Chapter 12 #2
“But the boats we do send will go further. So, they will be in less danger. And we may catch the mer before they are aware of where we’re going next.” Bàba turned his paper over. “They are obviously close to, if not equal to us in intelligence. They can strategize, organize.”
Angie looked out the window behind her. On a normal day, the sight of still, blue waters beneath a clear sky would have greeted her. Today, the waves appeared disarray, churning and splashing and entwining with each other, watery soldiers running amuck without orders to fall in line.
“Wait, I have an idea!” she called out, raising her hand.
“What idea could the new girl have? Just let us go. We’ll kill the mer if needed.
They won’t get anywhere near the shore,” a stocky-framed dock worker grumbled, but loud enough for her to hear him.
He stood with his arms folded over a bulging belly, his thick unruly eyebrows slanted downward, his wrinkles and salt and pepper hair standing out beneath the ceiling light’s yellow cast.
Angie’s eyelids twitched. She held seniority over many dock workers, and he was certainly aware she wasn’t new. The condescending smirk on his face, and the way he didn’t even face her when he spoke didn’t escape her.
She had always had a baby face and was the youngest in the family, and it happened far too often for her liking that someone older had brushed her off and treated her like she didn’t know what she was talking about.
Her face and neck flushed with heat. She was sick of being treated like this.
“Hey, boy.” Angie’s stare shot flying daggers at him, fists clenched. “First, I’m a woman, not a girl. Second–”
Ian cut her off. “How about I call you whatever I want? You don’t tell me what to–”
“Stop!” Bàba yelled. “Ian, you will not talk to her like that. Let her speak.”
“But–”
“She’s my daughter.” Bàba maintained an unwavering glare, as if daring Ian to challenge his decision.
Ian’s lips thinned, but he said no more. Angie stole a glance at Bàba.
“Beibei, please.” Bàba motioned for her to go ahead, his eyes soft and warm when they faced her.
Angie’s breath hitched. He had never called her that at work.
“Why don’t we catch some and study them?
We could learn a lot about their speech patterns, their behavior.
We should know our enemy, right?” They had so readily agreed to blindly slaughter the mer, and she had a strong feeling her suggestion wouldn’t be received well.
Still, she had to try to buy Kaden some time.
If they started killing them by the masses, the mer would never agree to peace.
Couldn’t have Kaden killed before she found out what she needed from him.
He was the only mer foolish enough to stick his head and body above water.
For a drawn-out moment, silence befell the room, and Angie looked to Eva, Bàba, and Nick.
Bàba regarded her, brow wrinkled – his expression when he was thinking of something.
Then the room erupted into boisterous, mocking laughter until Bàba slammed his fists down on the table, and once again, the room went silent.
“No way.” Eva spoke up, shocking Angie. “They killed too many of us already, including Luke. They clearly have no interest in talking to us.”
“Agree,” Ian said, the dock worker who sneered at her earlier.
Angie’s chest deflated in defeat.
“Angela, why would you mention something like that?” A knowing smirk was plastered across Nick’s face. “They may look half-human on the outside, but they’re animals. What’s there to understand about them?”
Angie clenched her jaw and rubbed her brow, trying to mitigate the headache of Nick’s voice.
Another older man spoke up, this one not looking much younger or healthier than Ian. “Know your place, woman. Let the men speak.”
“So, speak, you condescending male prick,” Angie shot back. “I don’t know how you or Ivan could chase down any of the mer without collapsing.”
“It’s Ian–”
“I wasn’t done talking.”
Bàba gritted his teeth and walked over to the two men.
“Ian, Marc. Get out. Don’t come back until I call you.
You do not disrespect anyone who works here.
” The order came crashing down on them, and they left without a peep of protest. Bàba turned to Angie next, his glare shooting icicles at her.
“That goes for everyone.” Angie flinched.
She knew she shouldn’t have fought fire with fire, at least not with men like them. Yet, she didn’t regret her outburst.
Bàba rubbed his face and ran his hands through his thinning hair. Then he nodded at Angie to continue.
“Look, Bàba. If one of the mer was willing to talk, would you consider hearing what they have to say? We could bring in marine biologists who specialize in marine animal communication. Maybe even find one that can speak our language.”
“I would have. But we’ve lost six of our men and women.
Luke is dead. And it’s because of them.” Bàba murmured, rubbing the newly-sprouted small patch of hair on his chin.
“Speaking of which, the Coast Guard recovered the missing boat. But no bodies. As for the mer, shoot them on the spot. Nobody is to get any ideas, understood?”
“Yes, sir,” the dock workers said in unison. Angie only mouthed the words.
“We need to get the day started,” Nick said while Bàba walked back to the middle of the crowd.
“There are a handful of fishing boats left that we can send out. Scout the area and capture whatever fish are available. But not enough to attract the mer’s attention.
They are slow, quiet, and hardly make a ripple in the water.
” He paused for a breath, looking around at the workers with an air of importance.
Angie rolled her eyes. “We need volunteers to go out on the boats.”
A few hands shot up instantly, and several hesitant others followed. “We need one more.” Bàba said, after counting. Angie raised hers too.
“Absolutely not!” Nick’s voice exploded over hers. “Does Angela even know how to man a boat?” The question was snide, and his nose upturned.
“Yes, I do.” Angie met his glare, keeping her gaze level. “I learned the ins and outs of driving a boat since before you ever laid eyes on one.”
Nick shut up.
“We will send you out in a day or two, when we figure out the schedule.” Bàba’s inflection was confident, assertive, but Angie caught a wobble of trepidation below the surface. He rolled up the piece of paper. “Meeting dismissed. Get back to work, all of you.”