He thought in English. He wrote in English, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was Russian. There was no “relearning” English because he knew his native tongue, there was just something messed up in his brain that misfired when he spoke.
Callum’s frustration must have been palpable as the Secretary waved his hand.
“I know of your condition. And have a translator,” the older man said. One of the marines stepped forward. “No matter which language, I can guess you are wondering why in hell I’ve called you here.”
Callum nodded, not wanting to hear the sound of his foreign voice.
“Have a seat, son,” the Secretary stated. “I know all that you’ve gone through and I am terribly sorry to ask anything more of you.”
Callum’s eyes narrowed. Clearly this had nothing to do with Salechii, however Callum feared it might be worse. He nodded for the Secretary to continue.
“You see, son, we have a mighty difficult problem on our hands. I shouldn’t have to mention this is top, top, top, top secret.”
Again, Callum just nodded. He got it. He’d signed enough non-disclosure agreements over the last few months to choke an elephant.
The Secretary sighed, leaning back in his chair. “This is going to sound out there so I’d prefer if you let me finish before asking any questions.”
Callum nodded again.
Chuckling, the Secretary laced his fingers behind his head. “Don’t know why I have an interpreter if all you’re going to do is nod.”
Despite the tension in the room, Callum grinned. At least they were communicating. Unlike at home where he couldn’t even tell his own son how proud he was without Google Translator up on the screen. Or to whisper sweet nothings in Shalie’s ear. He was as cut off from his family as he would have been if he were still back in Salechii.
“You see after last year’s Japanese submarine incursion into Russian waters, Putin has been very paranoid about his coastline security.”
Callum wasn’t surprised to hear it. Putin seemed kind of paranoid about a lot of things.
“Well we got wind late last year that he asked his scientist to come up with some weaponized sharks. And what Putin wants, Putin gets.”
Trying to wrap his head around the concept of weaponized sharks, Callum frowned. Weren’t sharks weaponized enough? His lack of an arm and speaking Russian after a coma kind of confirmed that. The 100+ fatalities at Salechii only reinforced the concept.
“Anyway, there wasn’t a whole heck of a lot we could do about it, so we waited for the day that we all knew was coming. The day they lost contact with the station.”
Callum could remember that fateful moment when they were cut off from the world at Salechii. When it came down to just his team and the sharks. They had not fared very well. And now with weaponized sharks? What chance did any human have?
“And to make matters worse our intel says that Putin decided the facility was so secure it might be good to hide a special item there.”
Callum raised an eyebrow, letting his expression ask the question for him.
“We don’t know what it is, but it must be important if the Russians have asked us for help. It appears that every shark expert Putin had was on that station.”
Taking a deep breath, Callum could feel what was coming next. Did he welcome it or was he going to run out of the room, screaming Russian curses?
“So that is where you come in, my friend,” the Secretary stated. “I’m sending in a SEAL team, but we need someone who can read sharks. Are you game?”
Callum’s eyes slid from the Secretary to the Marines, then back. These people had absolutely no idea what they were asking.
However Callum missed the ocean. He’d even missed his sharks. He’d missed the danger and the exhilaration. After all that had happened. He missed his life on the sea.
And weaponized sharks? That was like the ultimate challenge to Callum.
Whatever those Russians had done to those sharks needed to be remedied. If the alterations were mechanical, fine. But if they were genetic? And those sharks somehow got out? It could destroy the delicate natural balance of the ocean.
Callum nodded, grabbing a piece of paper and scribbling, “I want my own team.”
The Secretary leaned forward. “I suspected you would. Give me the list.”
Quickly Callum wrote out a list of names. Some of them might not be too glad he included them, but too bad. They could always decline.
He shoved the paper across the table. The Secretary pulled out his reading glasses, perching them on the end of his nose and scanned the page. He frowned, taking off the reading glasses and setting them on the paper.
“I expected a few of these names, but Nick Flack? You do know he’s a movie star. Not a real military man. Someone else does his stunts.”
Callum shrugged. Even if he were able to speak English it wouldn’t make a difference. Nick had survived more shark attacks than most shark biologists that Callum knew. The guy was rock steady.
The Secretary must have read his body language as he sighed. “Fine, but the guy’s teenage daughter? I mean, I get your son, but Nami Flack?”
Again, Callum didn’t bother to explain. The girl had proved herself a hundred times over and after Salechii was now a walking encyclopedia of shark facts.
“Really?” the Secretary stated. “Fine. A teenage girl is going to an ultra-secret Arctic Russian base.
* * *
Nami Flack brushed her horse, Daenerys, named for the kick-butt chick in Game of Thrones, although this mare was slightly less power hungry than the Princess. Although Nami didn’t quite know for sure what was happening this season since she’d stopped watching the show after the Blood Wedding. What was up with that? Talk about a downer.
She shivered even though it was a balmy 56 degrees in the Pacific Northwest. Downright shorts and tank top wearing weather up here.
Colorado had certainly been shark-free, but how could she put it? B. O. R. I. N. G. Go ahead and repeat that, boring. Goodness gracious. Beautiful trees could only get you so far. Sure there weren’t any sharks, but not a whole heck of a lot else either.
