Underground_A Merfolk Secret

by M. N. Arzu

  “You think I’m doing this for fame?” he asked, taken aback.

  “No, but my editor certainly is. Veritas has established itself as the place for all things merfolk, and we intend to keep it that way. The story starts with us. Once it’s public, you can take it anywhere else you want to. We only want the exclusive.”

  “Done. Now tell me the whole thing.”

  * * *

  It was nice to have Patrick hanging on her every word. Granted, she was about to spin a tale like no other, and he would believe it because he was already blinded by his facts, but for once, she wasn’t going to be the one left in the dark.

  “You were right about the watch, it did exist, and it was Christopher Brooks’s watch. Why it ended up on Ray’s wrist is a secret Julian hasn’t told me, but he didn’t deny it.”

  “Do you still have it? The watch?”

  “A hundred pictures of it, but the watch itself found its way back to the Brookses. Don’t ask.” If there was a painful part of the story, it had to be losing that damning piece of evidence.

  “So Julian knows about merfolk.”

  Like you wouldn’t believe. “We think his company has been having dealings with them for years.”

  “Like hunting them down?”

  “No. Like actual deals. You see, Patrick, merfolk are not wild creatures of the sea. They are smart, human-level-or-more smart, and they’ve been hiding in the ocean for a long time. We think some time ago, maybe a few years, maybe a few decades, they started dealing with the Brooks family directly. Think about it: Brooks Inc. has the most advanced technologies when it comes to underwater equipment and gear. Most people think they’re only a boat company—”

  “—but their empire extends to food and pharmacy mega-industries worldwide,” Patrick interrupted her.

  “You’ve done your research.”

  “You bet. I’ve known the Brookses have been involved in this for months, I just can’t find the right clues to pin them down.”

  “You won’t.” If Kate had learned something this past year, it was that Julian covered his tracks well enough to spin a dozen different theories. Just like I’m doing right now…

  “So, merfolk come to the surface and talk to Julian?”

  “I don’t know how it works, but I do know Christopher was in some sort of accident or fight, along with Ray. That’s why he was lost at sea while Ray found his way to the ER. There are a few blanks about how closely related Julian was to the United Nations and the Pentagon at that time.”

  “Oh, he was close. A subsidiary from Brooks Inc. in Germany produced the special IVs and food for Ray. It’s taken me ages to track down everything and everyone involved with his medical care, but I wasn’t surprised when I finally found Brooks Inc.’s fingerprints in there.”

  She stared at him a little too long. “I—I didn’t know that.”

  “You know how the story ends, that’s what matters.”

  “Right. Right. So, Julian’s family knew merfolk, maybe not this one personally, but he knew of them. Then this accident happens, and Ray’s out in the world. The United Nations takes over Ray’s care by this point, and the Pentagon’s impatiently waiting for answers. As Julian told me, he had a duty to protect Ray, so he told the government and the UN the truth. That’s why they granted him Ray’s care in exchange with meeting with other merfolk, and the next thing you know, he’s taking Ray somewhere out of the public eye on a medevac in plain daylight.”

  “And they all lied about his death.”

  “They thought people would drop it. He told me Ray was in serious condition and that they were afraid too much attention would lead to him ending up in the wrong hands. He was deeply concerned the merman would die and that all communications with merfolk would end.”

  “Goodbye to the golden goose, I bet.”

  She shook her head slowly. “It didn’t strike me that way. When I sat down with him, bringing the story to his doorstep, telling him we were going to publish his involvement, he was afraid, Patrick. Not for himself, but for Ray, and merfolk in general. His own son had been found three days before, and he was right there, trying to save Ray from human curiosity.”

  “Hmm. I guess Mr. Brooks will have his day in the court of public opinion soon enough. So, where is Ray?”

  “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know,” she added when Patrick gave her a disbelieving look. “Julian won’t say, and he’s against us telling the world that Ray is alive.”

  “No kidding. We’re about to tell everyone how the United Nations and the government lied so they could cut a deal with an underwater civilization that has lived under our noses for millennia.”

  She nodded. “Everyone will deny it. That’s why we’ve been working all these months trying to get everything straightened out. Julian won’t back us up, and getting independent sources to confirm this has been a dead end.”

  Patrick nodded. “I can help there. A few scientists are willing to testify that Ray was never declared dead. Some even say he was awake and communicating before he was extracted from ORCAS.”

  “We’re trying to get medical records,” Kate said. “People involved with Ray’s current treatment. But everything seems to be buried under Brooks Inc.’s guidance.”

  “We need to go to the source,” Patrick suddenly said with a fire in his eyes that scared Kate a bit. “We need a way to get Julian Brooks to confess.”

  She nodded. “We think he might be ready to do just that. That’s where you come in, Patrick. That’s why we’re telling you this. He might not trust Veritas to do the right job with coming forward with this story, though we’ve uncovered plenty. But you have the right credentials. As long as you work with us, he might work with you.”

  * * *

  “So, did he buy it?” Ken asked her the minute Patrick was in the elevator.

