“At some point?” Nami questioned then laughed with her father. Although there was some truth to it. She knew her father was dreading that day when he couldn’t pull off the action hero that could bed ingénues. At some point he was going to start playing the father of action heroes.
But Liam Neeson was 61 and still headlining, so her father had something to shoot for.
“You really need to get a new manager, dad. Arti just doesn’t’ get it,” Nami stated.
“Hey, don’t you have an audition tomorrow?” her father asked.
Nami shrugged. “Already called my agent to cancel.”
“That was a good role in that horror film though. You sure you don’t want to try and slip it in before we go?”
“Nah,” Nami said. She was still pretty ambivalent about the whole acting thing.
She’d refused to use her last name or allow her father to get her auditions. If, and that was a big if, she was going to go into acting it would be on her skill alone. Which turned out to be a little harder than she’d thought.
“But Nami, horror is the way to break,” her father encouraged.
Trust her, she knew. Her agent had pounded it into her head. And this audition was for a lead in an ultra-low budget horror film, with an up and coming director. Up until now she had filled in her resume with student films. This would be her first SAG leading role.
And she was walking away from it to go to a Russian shark station in distress. Maybe she was as crazy as the rest of them. Or maybe she just didn’t want to get on the roller coaster that her father had been on all his life. Maybe she wanted to live a private life. Or maybe she was afraid that she didn’t have the gift that both her mother and father had.
Speaking of her mother. Nami pulled out her phone and shot her mother a text. Who knew where in the world she was. Probably wherever a sultan offered to take her. Boy would he get a surprise when they got back to his palace. Her mom was usually more interested in the sultan’s harem than in him.
In typical fashion, her mother hadn’t bothered to tell Nami where she was off to. Nami usually had to track her mom by Facebook selfies. And forget about expecting a response from her text. At least in this decade. Nami was lucky to just be one of the few names her mother’s assistant could put through. Funny, even the super model’s daughter got screened.
But after her mother came through for them last summer, Nami had promised to never complain again. Her mom wasn’t so great at the little stuff like…parenting, but rescuing? That it turned out her mother was pretty darned good at.
So she shot off the text to let her Mom know where they were off to. Because more than likely, they were not going to be taking any selfies where they were going.
“Your mom?” her father asked.
Nami nodded. The two of them hadn’t really spoken since Salechii. They were a couple that allowed the lawyers do the talking for them.
Probably for the best.
Shutting her phone Nami got into the large Hummer limo that was waiting for them.
Sometimes it was kind of nice to be a movie star’s daughter.
CHAPTER 4
Captain Darius Nassar checked his gear. His vest was on. They had stocked up on all the underwater weapons. He’d never seen so many spear guns in one place. Or shark prods. Or foam to stop bleeding because it was just going to be that type of mission.
What the hell did Putin need with sharks? It was bad enough his team had to fight terrorists, drug dealers, and gun runners. But now they had to take on very large fish with very large teeth that had somehow been weaponized.
Not fun.
He turned to find Corporal Ajax Rodriguez texting.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Nassar asked.
“It’s a secure link,” Ajax stated.
“Still,” Nassar pressed. “We are on a highly classified mission.”
Ajax chuckled. “Please, I’m just texting Lopez. He’s got higher clearance than you do.”
That was true. Lopez’s team might be considered by some to be America’s most elite fighting unit. Nassar had to agree.
Ajax and Lopez had served together a while ago but the two Latino corporals had stayed in close contact. Or rather close competition. They were constantly trying to one-up each other. To the detriment of both, Nassar thought but there was no telling either one that.
“Weaponized sharks,” Ajax laughed as he typed. “How is Lopez ever going to beat that?
Nassar didn’t know and didn’t want to find out.
A helicopter buzzed its way to the airfield. “Get ready to load up.”
They weren’t going all that far. Just over to Boeing Field to pick up their private plane to the arctic. The Navy didn’t have any planes going in that direction so the Secretary had reached out to the aircraft manufacturer, which had its own airport and landing strip.
At first the company had been hesitant to loan them a plane, but then the Secretary reminded the executives at Boeing how much they relied upon government contracts and suddenly they were exuberantly generous.
Boeing had agreed to loan them a next generation plane. It was barely out of beta testing, but supposedly one of the fastest planes in the world.
They were going to need that speed if they were going to find any survivors. Cold water environments were deadly. Forget the sharks, the cold water was your major problem.
“Where are our civilians?” Ajax asked looking around the helicopter pad.
Nassar didn’t know, but it only solidified in his mind how absolutely inappropriate it was for civilians to join him on this mission. They just got in the way. His team knew sharks. They trained with sharks. His team members were masters at repelling sharks.
Unfortunately his superiors didn’t seem to agree with him.
Then a large Hummer stretch limo pulled up. Behind it was a large transport truck. What was this about? The helicopter didn’t have infinite space.
Then the car door opened and a robot, with a full tail, got out of the limo.
Nassar just turned around, shaking his head.
This was going to be a weird one.
