From the Deep

by Michael Bray

  “Godzilla. Jaws. Cthulhu. Moby Dick. All leviathans of the deep, which fortunately for us, are creatures drawn from the wild imagination of authors and screenwriters. That was at least, until, today. This is Milton Cooper for TSBS, coming to you live From Venice beach California. Here amid the bronzed surfer bodies and beautiful people, a creature is claimed to lurk in the ocean…”

  He was on autopilot, going through the motions in order to present the report, whilst looking beyond the camera towards Melina. His heart pinched a little because he had let her through his grasp, and at his age, he didn’t think he would ever get another chance with someone like her again. He dismissed it, and the thought of Melina was replaced by the idea of getting a drink. Something cold and alcoholic that he would regret the following day, an idea that quickly escalated from one drink to a determined plan to get absolutely shit faced, and why not? It’s not like anyone at the station would miss him. He broadened his grin and continued his lighthearted report about the alleged monster sighting.

  He had found a quiet bar off the beach, and having changed out of his suit and sand filled shoes, was now incognito in knee length shorts, sandals, and white t-shirt. He was on his second beer chased with Jack Daniels, and still felt no better about his life. He was grateful that the bar was at least quiet and cool, and from his seat in the corner, he was happily drowning his sorrows. He drained the bottle, finished the Jack, then walked to the bar, disappointed to find his legs were still steady and the euphoric numbness of being drunk was still nowhere close to arriving. He waited, staring at the bartender, who was absorbed with watching the flat screen on the opposite wall. Milton was about to bang his glass on the bar to get his attention, when he too looked at the TV, and changed his mind.

  The amateur footage was shot from the beach, and though it was shaking and unstable, showed the entire miraculous escape perpetrated by Zimmer, as the huge wake followed. The footage showed a huge…something charging just below the surface of the water, taking Zimmer’s boat as the young German vaulted overboard and swam for the beach. The footage was replayed, zoomed, and in slow motion. Milton watched open mouthed, and cursed himself for neither researching the origin of the story or bothering to consider it might be a serious chance for him to actually do something worthwhile. Certainly, the CNN reporter who was now on screen seemed to be taking it seriously, his tone sombre and serious as he speculated on what might be lurking in the depths of the ocean. The entire feel of the report was a million miles away from his own, cheesy, campy, hammed up effort from earlier. He felt angry, ashamed and frustrated, and all thoughts of drinking himself unconscious were gone. The footage on screen was now an overhead shot of the ocean, where several overturned and splintered sailboats bobbed in the surf. The news bar across the bottom told the devastating news:

  FORTY KILLED IN BOAT RACE. ATTACK PERPETRATED BY CREATURE OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN. GOVERNMENT UNAVAILABLE FOR COMMENT.

  Milton licked his lips, and snatched up his phone, taking his eyes away from the screen only long enough to punch in Melina’s number. He stared at the television whist he waited for the line to connect.

  “Melina? It’s me.” He said as she answered. “You know what you were saying earlier about thinking outside the box? Well, I think I just had an idea.”

  CHAPTER 22

  Andrews poured another drink as he watched the television footage of what had now been dubbed ‘The Venice beach monster attack.’ He shook his head and whistled through his teeth, as he toyed with what to tell Russo when he arrived. There was a knock at the door, immediately followed by Clara entering the room. She sat in one of the plush leather chairs set up in Andrews’s quarters, and for a moment, said nothing.

  “So,” she said, “when were you going to tell me this was more than an observation mission?”

  “I told you everything I’m able to. All I need you to do is help me locate it. After that, you won’t need to get involved anymore.”

  “That’s not what we agreed,” she snapped, a flush of hot anger blooming in her cheeks. “Full disclosure. That was the deal.”

  “I told you everything I’m able to. You have to appreciate that this situation goes way above my pay grade.”

  “I don’t care about how high up the chain this goes, I want some clarification about your intentions.”

  “The expectations haven’t changed. We are to locate this creature as soon as possible in order to ensure public safety.”

  “Public safety? Funny how it only became an issue since the incident on Venice beach this afternoon.”

  “It’s no secret we wish this had been kept out of the public eye. Now more than ever, we need to act quickly.”

  “Or we could leave it alone.”

  Andrews leaned forward in his seat, paused to consider his words, and continued.

  “Clara, you are brilliant and highly respected, so I won’t insult your intelligence by lying to you. However, you must understand that I can’t divulge certain things. I’m simply not authorised. Once my colleague arrives, by all means, ask him anything you wish to know. Until that time, I can’t give you any more information.”

  “When does he arrive?”

  “He’s here.”

  Russo walked into the room, clad in a sharp looking suit. He nodded to Andrews, and looked at Carla, devouring her with his eyes.

  “You must be our curious scientist,” he said, striding confidently across the room and extending a hand.

  “Marine biologist,” she countered, shaking his hand.

  She trusted her initial instincts when it came to people, yet found her opinion of Russo to be mostly neutral. He smelled of expensive aftershave and soap, and when he removed his jacket, she saw he was much more muscular than he had at first appeared. He crossed the room and poured himself a large brandy, then sat opposite Clara, watching her with a half-smile. There was intensity to his gaze that would come across as attractive, if not for the fact that it instilled fear in her instead.