  “Most of it, yes,” she said, taking a deep breath. “He’s going to come tomorrow to work on the story, but everything matches with what he told me the first time we met, so he has little reason to doubt it.”

  “Oh, he will doubt it,” Ken said, sipping cold coffee and grimacing at the taste. “If he’s half as good as Jeff said, he will triple check the story. Good luck finding the truth, though. If he hasn’t figured out that Christopher and Ray are the same, he never will. Hopefully, neither will the world.”

  She bit her lip. “He still wants to pin Julian down as the bad guy. He thinks Brooks Inc. is profiting from merfolk, so Julian is only interested in protecting his bottom line.”

  “Well, that’s Mr. Brooks’s problem now. He knew what he was getting into when he asked us to send O’Connor his way,” Ken said, shrugging. She chuckled, shaking her head.

  “So, what now, Chief?”

  “Now, Kate, now we prepare to bring Ray back to life.”

  31

  On the Sidelines

  Gill wasn’t talking to him.

  Monday classes were almost over, and Alex had yet to even catch her eye. She’d practically stormed out of AP Computer Science, and had skipped History altogether, leaving him with the sinking feeling that this was all his fault.

  All I wanted was for her to be safe! he thought as he banged his head against the wall of the small cubicle in the library. He had to wait for Matt to finish with swimming practice, and Scott was supposed to be around here somewhere. On a normal Monday, Alex would be happily searching the net for merfolk-related stories and possible troubles. He’d tried that for, like, fifteen minutes, but his head couldn’t stop rounding back to why Gill was shutting him out.

  “You look awful,” Scott stated as he opened the door, and dumped his backpack on the table.

  “Where were you?”

  “Having a better day than you are, apparently. What’s wrong with you?”

  “Gill,” Alex said, her name hurting his throat somehow. “She’s not talking to me.”

  “You two broke up?”

  “We were never really—I mean, we kissed, once… And then we kind
of—held hands for a moment or two… Does that mean we were dating?”

  Scott’s unblinking blue eyes seemed to say, How the hell should I know?

  “You must have done something,” his brother said with all the authority in the world.

  “I told her she should stay out of merfolk business—for her own protection!” Alex added as Scott’s usually uninterested face changed to one of bafflement.

  “You’re an idiot.”

  “I’m an—what? You were the one who told me to make sure she was seeing me as me and not just as a fantasy!”

  “No, I said you had to figure out if she’s a friend or an ally! And you don’t alienate either one! In case you haven’t noticed, she has the power to tell the entire world who we really are!”

  Alex blinked. “Gill would never—”

  “Haven’t you ever heard hell has no fury like a woman scorned? For real?”

  He shook his head, his heart pounding. “She was mad because I was telling her what to do.”

  “You wouldn’t look so awful right now if you hadn’t done something worse, and you know it. If you don’t—”

  Whatever else Scott was scolding him about, Alex didn’t hear it. He ran out of the cubicle in a frenetic search for Gill. Chances were she was already gone, but as he skidded to a stop in front of the computer lab, he saw her reddish curls behind a monitor.

  “Gill!” he said, panting, earning a disapproving glare from the other three guys in the lab. “I need to talk to you, please?”

  She looked like a dear caught in the headlights, and then her face changed to resignation. She took forever to pick up her stuff, but finally—finally!—she walked out of there.

  “I’m so sorry for how things ended on Friday,” he said as soon as she closed the door to the lab behind her. “I was an idiot—an idiot with good intentions, but still. I didn’t mean to—”

  “I couldn’t go,” Gill whispered, which Alex almost missed.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “Dad didn’t let me go,” she said, her eyes starting to fill with tears. Alex panicked. “He said I’m too young. I have no idea what the meeting was about or what the SWIMMERs are planning that’s so important they needed to gather all the golden members.” A tear slipped down, and she furiously wiped it away. “I’m an idiot for thinking I could do anything to help you out, let alone keep you safe.”

  “You weren’t talking to me because you thought I was—”

  “—going to ask about the dinner. And I have no answers. I’ve been trying all day to hack into my dad’s account and—”

  He hugged her. He simply took her into his arms and hugged her. Maybe because he was relieved she wasn’t fighting with him; maybe because he needed to let her know how much she meant to him. Whatever it was, the universe was once again right now that he knew she was still on his side.

  “You’re the most awesome SWIMMER on the planet,” he said in her ear, and she sobbed into his shoulder.

  “This—this is the only—only thing I can hel—help you with,” she said, failing miserably at gaining control over her breathing, but not letting him go, either.

  “Would it make you feel better if I tell you what the dinner was about?” he asked, hopeful.

  “You already know?” she asked in horror, ending the hug.

  “Yeah. Come on, let me tell you all about it and how the SWIMMERs are going to be right in the middle of it.” He didn’t have to tell her twice.

  * * *

  “How are things going?” Andrew asked as the waitress left his drink on the table. This bar was as far away from their bar in Brooklyn as one could get. In fact, this was probably the fanciest bar Andrew had ever seen in his life. Good thing Christopher had invited him to come.

  Must be something to have that kind of money.