* * *
Tonaka was overseeing the unloading of the QX’s. These were brand new off the assembly line. Which could be a good thing or a bad thing.
Right now it was a bad thing. One robot’s entire left side wasn’t working. It was like he had a stroke or something. Another had no speech function. Luckily they had programmed the QXs with sign language, which of course his partner robot hadn’t had uploaded yet.
Tonaka wished they’d had a couple months or at least a few weeks to get prepare for this mission, but alas, it was not to be. He also wished he could have adapted the design for cold water, but again, they didn’t have any time.
The only good thing was the robots were strong and able to carry the hopefully, temporarily, paralyzed QX to the helicopter. It was a large vehicle. It seemed to be a transportation vessel so there was plenty of room for the SEAL team, humans and their robots.
The Captain, apparently Nassar from his nametag, frowned as they loaded. For his dark skin, high hairline and angular nose, Tonaka assumed the man was Middle Eastern, perhaps Egyptian in nature. That made Tonaka not feel quite such the odd man out.
“Keep those metal freaks out of my men’s way,” the Captain said brusquely.
Clearly the captain didn’t seem to appreciate Tonaka’s inclusion in the mission any more than he did the Anglo-Saxons of the team. Unlike his second in command. This Corporal Rodriguez was friendly, shaking each person or robot’s hand as they loaded in.
“Is everyone strapped in?” the corporal asked.
Tonaka sat down and tugged on his restraints. He mimicked everyone else in giving a thumb’s up.
Then the roar of the engines started as the helicopter lifted off, pushing them straight up into the air.
He glanced over to notice Dillon who was wearing a frown. It seemed to be the first one since Quax and he were reunited.
* * *
Dillon took in a deep breath, trying to allow all of the emotions that surged up from deep in his gut and let them float away. He’d learned the technique when he was in therapy after his mother’s death.
The last time he’d been in a helicopter had been when he thought both his dad and best friend were gone. He could still feel how his belly had flip-flopped and his tears seemed never-ending.
His fingers gripped the metal seat. He wasn’t going to let that happen. Not again. He was almost glad that Shalie had decided not to come. One less person to worry about. He kind of wished Nami hadn’t decided to come, but once her mind was made up, there was little to be done to get her to change it.
She looked over at him and smiled even as her teeth chattered at the bumps and turbulence.
How did he get so lucky? And she’d stuck by him at his worst.
He’d known he was being sullen and a jerk, but he couldn’t stop himself. How did you breathe when you felt deflated? Empty inside? He’d thought he would never feel enthused, not until he shook hands with Quax again.
Dillon had hoped all the pain was behind them, but this short helicopter flight proved that might not be true. How was he going to react when he got to the Russian station? Was this a mistake?
Soon they landed at Boeing Field. The plane they were going to fly to Russia was already wheeling out onto the tarmac. At first glance it looked like a regular plane, but then the closer you looked, the more you realized you were wrong.
It clearly had some form of stealth tech built in. The nose was pointed and dark tiles coated the entire body of the plane.
“Oh my God,” Ajax sighed. “Lopez is going to be so jealous!”
“Why?” Troy asked. The tallest member of their team, he towered over everyone by at least three inches.
Nassar kept himself from rolling his eyes. He had asked Troy not to encourage Ajax’s folly, but here they were listening to Ajax rattle off a list of specs.
“That, my dear friends, is an AN-124-300. Considered the fastest with the lowest radar profile short of a true stealth plane on the market. It has an off-the-charts low fatigue quotient and is quiet running. A truly, truly amazing bird. Lopez is going to be so jealous!”
Nassar’s corporal pulled out his phone to brag to his buddy again.
Yes, this was going to be a way longer mission that Nassar had hoped.
* * *
Nami climbed aboard the plane, if that was what you would call it. It looked like something out of Star Trek. Seriously, all the guys were slack-jawed as they walked in, spinning in place taking in the thousand little lights that twinkled in the cabin. If you looked through to the flight deck, you might as well get your Data on.
Her father smiled. “I think I’ve died already and gone to heaven.”
Nami took a swipe at him.
“No, really, the set designers for my next movie need to come and take a look at this.”
She had no doubts. The plane was pretty spectacular. The seats were all ergonomic and each seat had its own laptop desk and power supply. And were those solar panels on the wings?
Truly high tech and even a little green.
Nami guessed that she got why the guys were all excited. Even one of the SEALs was taking picture after picture, whistling as he loaded his gear.
Nami sat down surprised at how comfortable the seat was. The leather was rich and supple. Now this, this she could get used to.
There was some commotion at the front of the plane.
She would have gotten up to see what it was, only, well, this seat was really all that.
* * *
“Shalie?” Callum said. Names were the only thing that came out of his mouth in English.
She ran across the tarmac. Quax joined him to translate.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
She opened her arms and he rushed into them. “I just had to say goodbye.”
Callum gave her a big kiss to let her know he approved.
“You’re sure you don’t mind me staying?” Shalie asked.
He smoothed her hair down, he knew how much she hated it when she got those flyaways. “Not at all,” he said so that Quax could relay the message. “I’m glad you’re staying.”
