Apex Predator Thriller Series Collection (Including the blockbuster new shark park thriller, Salechii)

by Carolyn McCray

  The kid was kind of cute. Just geeky enough that he didn’t seem to have any kind of untoward agenda toward his daughter, but also capable enough that Nick could feel safe with Nami in his hands.

  So maybe this questioning thing was going to be helpful.

  “Sir?” the robot asked.

  “No, thank you,” Nick said. When the robot seemed disappointed, Nick clarified. “I’d love to, but I’ve got to fit into a skintight jumpsuit next week.” Everyone but Nami looked at him funny. “It’s a seventies retro film…” he futily tried to explain. “Never mind.”

  The robot moved onto Shalie. “Can I tempt you?”

  Shalie smiled. She truly was beautiful. “Well, since I only have to fit into my lab coat, yes, I think I’ll take one.”

  Nick was glad that she did. He was so used to anorexic models and actresses it was nice to see a woman indulge a little. Now if she didn’t run to the bathroom in five minutes, this Shalie might be a keeper.

  A gasp went up around the room. Nick looked around to see what all the fuss was about. Nami gripped the side of the table. You could see the terror in her eyes. She asked him with her expression, “Is there a shark behind me?”

  “No shark,” Nick answered out loud to help dispel any concern she may have.

  Instead it was just light. A lot of it. Light rays streamed in through the water above, creating a kaleidoscope effect. After a few days in the storm, Nick had almost forgotten what full sunlight looked it.

  Dang, it was bright.

  “We must be in the eye of the hurricane,” Dillon stated as Callum walked into the dining room.

  “I must say,” Callum said. “I did order some sunshine, but I didn’t expect it to be filled so soon.”

  The room laughed at the director’s joke. The guy might be a world-class biologist, but he was also a natural showmen even if he didn’t seem to realize it himself yet.

  “Dad, can we open the attractions?” Dillon asked, seeming to forget about his two plates of cannolis.

  “I think we might want to wait for a bit.”

  “Why?” Dillon asked. “We’ll only have the light for a few hours. Let’s let the kids play before the other side of the storm hits.”

  Callum looked to his son with such pride. Nick hoped that he looked at Nami that way.

  “Okay,” Callum responded. “But be sure that all of the areas have been squeegeed. We don’t want any slipping and falling.”

  Dillon popped out of his chair. “You know it!”

  He looked back at the table. “Sorry, gotta go.”

  And with that, Dillon was gone.

  “Ah, youth,” Shalie said, going back to her cannoli.

  “Yes, about that,” Nami said, starting back in with the questioning. “Do you like Diet Fanta?”

  “Never tried it,” Shalie answered.

  Nami scribbled something down on her napkin.

  Nick settled into his chair. This could turn out to be a very long breakfast.

  CHAPTER 14

  Tonaka supported his wife’s elbow as she shuffled along the passage. The sound of her walker’s feet click clacked down the empty tunnel. The sound reverberated off the glass, filling the hallway with the sounds of her disability.

  The fish however seemed attracted to the sound. A school of clown fish came over, pecking at the glass, trying to get to the source of the noise. They rolled and tumbled over one another attempting to be the first.

  Nica chuckled. “So aptly named.”

  She was right. They were amusing just to look at and then their behavior? Pretty entertaining.

  “I’m not sure about this,” Nica said, her smile fading.

  “I told you, they will have everything we need,” Tonaka tried to reassure her.

  “But I didn’t even bring a bathing suit,” Nica commented.

  He patted her hand. “This is a five star resort, san, they will have suits, flotation devices, everything.”

  “But what if he brushes up against me?” Nica asked.

  They were heading to the whale shark exhibit. A few years ago, no, just a few months ago it wouldn’t have occurred to Nica to ask such a question. Her frailty made his heart ache. They should have been out jet skiing or sailing. That had been their plan. Now he could barely get her to go swimming. And snorkeling was out of the question.