  “I was just asking what your intentions were towards this creature,” she said, forcing herself to keep eye contact. “I’m not comfortable heading out until I know definitively. He wouldn’t tell me.”

  “And rightly so,” Russo said with a grin, “as he wasn’t authorised. I, however, am.”

  “Okay, so you tell me. Are you looking to capture this thing or observe it?”

  Russo took a sip of his brandy, set it on the table and looked at Clara. “Miss Thompson, let me personally assure you of our intentions. The question of capture did arise for a time, however, under the circumstances, we thought it was both an unnecessary risk and in truth, a dangerous option considering the sheer size of the creature.”

  “He seemed to think capture was still on the cards.” She replied, nodding at Andrews.

  “I can assure you, Miss Thompson, he was wrong.”

  “So you’re just going out to observe it? You guarantee it?”

  “I give you my personal assurance that our mission is one of observation. I have no intention or desire to put the lives of anyone on board this vessel in danger. We simply want to assess the threat this creature may pose so we can consider future action.”

  “You ought to tell that to those other guys, the ones that intend to kill it.”

  “Other people?” Russo said, his eyebrows raised as he looked towards Andrews.

  “Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Andrews said, squirming under Russo’s gaze. “A group of fishermen. We had words.”

  “When?” Russo asked, now training his icy stare on Andrews instead of Clara.

  “About three hours ago.” Andrews said. “I’ll give you a full report shortly,” he added.

  The two remained locked in eye contact, then Russo nodded. “Of course, thank you.”

  He turned back to Clara, and grinned. “Well, if there is nothing else, Miss Thompson, Mr Andrews and I have much to discuss.”

  “No, that’s all I needed to know,” she said, standing and taking a second to look
at both men.

  “Thanks for the reassurance.”

  As she crossed the room, she imagined she could still feel Russo’s eyes crawling all over her, and felt a strange compulsion to run. She fought it off, and remained calm as she left, closing the door behind her and cutting off Russo’s line of sight.

  The instant she was gone, Russo turned to Andrews.

  “Tell me about this fishing boat.”

  Andrews filled Russo in about Rainwater and Mackay. When he had finished, Russo stood and paced the room, allowing the information to sink in.

  “We can’t compromise Project Blue. That has to be our first priority.” Russo said, sitting and taking another sip of his drink.

  “I thought you said it was off, and that we were just observing?”

  “Come on, don’t be so naïve. Do you really think the government would sink millions of dollars into funding this project if we were to break to the will of a scientist? No. I’m afraid not. I simply did what you should have. I told her what she wanted to hear.”

  “All I wanted to do when I first pitched this idea was to observe it. Hell, I just want to find it. Things only changed when you came on board.”

  “And for that you should be grateful. Until I stepped in, the chances of this project being funded was less than none. You should keep that in mind.”

  “Even so, we need to be careful. With the way the media are treating this, every half-assed adventurer with a boat will be out looking for this thing. It could be a problem.”

  “They don’t concern me. Most of them will sail around getting into each other’s way. However, this Rainwater situation is a worry. He has encountered it, and you can bet he will start looking in the same kind of places as us. ”

  “I imagine a lot of the people out looking for it have aspirations of killing it. What makes him so different?”

  “Because those others who are out there haven’t seen it yet. If they had, they wouldn’t be out on the water. This guy though, he’s seen it up close. It almost killed him when it took the lives of his father and uncle, and yet, he’s back out on the water trying to find it. Like it or not, that kind of determination should be respected, and be of more than a little reason for concern.”

  “What do you suggest we do?”

  “For now, nothing. They aren’t a priority. If they start becoming a problem, then that might change. Project Blue is to go ahead as planned.”

  “Let me ask you something off the record,” Andrews said.

  “Go ahead.”

  “Do you think it’s possible?”

  “Project Blue?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Not only do I think it’s possible, I’m willing to risk all of our lives to prove it.”

  Andrews had no answer. Satisfied, Russo grinned.

  “Anyway, enough of the melodrama. Let’s get underway before our temperamental biologist changes her mind.”

  Andrews called the captain and gave the order to cast off, and then poured himself and Russo a fresh drink. Outside the door, Clara stood, and chewed over the conversation she had overheard. At first, she was angry at being deceived, then that was quickly replaced by curiosity, which was transforming into obsession. As she walked towards her room, she asked herself the same question.

  What the hell is Project Blue?

  CHAPTER 23

  Famous for its often inhospitable weather, it was a rare calm day on the Bering Sea. The sky was blue and cloudless, and the boat cut smoothly through the water as they continued the search. Rainwater was by the radar looking over Morrison’s shoulder at the green hued display.

  “Do you have to stand there?” he grunted.

  “I’m just looking.”

  “Look, I’ll tell you if we get a signal, until then, can you go somewhere else? I can’t work with you hovering over me.”

  “Sorry, man, no harm intended,” Rainwater grumbled, then headed to the wheelhouse.

  Mackay was piloting the boat, one foot propped on the control unit as he smoked his way through another pack of cigarettes.