That was the truth. He would so much rather have her here and safe.
Tonaka stepped up behind them. “Shalie, we are having a few problems with a couple of QXs.”
“No problem. I’ll head straight for the lab and try to synch up with their CPUs and fix the glitches.”
Callum hugged her again as the plane’s engines fired up, although they were about a tenth as loud any other plane he’d been on. “And maybe schedule a tune up for my ankle?”
Shalie put her hand on his belly. “You will be my first appointment once you get back.”
“Speaking of which, I’ve got to go,” he said, taking a step back, his titanium ankle creaking like an old man’s joints.
His heart almost broke as Shalie waved to him when the hatch closed. He could see it in her face. Worry, doubt and hope mingled in her features.
There was a moment when he wanted to jump off the plane and join her. Safe might be boring, but it was safe.
He knew the kind of man he was becoming though. Safe didn’t suit him. Frustration built in his chest and no matter how he tried to not let it affect his personal life, that anger still leaked out.
No, better to be the man he was, no matter the consequences.
* * *
Nami settled into her comfy seat. It wasn’t hard to do. She felt like she could sit in the thing for twelve hours. Which was good because they were going to be in the air for at least ten hours.
The seating wasn’t a typical commercial airline seating arrangement. All of the tables were aligned so they had a good view of large screens.
Funny how everyone self-segregated. The SEALs took up position at the front of the seating arrangement. The civilians and Quax in the middle and the other robots in the back, their tails protruding from under the seat backs.
Dillon sat on her left and her Dad on the right. He was snapping pictures right and left.
A flight attendant came up to him. “I’m sorry, sir, but pictures are under the non-disclosure agreement.” She put her hand out. Frowning, her father put his phone into the woman’s palm. “I’ll give it back once I’m sure all the pictures have been deleted.”
Her father grumbled something then continued to pout. “The guys at Light and Magic would have loved it.”
Nami patted his leg. “I’m sure they would have.”
She looked over to find one of the younger SEALs, Kabbit, staring at her. He flashed her a smile. Was he flirting with her?
Didn’t he realize that she was with Dillon?
Then again, Dillon was holding Quax’s hand. So, okay, she’d give the SEAL a break.
A rather formal and dark man stepped up to the screen. “I am Captain Darius Nassar and this will be our official briefing.”
Nami felt a little thrill at that. She’d never been to a briefing before. She hoped it was as exciting as it sounded.
“First we are headed to the Temp airfield. We will then catch a ride over on the K-21 submarine and enter the facility via the topside hatch. From there we will attempt to move swiftly to the command and communications center to establish contact with Temp base.
Callum stood up. He was nearly as tall as the Captain, but broader of shoulder even with his one missing arm.
“I’m sorry, Captain,” Quax stated after translating from Callum’s Russian, “But we have got to go to the security hub first. We have to assess where and how many sharks are within the facility.”
The Captain turned on his heel, glaring at Callum. “Sir, I know that you were added to this mission as a civilian consultant, but I must make you aware that this is my mission. I give the orders and you follow them.”
“Look, mate,” Quax interpreted. “I’m not trying to jockey you for po
sition, however our first order of business is going to be assessing the shark situation. We can’t do anything effectively until we determine the extent of the breach.”
Nami’s father rolled his eyes. “Just like in Red Boat Dark,”
She remembered the film well. It had been pitched as Zero Dark Thirty only on a submarine. Again, her father really should read the scripts before deciding to join the cast. Despite the critical lambasting he took, the film did super well in Asia. As a matter of fact it was one of his best grossing films there. Go figure.
The captain guy didn’t seem any too thrilled to be discussing the subject at all, let alone through a robot. He took in a deep breath as Nami rose in her chair.
“Callum, the captain’s right, we can resolve this later,”
Callum’s eyes narrowed. Nami tilted her head. Didn’t the guy get her intent? It was the oldest play in the teenage playbook. Agree to anything your adult wanted then do whatever the heck you desired once out of the house.
“Yes, perhaps you should agree with the teenage girl,” the captain said.
Okay, that was just low, but it seemed to help Callum understand where she was going as he nodded. “You know what, mate? I think that I will.”
The captain looked like he’d won the battle as Nami and Callum sat back down. Au contraire. She caught her father’s eye and disapproving frown. He certainly knew what she was up to.
She smiled and patted his shoulder. “You’ll thank me later.”
* * *
Dillon had the best girlfriend. Period. And now that he had Quax back, hopefully he could get back to being the best boyfriend. He squeezed her hand as the captain droned on about all of the procedures they were to follow.
“And you will see there is a packet in front of you with all of the key components to cold water survival.”
Opening it up, Dillon thumbed through it. He was used to open water survival, which wasn’t all the different except in warm water you conserved your strength, doing a lot of floating awaiting rescue. In cold water that just got you killed. No, in cold water you had to keep moving at all times. You had to keep your body temperature up. And that rescue better come in a few minutes or you were screwed.
Apex Predator Thriller Series Collection (Including the blockbuster new shark park thriller, Salechii) Page 35