  He squeezed her hand. “I am told he is a gentle giant. And I will be right there beside you.” Nica didn’t seem too convinced. “And we can tell your doctor that you got plenty of water exercise in.”

  That brought a grin to her lips. “Maybe I won’t have to do the treadmill then?”

  “Exactly,” Tonaka emphasized. “Do you want me to call a robot to help get us there?”

  “No,” Nica replied. “But maybe on the way back.”

  He smiled at his wife. Even now, so grievously injured, she still had her pride, only a tempered pride now.

  They were half way across the tunnel. Tonaka thought it was the bull shark’s enclosure they were passing through when the tunnel lights flashed red and a computer voice announced, “Warning. Possible infrastructure damage. Warning. Possible sidewall damage. Please stay exactly where you are until instructed otherwise.”

  Tonaka frowned. This didn’t sound good and if there was sidewall damage, would they not want to get out of the tunnel as soon as possible?

  “Possible cross contamination. Possible pen breach. Please stay where you are.”

  Even the mechanized voice sounded a little frazzled at this point.

  Sorry, but Tonaka wasn’t waiting for what came next. The hurricane must have damaged the underpinnings of the structure.

  They were only a few steps down the tunnel when the red lights changed to green, then went back to their normal white.

  “No damage has been detected, please carry on,” the voice said. That didn’t exactly make Tonaka feel any better. Which was it? A possible pen breach or nothing at all was wrong?

  This never would have happened if Callum had hired his company to do the facilities automation. Scaring guests like that? Knightly would have an aneurism.

  “The fish…” Nica said as the clown fish, in unison turned and swam off in one hell of a hurry.

  Tonaka grabbed his wife, pulling her close as a shark came out from the recess of the pen and hit the tube at full speed. Nica screamed, clutching Tonaka. The tube held though. Apparently there really was nothing wrong, just a computer glitch and a rather aggressive bull shark.

  Nica was still shaken even as the predator swam off as quickly as he had come.

  “It’s okay. He’s just showing off,” Tonaka said.

  She still shook in his arms. “I think I’ll take that robot now.”

  Yes, perhaps that would be prudent.

  * * *

  Dillon loved the sound of children’s laughter. With the sun out and no wind to speak of, it was the perfect weather to visit Salechii. Warm but not too hot. About thirty percent humidity. Like he said, perfect.

  You would never know they had just experienced a category five hurricane. Well, with the exception of the lack of roof and no trees. But other than that, the robots had done a great job of cleaning up. They only had a few hours before the other half of the hurricane hit and they would all be back indoors again.

  “If you ever found yourself in the eye of a hurricane, you best enjoy it,” his mother had always said. And he fully planned to.

  He was in the “Touch” exhibit at the octopus enclosure. There were children swarming all over this part of the park. This section had been built specifically to entertain and even more importantly according to his father, educate the youth.

  Dillon thought otherwise. He wanted first and foremost for the kids to have a blast. He trusted them to get the other stuff. So when he was on duty as a docent he would just throw out a few fun, and maybe even one or two gross facts and leave it at that.

  It was more important to him to hear the squeals of delight and raucous laughter than an
ything else. Nearly being a kid himself he thought he was a little more dialed in to what kids wanted than his father.

  For him, this was the true opening of the park. This was the true Salechii. Kids getting to touch and understand nature first hand.

  Dillon dangled his hand into the octopi’s pool. Since he had a tiny bit of raw white fish between his fingers, one of the octopus came over, seeming to glide over the substrate, making for his hand.

  The old girl tentatively touched his hand with the tip of one of her eight arms. When he didn’t bite her or move, she lifted the arm and put down her suction cups. They felt like little tiny vacuum cleaners going up and down his flesh. Funky but cool.

  Carefully the octopus climbed from his elbow, down his arm until her mouth was over his fingers.

  “Is she going to eat your finger?” a young British boy asked. Dillon thought his name was Teddy. He was a very inquisitive young man. He kind of reminded Dillon of himself at that age. This could very well be a marine biologist in the making.