Plus Callum had taken the only job he could get. As a research consultant to Dr. Yashimoto’s lab in Seattle. Which meant Shalie and Dillon ended up there, too. So even though Puget Sound, with its fourteen different types of sharks wasn’t all that far off, Nami had bit the bullet and asked her dad to move them here.
He had taken a big hit on the Aspen log cabin, but hadn’t argued at all. He too seemed to be feeling the pinch of country living. At least in Seattle he could take meetings and Vancouver was actively courting him to make a big budget film up there. So she got to see her boyfriend and her dad’s ego got stroked. A win-win.
They were pretty dang happy. Which made today all the harder.
“Nami!” her dad called out to her as he waved from the pasture, cutting across the rolling grass to the stable.
Waving back at her dad, she walked Daenerys into her stall, making sure she had fresh hay. It might be a while until Nami could ride her again.
Her dad was panting a little as he caught up with her. He really needed to find a personal trainer up here. You couldn’t headline 200 million dollar films if you got winded walking across a pasture.
She kind of loved him this way though. Before he had been all about work, all the time. His work-a-holism probably more to avoid his stringent wife. But now? Now that he was free from her mother, her dad wasn’t up at 5 am to do cross-training and only went out a few nights a week, unlike the nearly nightly escapades of Los Angeles. There was an industry party daily down there. Here? Not so much, but more than Colorado, which had clocked in at a big fat zero. Sure there was Sundance, but that was only once a year. That was a long ass eleven months in between.
“Nami, we need to talk,” her father said, leaning against the stall door.
“What? You mean about going to Russia?” Nami asked sounding all innocent.
H
er father’s eyebrows shot up. “How did you know?”
Nami laughed, even though he’d played in some of the highest grossing techno movies of the century, he was pretty much an old school guy. Texting was still kind of a mystery to him.
She pulled her phone out, waving it. “Dillon texted me like a half an hour ago.”
Her dad chuckled. “Right. Of course,” Then his expression sobered. “What do you think?”
Nami stopped pulling hay out of the bale. “I think it’s crazy.”
“Good,” her father said. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“But if Callum is going that means Dillon is going so…”
* * *
Nick sighed and finished her sentence for her. “So you are going which means I am going.”
His daughter’s face lit up with a smile. She truly was growing up to be a beautiful young woman, even if her judgment was way off.
It had been a great few months. His divorce was final. He could walk into the grocery store up here. The “Seattle Chill” was a real thing. People up here, no matter how big of fans they were, just wouldn’t break through their cool exterior enough to fawn over you. Which in truth was a little weird. He was starting to wonder if he was still the world’s highest grossing actor.
He was due a trip to Los Angeles just to reassure him that he hadn’t fallen into obscurity.
He smiled as Nami petted her horse. She seemed so happy here, why would she want to risk that?
“I don’t get it?” Nick said. “You don’t even like to watch NCIS because they might show water.”
Nami shrugged. “Trust me, I don’t want to go, but the rescue mission sounds important doesn’t it?”
“Of course it does, but you don’t think there are a few other people in the world that might be better qualified to take this on?”
“Name two,” Nami challenged.
Nick couldn’t. Ugh. Sometimes he hated that his little girl had grown up to be such a smart young lady. That didn’t mean he had to give up.
“Plus aren’t you just a little curious about what is going on there?” Nami asked.
Duh. Of course he was. He’d never considered himself an adrenaline junkie before but when he’d heard the words “weaponized sharks” a little thrill went through him. That wasn’t enough though to jeopardize them both.
He tried to appeal to Nami’s sense of responsibility. “I was supposed to start Laugh Lines next week,” Nick argued.
“Oh please, like you wanted to star in that anyway. You always complain that Julia Roberts tries to upstage you.”
Nick couldn’t help but chuckle. Nami knew him too well.
“They can do pick-ups until you get there,” Nami said, taking his hand. “Come on, Dad, we’ve got to get back up on the horse.”
If only it was a horse they were talking about.
CHAPTER 2
Shalie sat next to the new body for Quax. Tonaka hadn’t spared any expense or creativity for the robot. This new form was sleek and a technological wonder. Not only was the tail truly prehensile now, as sensitive and dexterous as a hand, it was also retractable. Yep retractable. Another first for a scientist whose labs were filled with firsts. Who knew what else it could do
Quax should be in heaven once his essence was transferred into the most advanced robotic body every built.
Dillon stood next to her. He was holding the hand of the robotic body. She could only imagine how the teen felt. At such a young age he’d already lost so much. His mother. Fearing his father was dead, then losing Quax. It had been a hard last few years.
But his father was found, speaking Russian of course, but alive and now Quax was hopefully going to be resurrected. You could tell Dillon missed his best friend. Not even Nami’s love could make up for Quax’s loss.
They could have just inserted Quax’s consciousness into any robot, but they all decided that Quax deserved the best.
And the best was exactly what this body was. Tonaka fussed over the metal, clearly wanting to make it perfect.
She put a hand over his. “We’re ready.”
“But Nami isn’t here yet…” Dillon said.
