Chapter 22
Ishared a glance with Jack.
"I'm not going to lie. I'm a little worried somebody's gonna find out I was talking to Andrew," Mr. X said. "I saw on the news that his assistant was stabbed this evening. You don't think that's a coincidence, do you?"
"No, I don't,” I replied.
"This whole thing is massively illegal. They’ve already released this thing into the wild.
There's no turning back now. What if it reproduces? We have no idea what this is going to do to the overall ecosystem. Not to mention, this thing happens to be chewing on tourists at an alarming rate. Andrew told me the neural implants tend to agitate and make the sharks far more aggressive than they would normally be. Impulses can also be transmitted to the implant to enhance aggressive behavior.” He exhaled a frustrated breath.
"I know this sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but it's the truth.
It's happening, and it needs to be stopped. That shark needs to be destroyed."
That's when his girlfriend piped up. "It's a living thing. You can't just kill it. That would be highly unethical.”
"It's not a natural predator. It shouldn’t be in the ecosystem."
"Oh, so we’re just supposed to exterminate them now?”
He glared at her. "I don't know what the solution is. But we have no idea what the consequences of this are going to be over the long term. We don't know how many people are going to die as a result of this."
She shrugged. "Maybe this is how it's supposed to happen. Maybe this is all part of evolution."
"Genetically engineering super predators is not part of evolution."
"Maybe it is,” she said with a shrug.
I tried to steer the ship back on track. “I need something concrete. Tangible. Something that gives me probable cause.”
The couple shared another glance.
Mr. X said, "I can neither confirm nor deny, but associates of mine may have infiltrated Aqus.
They have highly secure areas with impenetrable security.
Andrew said they're doing the gene splicing right there on site. They have secret developmental nurseries for the sharks before they release them into the wild.” He paused.
"I may or may not know people who are willing to attempt another breach of the facility.
Perhaps we could find something more concrete to back up these claims."
"That won't be necessary,” I said. “I can’t use evidence illegally acquired, and you could compromise the investigation. We will pursue this through legitimate means. I appreciate your intel. Do not take matters into your own hands. That's only going to make things worse.”
Mr. X frowned.
I dug into my pocket and slid a card across the table. "Get in touch with me if anything else comes to mind. We’ll talk to employees of Aqus as well as friends of Andrew’s and see if anyone is willing to corroborate your allegations. In the meantime, stay out of trouble.”
After a beat, he gave a reluctant nod. Something told me Mr. X liked to flirt with trouble.
"Why don't you go ahead and tell me your name?" I said. "I'm going to figure it out sooner or later.”
That made him uneasy. He shifted and exchanged another look with his girlfriend.
She shook her head.
"Thanks, but I’ll pass."
Paris said, "Thank you, gentlemen. If you'll excuse me, I would like to talk to them off the record."
I gave her a subtle nod, and we left the booth. It was close to 3:00 AM. We decided to leave Flood and head back to the Avventura. In the rideshare along the way, Jack said, "Do you believe his story?”
I shrugged.
"Who do you think is funding the operation? Is this a private venture, or are they backed by some off-the-books CIA group?”
I called the one person who’d be able to figure that out.