  “No she won’t” Dillon answered then explained. “Even though her beak is tough enough to puncture through a clam shell, she is being so gentle. She just wants the bit of fish, that’s all.”

  Dillon lifted his arm out of the pool for a moment. Water streamed down the octopus’ slick skin. She glistened in the bright sun. He couldn’t keep her out long or she would burn, but the sharp intake around the pool was totally worth it. He released the fish and she gobbled it up, then using her tentacles, climbed off his arm and splashed back into the pool.

  “That was so rad!” Teddy announced. “Can I try?”

  “I don’t know,” his mother stated.

  “Don’t worry, ma’am, this is what this pool is all about. We don’t force the animals to do anything, they come willingly and these octopi couldn’t be more gentle.

  “All right, but just for a moment and we don’t tell your dad, agreed?”

  Teddy nodded emphatically. Dillon gave him a tidbit of fish. Teddy thrust his arm into the pool creating quite a splash. The octopus scurried away.

  “If we want gentle,” Dillon said. “You have to be gentle.”

  The boy bit the side of his lip and nodded again, quieting his arm, although it seemed to take all of the boy’s attention to stay still for even a few moments. The rest of his body vibrated, making up for his still arm.

  “Oh my gosh!” he shouted as the octopus climbed onto his arm. “It tickles!” he snorted as he laughed, then stopped himself to keep his arm rigid in the water as the octopus made his way to his hand.

  “She’s trying to get it! She’s trying! Should I give it to her?” he asked.

  “It would only be polite after all the effort she went to,to get it.”

  Teddy smiled as he let go. The octopus grabbed the bit, explored his fingers to make sure he didn’t have any more as an alarm went off. Red lights flashed in the pools.

  “A possible breach has occurred. Please stay where you are.”

  “It’s okay, people,” Dillon said, raising his voice so that everyone nearby could hear him. These stupid announcements had been happening all morning. “It is just a false alarm. We’re working on it.”

  Teddy’s mother didn’t look convinced though. “It sounds pretty serious.”

  “Trust me, if it were serious my dad would be on the bullhorn ordering an evacuation.”

  * * *

  Callum stood with his finger over the intercom button. This was the tenth alarm to sound in nearly as many minutes. Something was off. Way off. He didn’t like it. The robots were running all over the park, investigating each of the alarms. So far, all were confirmed false alerts. The structures were sound. The gates properly locked. Each and every creature in its proper place.

  Still he was worried. If the computer was giving them false information, what else was it giving them that was false? What was triggering these alerts? The entire engineering team was on it. Digging through code to find where the ghost in the machine was.

  Even Shalie was standing next to him running diagnostics. She knew the island’s hardware nearly as well as she knew her robots.

  “It’s looking clean,” she reported. “Maybe it is the surging?”

  Callum had thought of that. “I don’t think so. We’ve had surges before that didn’t affect the structure sensors.”

  “A level three hurricane surge though?” Shalie suggested. “I’m just saying that maybe the computer can’t make sense of the dramatic swings in island level and is reporting it as an alarm?”

  “Then why didn’t it do it during the full blown category five cyclone?” Callum challenged. It was something more onerous than simply sensor mis-readings, he just couldn’t prove it. Or was he just being paranoid?

  “Then what else could it be?” Shalie asked.

  “Bloody hell if I know,” Callum snapped. “Isn’t that what you computer geniuses are supposed to figure out?”

  As Shalie’s face clouded over, Callum regretted his harsh words. Again he would normally have reached out to blunt his tone, but with Shalie? He simply couldn’t. He didn’t want to give any mixed signals.

  “Sorry,” he said rather pitifully.

  Shalie waved it off. “You’re under pressure and you’re right, it is up to us nerds to save the day… again.”

  She flashed a smile. Callum returned it before he could stop himself.

  “Have you contacted Tonaka. He’s the biggest brain we’ve got on the island.”

  “He is swimming with his wife with Lebowski.”

