And if it was indeed all about hot shark action then the last thing they wanted to do was interrupt it and do potential harm to an already struggling population. So instead they skirted the edges. At this distance, it had been entirely possible that no would see any sharks at all. Except they did see them, and Maria had the privilege of being the first.
She’d made sure to have a pair of binoculars handy, and at the first sight of what might have been a dorsal fin slicing through the water she eagerly brought them up to her eyes. Sure enough she caught a brief glimpse of a fin just before it disappeared back below the water. That, she figured, would probably be the last anyone saw of them. However, a few seconds later she saw another come up, cruise around the surface for a little bit, and then go back down. And there was another, and then two at once. She adjusted the binoculars, trying to get an idea of what else might be so close to the surface that would draw so many of them there at once. If this was about mating then there shouldn’t have been that many near the surface at all unless to feed. They should instead be deeper down, endlessly circling the undersea mount in their peculiar ballet. Instead, she continued to see more and more. None of them came anywhere close to the Cameron just yet, but at this rate she wouldn’t be surprised if that was in the cards for the near future.
“See anything interesting?” Kevin said from behind. Maria jumped, startled so much by his sudden appearance that if the strap for the binoculars hadn’t been around her neck she probably would have dropped them into the sea.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to do that,” he said, giving her an affectionate rub of the shoulder. She delighted at the touch until she realized they weren’t alone. Vandergraf and his ever-present cameraman were right behind them, probably catching this entire intimate moment for later exploitation. Maria did her best not to show any outward annoyance, but after the antics of Murphy and Mercer she found it hard.
“Yeah, I do see something interesting. Take a look.” She handed him the binoculars and let him take in the sight for himself.
“Huh,” he said once he put the binoculars down. “That is strange.”
“Gary, can you get that?” Vandergraf asked the cameraman.
“Sorry, too far away,” Gary said. “Wouldn’t show up well and I don’t have the right lenses for that kind of shot. If we had a full crew with full equipment, then maybe.”
“Full crew?” Maria asked. “How many more people would you actually need if this were a complete production?”
“More than we can probably fit on this thing,” Vandergraf said. “If my bosses decide to pick this up then we’ll have to get a different boat.”
“You can’t just get rid of the Cameron. It’s part of the package.” She noticed as she said this that the camera had come back around to her again.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s great. Really fancy, totally impressive. It would make good television. But I think we can do more than that. I think we can make great television. And to do that we might need a bigger boat, one that wasn’t named after the director of Terminator.”
“Who also happens to be one of the very small number of people who’ve made it to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Pardon me if I think that’s something worthy of recognition.”
“You know, I wanted to get a quick interview with you before all the action begins. Would you mind?”
That mollified her a little bit, but she still kept her guard up. “Oh. Uh, sure.” This, she figured, would be a time to talk about what had drawn her to marine biology to start with. It might even make other people interested. That was, after all, why she had convinced Kevin to do this in the first place.
“Okay, good,” Vandergraf said. He looked over his shoulder to see that Kevin was now out of earshot as he’d moved to another position in the hopes of getting a better glimpse of the sharks. “To start with, why don’t you tell the viewers what it’s like sleeping with someone as famous as Kevin Hoyt?”
Maria paused for several seconds. There was no way she could have heard that question coming from his mouth. It took her several breaths before she could admit that no, she had indeed heard him right.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sure that sounds crass, but if you could just answer it. I’m starting to see a clear narrative here that I can edit together and sell to the network. Dr. Hoyt is the brains and you’re the heart. Where’s he’s a cool customer, you’re the passionate one. So give us some passionate details, something to really sell your character.”
“I’m not just a fricking character on television. I’m a person.”
“Come on, we don’t need a lot. Just a few sound bites. I’m sure one of the biggest questions viewers will have is how someone like you can be intimate with…” He paused as though watching his language. “…someone like him.”
“What the hell do you even mean, someone like me and someone like him?”
“You’re young, passionate, very pretty. And he’s, well…”
Maria had a sickening feeling that she knew exactly what point he was getting at. “Go on. Say it. Say what you want to say.”
“Well, a him that wasn’t always a him. You know, someone who used to be a woman.”
It took every piece of her soul to remember that if she knocked him overboard and he was eaten by sharks the rest of the world would probably have an issue with that, no matter how supremely much he deserved it.
“Turn the camera off,” she said. It surprised her how calm she actually sounded.
“What?” Vandergraf asked. “No. We can’t…”
“Turn the camera off and I’ll give you an answer. You can quote me on it later, if you want.”
Vandergraf hesitantly waved for Gary to lower the camera. Once Maria was sure there wouldn’t be any record of this, her hand shot for him and grabbed him by the crotch. Vandergraf made a funny little yipping sound. Gary just looked shocked. He also looked back down at his camera, obviously upset that it was missing this.
“Now listen here, you fucking pussbag,” Maria said, still as calmly as though she were discussing the weather. “The fact that Kevin is transgender has nothing to do with anything. What we do together in private moments is none of your business. And if I catch you asking anyone el
se on the Cameron to speculate on what may or may not be between his legs, then I will make sure you no longer have anything between yours. Understood?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. She just gave his squishy bits one more good hard squeeze, then let go and backed away. Vandergraf looked for a moment like he was going to collapse to his knees. Instead he leaned on the railing and got his balance back.
“I’ll cut you out,” he wheezed. “You’re not going to be in this at all. You won’t be in the demo reel, and when this becomes a full show you’ll be edited out completely.”
It was funny that he honestly believed that was the worst thing he could do to her. She had to wonder who he was in the rest of his life that the threat of not being on television was the most terrible thing he could imagine.
“Good luck with that,” she said, then walked away to join Kevin watching the sharks. Some of the dorsal fins were closer now, and Maria hoped that he’d been so enraptured by this that he’d completely missed what had been going on just twenty feet behind him.
“That probably wasn’t the smartest move,” Kevin said quietly, his eyes never leaving the binoculars.
Maria sighed. “Sorry. I lost my cool.”
“He could technically make the argument that that was sexual assault, you know. You could end up in court over that.”
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