  “Another long day today, lad, eh?” he said as Rainwater sat beside him in the co-pilots chair.

  “It’s a big ocean.”

  “It’s a big fish we’re looking for too.” Mackay shot back with a wink. “I just hope we’re looking in the right place.”

  “I thought your guy knew what he was doing?”

  “He does, or so he tells me at least.”

  “You don’t believe any of this do you?” Rainwater asked as he looked out at the vast expanse of water.

  “Well, the way I look at things, I have spent a long time on the water all over the world. I have seen whales. Sharks. Dolphins. Even sea snakes more than twenty feet long. I can’t imagine something as big as you say could be swimming around out there without someone coming across it.”

  “I saw it, Mackay. I saw the wake.”

  “I know what you say you saw, but it was dark. Raining. You were tired. The mind can play tricks with you out here after a while. I don’t doubt what you think you saw, I just don’t think it will be as spectacular as you are expecting.”

  “So what do you think I saw? Andrews is after something out here.”

  “I think maybe it might be a big whale out there. Maybe a giant squid, nothing as big as you are claiming. Nothing the size you say this thing is could live for so long without us knowing about it.”

  “Morrison says it could have easily existed without us knowing. Hell, it did exist without us knowing.”

  “Aye, well, it seems that asshole on the other boat is as caught up in all this as you, so maybe I’m the dumb one after all. He seems the type to do anything to get what he wants.”

  “You think he’d really try to sink us if it came to it?”

  Mackay shrugged and tossed his cigarette butt out of the open port window. “Depends if you believe in conspiracy theories, I suppose. A guy I knew back in the forces, swore all of our technology came from an alien spaceship the government deconstructed back in Roswell. Says without that craft, we wouldn’t have microwaves, mobile phones, silicon, or half of the other things we take for granted.”

  “I didn’t take you for a conspiracy theorist.”

  “I didn’t say I believed all that shit, my point is there are plenty of people who do. The internet is full of people who claim all sorts of stuff. That the government was responsible for John F Kennedy’s assassination, or killing Marilyn Monroe, or even of engineering 9/11. My point is, we don’t know what this guy is willing to do.”

  “So what do we do about it?”

  Mackay shrugged as he lit another cigarette.

  “Way I see it, there isn’t much we can do. We’re out here in the middle of nowhere on a small boat, which has long since seen its best years. If this prick decides to blow us out of the water, there ain’t’ a whole lot we can do to stop him.”

  “What do you suppose he wants with it?” Rainwater asked.

  “If this thing actually exists, my best guess is that our wonderful government is looking to find it because they see something to gain. In my experience, everything related to people like Andrews comes down to either war, money, or both. Whatever it is, you can bet your ass they won’t stop until they get what they want. If we get in the way, don’t be surprised if they blow us out of the water and call us collateral damage.”

  “You think we’re in danger, don’t you?”

  “Maybe, maybe not,” Mackay said with a shrug of his shoulders. “There ain’t much we can do about it now, other than see it through to the end.”

  “Why did you agree to this if you knew we could be at risk?” Rainwater asked.

  Mackay exhaled a plume of blue smoke from his cigarette, and then turned to face Rainwater.

  “In all honesty, I’ve been asking myself the same question since we came out here. Is it a sense of duty to the son of a good friend? Maybe. On the other hand, maybe I’m curious to know if our boat was sunk by this fish of yours. Ei
ther way, I’m here by my choice. You don’t have to feel guilty about it.”

  “I hope we find it soon. The waiting for something to happen is worse than if we actually hit.”

  “Well, you better get used to the calm. Looks like there’s a bitch of a storm coming in tonight. It could be a rough few hours.”

  “How bad?”

  “Tropical storm bad.”

  “Have you been in one before?”

  “Yeah, and I’ll be straight with you. If you think conditions were bad on the night the Red Gold went down, it was a picnic compared to this. I only hope you know what you are doing, kid, otherwise, we could all end up at the bottom of the ocean.

  CHAPTER 24

  The California coastline had exploded into a melting pot of frantic activity. Driven into frenzy by the media coverage, docks and jetties everywhere were overcrowded with people, all desperate to get out to sea in search of what was now being dubbed the ‘sunshine state monster.’ Boats of every conceivable size and shape were being loaded and prepared to head out to sea. Some were setting out with the intention of killing the creature and were readying dynamite and harpoons. Others were content simply to try to find the creature, and many opportunist skippers were charging curious civilians extortionate sums to join in their adventures.

  Milton walked down the dock, struggling to cope with the explosive heat. He had hoped that by heading out early, he might avoid the crowds. Unfortunately, it seemed everyone in California had the same idea.

  Melina was waiting for him by the boat he had hired. She looked stunning, dressed in a red vest top and jean shorts, and he couldn’t help but let his eyes linger on her as she loaded the last of her camera equipment onto the boat. She took off her sunglasses and greeted him with a bemused smile as he arrived.

  “I thought you said it would be quiet this morning?”

  “I thought it would be. It’s like a damn circus. Seems like everyone who has ever seen Jaws thinks they are Roy fucking Scheider.”