  “I think he’ll understand,” Shalie said.

  Callum had been reluctant to interrupt what appeared to be a very important moment for Tonaka’s wife, but Shalie was right. These alerts had to be sorted out either way. Either they had a massive computer glitch giving them false alarms or…

  Well, Callum didn’t want to think about the “or.”

  * * *

  Tonaka floated next to his wife whose expression bordered on rapture. It seemed as the weight of her illness had been lifted from her shoulders. Her lips were curled up in a full smile and her eyes sparked with enjoyment.

  The whale shark, who had been lured to the side of the enclosure with brine shrimp, was now content to swim around in circles, apparently hoping for what the attendant called another “fix” of the shrimp. Lebowski seemed to be addicted to them.

  Which was fine by Tonaka. It kept the large shark nearby. His wife, in double safety gear, kept herself right next to the great beast, stroking his side, smiling the whole while.

  “This truly is amazing,” she gushed. And Nica was anything but a gusher.

  How could his children want to put her in a home while her mind was so active? So it meant a little more work to keep her at home, but wasn’t a moment like this all worth it?

  Didn’t it summarize a lifetime together?

  Wasn’t this what all the work for all those years was for?

  “Pet him,” Nica said, guiding his hand over to the great beast.

  It was like nothing he’d ever touched before.

  “Feel his gills,” Nica said, pulling him forward.

  The huge gills fluttered under his hand, pulling water filled with vital oxygen into his body. The tiniest brine shrimp and the largest shark both relied on the same chemical, just as all humans did.

  It was so humbling. His robotic creations could not compare to this majestic beast.

  “Thank you,” Nica whispered, giving him a peck on the cheek.

  Such affection in public, his wife truly was in a good mood.

  “Thank you,” he responded giving her a peck back.

  “This really is perfect, Tonaka,” she said with a smile. “I will remember this always.”

  “As will I,” Tonaka said as a robot approached the side of the pool.

  “Dr. Yashimoto?” the QX asked.

  “Yes?”

  “Dr. McClay would like to see you at your earliest convenience.”

  “About
the false alarms?” Tonaka asked.

  “I believe so.”

  Tonaka turned to his wife. “Please, just a few minutes more,” Nica asked.

  She asked for so little, how could he not grant her wish?

  He turned to the QX. “Tell Callum I’ll be there in ten.”

  “Very well.”

  “And my wife will need some assistance back to our room.”

  “Of course, doctor.”

  Tonaka turned back to Nica whose smile beamed again. Although perhaps not as steady as it had a few minutes ago. She was tiring. Even if Callum hadn’t called, they would have had to get out soon anyway.

  But for now he had a few more minutes with his life’s most precious asset.

  His wife.

  * * *

  Dillon watched with amusement as Teddy wiggled his fingers in the pool and the octopus rode them like a bronco. Eventually she tired of that game and climbed down.

  “Mom! That was so cool!” Teddy said, jerking his arm out of the pool. “Look! Nursery sharks!” And then the boy was off.

  Dillon laughed at how quickly the boy could switch gears.

  “You can laugh,” the mother said in a posh British accent. “You don’t have to live with it.”

  No, perhaps not, but he had lived it. “He’ll grow out of it.”

  “Promise?” the mother asked.

  Dillon chuckled. “Yep, pretty much.”

  She smiled back then followed her boy to the Nurse shark petting pool as the emergency lighting finally went off and bright green lights flashed in all the pools, including the Nurse shark grotto.

  He might head over there was well, but first was the giant clam exhibit. The ancient clam should be opening any time soon.

  As Dillon walked over, he spun around, taking the “touch” exhibit all in. For all that his dad had built, this would be his enduring legacy.

  Dillon just knew it.

  “Look, Look!” Teddy exclaimed from a few exhibits away.

  “That’s great Teddy,” his mother answered in a monotone.

  Dillon looked over to watch the eternal dance of exuberant youth and tired mother. How he missed it. Although his mother would have been equally thrilled at the petting pool.