A few of their party were a bit tardy. Callum was late from his meeting at the Coast Guard and Nick had called to let them know that they were stuck in traffic. That left just Tonaka, Shalie and Dillon.
“Maybe it would be better to have Quax wake up with just us here?” Shalie asked.
Dillon’s eyes shone with tears. Tears of joy? Apprehension? Sadness?
Even after living with the teen for these months, it was still hard to read him. He usually only let the world see that sunny, happy-go-lucky side to him. This side, the pained, anxious side, he hide away from everyone except perhaps Nami.
“It is up to you,” Shalie said.
* * *
Dillon was having a hard enough time keeping his emotions in check. Give him another half an hour and he might be a giant puddle on the floor.
He’d spoken to the chip in his hand, the chip that contained his best friend’s essence, every single day. He knew the chip couldn’t hear him, but it was important for Dillon to hear the words of how Quax wasn’t dead. He was just in stasis. He would be back. They could both laugh at the same lame jokes.
He hated to admit it, but in some ways he ached for Quax more than he did his mother. Maybe it was because he lost her longer ago. His mother had been so brave and strong. Quax, not so much. Not until it counted anyway.
There was no sense of guilt with his mother. Cancer had taken her, but with Quax, Dillon still couldn’t shake the feeling that he was somehow to blame for Quax’s loss. He should have thought faster. Acted more decisively and Quax wouldn’t be in the position he was now.
So much should have been different. Dillon could still smell the blood in the water. He could feel people dying all around him. The bright lights of Salechii had descended into the red hues of blood. So much loss. So quickly.
He had tried to keep a good attitude, but his father was speaking Russian, Shalie was wrapped up in her work and his best friend was gone. He tried to count his blessings, but they seemed so much fewer than the body count at the Shark Park.
What did the future hold? Dillon had expected to take over for his father. To follow in his illustrious footsteps. What now? No matter how he struggled against it, Dillon felt like he didn’t have any future at all. Nami was going to catch onto that any day. He feared that day. Would it be today? Would everyone realize that he was hollowed out?
That his hope had gone down with Salechii?
“Dillon?” Shalie asked her expression the definition of sympathy.
He really wished Nami could be here, but maybe his almost-step-mom was right. Maybe Quax would want a more private ceremony.
With his hand shaking, he handed the sentience module to Tonaka.
* * *
Tonaka accepted the chip from Dillon’s shaky hand. He knew how the teen felt. He felt a pit of worry in his stomach. This had never been attempted before. Oh, certainly they had transferred other QX’s but those did not have the emotional chip that Shalie had created. It turned out only flawed robots could truly embrace human behavior.
He wished that he could have downloaded his beloved wife’s soul into a chip. If only he could have saved her. She had died bravely. She had died as she had lived. His electrons still missed her.
His children had said that her passing at Salechii might have been a blessing. Tonaka had never come so close to slapping his own offspring before. There was nothing of a blessing in losing Nica. Not a one.
To have had just one more minute. One more day. One more month with her would have been the blessing.
Instead he was left alone to ponder all matter of things. He’d poured himself into creating this new robotic body the Z92. He dedicated it to Nica. She would have loved the boldness, yet simplicity of the design. She would have given him a peck on the cheek, patting his arm when he showed it to her.
Sometimes
it felt like his electrons could almost recreate his love. That she was standing there right next to him. Like now.
He could almost smell her jasmine perfume. Feel her body leaning toward him like a daisy to the sun.
Back to the matter at hand. Literally. The chip felt cool in his palm. How something so small could contain something as expansive as the conscious of a being?
He leaned over and placed the chip into the small slot in the back of the Z92’s skull.
Tonaka nodded to Shalie. Uploading the data was her wheelhouse.
Within the next few minutes they would know if this process had worked.
Tonaka looked over to Dillon. His lips hovered between a smile and a frown. It seemed like the teen’s soul rested in the balance. Even Shalie’s eyes were clouded as she typed on her tablet.
Worry palpable on both their faces.
Funny how an artificial person could create such genuine concern.
* * *
Dillon held Quax’s hand. You could tell no one was home yet. There was no tension in his fingers. Tonaka’s robotics worked off the same principles of human anatomy, mostly. Well, at least fifty percent. The rest was advanced tech.
Quax’s hand was limp within his own.
Shouldn’t the transfer have been instantaneous? He looked to Tonaka who frowned. Shalie’s lips were pulled so far down that they nearly hit her chin. Even though no one said anything, Dillon could tell there was trouble.
“Shalie?”
“Um… yah, just give me a moment,” she said, typing frantically.
Dillon’s stomach sank deep into his abdomen. It churned, making sounds no human body should. He was trying to hold it together, but he was losing the battle.
If Quax was really gone? He didn’t want to think about it. He couldn’t think about it.
“I’m going to try a global reboot,” Shalie said, pulling the cord out of Quax’s foot and waiting a few seconds, then replacing it.
The door burst open, drawing everyone’s attention away from the limp body on the stainless steel table. His father’s artificial foot clicked, announcing his arrival with the rest.
Apex Predator Thriller Series Collection (Including the blockbuster new shark park thriller, Salechii) Page 33