  Chris sipped his drink, thoughtful.

  “Dad’s confident that Drake won’t be harmed, since the Navy knows his status as a Council member, but he doesn’t think they’ll release him anytime soon. Not without some serious strategy on our side.”

  “A strategy I’m sure Julian is already working on.”

  “Actually, it might concern you.”

  “Oh… Do you need me to drive the getaway car?” Andrew joked, but Chris wasn’t as enthusiastic.

  “Veritas is going to run a story saying Ray’s alive.”

  “You’re coming clean?” Andrew asked, surprised.

  “No. Nothing like that. If all goes as planned, Drake will take Ray’s identity. We’re about to tell the world that the Navy has him. That he’s been with them all this time. There’s a good chance your name is going to come up, Andrew. This might be a good time for you—”

  “To come clean,” Andrew said, nodding.

  “No, to disappear,” Chris corrected. Andrew smiled.

  “Come on. Gwen’s already in the spotlight. If you’re dragging the Navy into the public light, I’m sure Nathan’s going to be the voice speaking for the UN, especially since they backed up the story about Ray’s death. I have no problem with joining their club.”

  “Andrew—”

  “You don’t think I’m just going to sit this one out and let everyone else do their part, do you?”

  “You don’t have to do this. Anonymity is the only way to guarantee your privacy, a normal life. People are going to be so angry at anyone and everyone involved. This is not something that you can take back.”

  “You need me to tell the story of your recovery—Ray’s recovery. You need me to show that the UN, ORCAS, and the government didn’t leave their only merman in the wrong hands. Whatever the story is going to be, I can lend it legitimacy.”

  Chris opened his mouth, and then closed it. He knew Andrew was right, that they didn’t need him, but having his voice added to the others would make the news seem real.

  “I—I don’t know… I’ll have to run it by Julian first.”

  “Of course. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be there.”

  Chris nodded. Then, “Are you sure?”

  “Yes! Gosh, you look as jittery as Adrian when I told him about getting some labs done.”

  “You spoke with Adrian?” Chris asked, frowning.

  “Sure I did. He’s a nice guy, a little intense. Definitely shares your disdain for proper lab work.” It was no secret Christopher disliked Adrian, but the way he looked at Andrew made him feel as if he’d just spoken to the devil. “Relax. He had an accident last week. He wanted me to treat him. Apparently news of my knowledge travels fast in the underworld.”

  “Be careful around Adrian, okay? Every single one of us senses he’s hiding something, and until we know what, just…keep your guard up.”

  * * *

  Something wasn’t right. Major White had asked the Navy for the follow-up to the Brazil incident, and although it had taken a couple of days, he’d finally gotten his hands on the reports and debriefings of the marines that had been tracking the older “Matthew”.

  Details were missing from those reports. A less attentive mind might have missed it, and the large amount of paperwork and clearance that accompanied the documentation did seem to paint the whole mission, but…

  “They would have known that this man looked exactly like Matthew in a matter of hours,” White murmured, intrigued. Few were the people granted access to knowing the Brookses’ real identities, but Admiral Coleman was certainly in the know. So why hadn’t he brought it up in their frequent meetings? And more importantly, why was the Navy claiming they weren’t sure the man in the video was a merman?

  The Brazil incident had happened at the same time Roy Wallace had been stalking the Brooks family, in the same week White himself had sat down with Drake to secure a deal with merfolk. Wallace had been dead less than two days later.

  It had been a busy week for the Pentagon, but not busy enough for the admiral not to reach out to the major. Not then and not eight weeks later. And the more White read the reports, the more he had a growing concern that th
e admiral didn’t trust White with this information—which meant he might as well disregard any deals White had made with Drake.

  Was the admiral running his own operation?

  If he wasn’t before, he sure is now. The Navy had no intentions of releasing Drake anytime soon, leaving White to play peacekeeper for the time being. A job that was getting increasingly harder when Coleman was hiding things from him.

  Narrowing his eyes, White opened a new document and started writing up the inconsistencies he was finding. He had to get to the bottom of this before Coleman made a monumental mistake.

  * * *

  The video system finally gave him access.

  Huey, Dewey, and Louie the Second had finished installing the cameras inside the observation room yesterday. The cameras inside the tank had always been working, of course, since they monitored whatever animals were usually housed in there. But the cameras inside the observation room had needed to be installed, not because the Navy particularly cared that Drake could see them as they could see him, but because every inch of this place had to be recorded and observed.

  And that was exactly what Drake needed.

  He’d had a particularly long session today with Higgs and Greensburg, both to assess his mental agility and to take a good look at his body. Higgs hadn’t been able to tell him if he’d found the tracker or not since they’d never been alone, but that was beside the point. A dozen cameras had followed every minute of his stay at the Institute of Marine Life Research, recording for posterity his captivity.

  There were seventy-two hours of uninterrupted merfolk video from sixteen different angles, and as Drake went looking through them, he kept a careful eye on the time. As much as he would love to spend the entire night picking and editing each video to perfectly suit his needs, he had to act fast. After all, he was being filmed right now as well.