Chapter 40
Jack navigated into the slip at the Oceanographic Institute, banging the bumpers. By the time we arrived, my joints ached, and I could barely stand. Sweating and uneasy, it was no picnic.
Jay was a certified hyperbaric technician, among other things.
"That's the second time you got me out of a tight spot," Ariel said, her voice muffled by the mask. It made her sound like a sci-fi character.
"I'd say stop getting into tight spots, but then who would I have to rescue?"
"You know, we’re probably the only two people to see that shark and live to tell the tale.”
"Except the people who created it.”
"I’ve never seen anything like it," Ariel said. "I'm not sure I want to again. But it was fascinating.”
After five hours, we were released from our steel prison. The joint pain and itchy skin had melted away. I'm not going to say I felt great, but a damn sight better than I did when I went in.
Jack was there to greet us. "You two are certifiable, you know that? You’re not going to catch me in the water with that damn thing.”
I chuckled.
"I'm sure you know the drill," Jay said. "No flying, no diving, no heavy exercise. Take it easy for a couple of days. I know I'm asking the impossible with you, but maybe I can knock some sense into that thick head of yours.”
"I promise I'll take it easy." I nodded to Ariel. "Now her, on the other hand…”
She smacked my arm playfully. "I think I've learned my lesson."
I thanked Jay for the assistance, then we left the facility and ambled back down the dock to the Siren.
Still sore, but functional, we boarded the boat.
Jack took the helm. I cast off the lines, and he fired up the engine and navigated us out of the marina.
We headed back to Diver Down, found an empty slip, and tied off.
There were a few parties on boats. The moon glowed overhead, and the stars flickered. A few lazy clouds drifted on the breeze.
I was hungry. So was Ariel.
We boarded the Avventura and considered dining options.
Everything on the island would be packed.
I wasn't in the mood to fight the crowd or wait to get a table.
Even Diver Down was busy with spring break revelers.
We made a couple of sandwiches in the galley and stuffed our faces on the sky deck.
It wasn't a gourmet meal, but it would do.
Unfortunately, alcohol was off the table for the next 24 to 48 hours. That didn't keep Jack from mixing up a cocktail. "Now that we’ve found that thing, what the hell do we do?"
"We don't have a DNA sample,” I said. “We don't have any footage. We've got nothing to connect any of this to Aqus.”
“We've got the DNA from the original shark attack," Jack said.
"That came back from the lab. They confirmed it’s some type of hybrid cross.
I caught the sheriff up to speed on everything while you guys were getting unbent.
He contacted FWC and FDLE. They want the original DNA sample retested to confirm.
They're having a hard time believing this thing is actually real.”
"I can tell you without a doubt, it is actually real,” I said.
"We can go back out to the dive site, recover that cage,” Jack said. “Maybe there's some DNA evidence.”
"If there is, I doubt it would last long. It would degrade quickly.” I frowned. "I'm benched for a few days. But you can dive the site with a buddy.”
He frowned. "We can send the dive team. Anyway you slice it, this is going to end up as a federal case. The FBI will get involved, so will the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.”
"I'd like to wrap this up before that happens.”
"I'm just thinking out loud, but if this is some kind of government black ops program, something tells me these federal agencies are going to get a national security letter and stand down.” Jack frowned. “If we don’t solve this, it might just slip away.”
The last time we uncovered a covert program, it didn't end well.
I finished my sandwich and was ready to take a shower and wash the briny residue from my skin.
We bused our plates and brought them down to the galley.
Ariel slipped below deck to her stateroom, and I headed up to the bridge deck to take a shower.
I peeled out of my clothes, blasted the water, and slipped into the stall when it got hot.
Steam filled the en suite. The hot water felt good.
I was still a little sore and achy, but nothing I couldn't manage.
I toweled off, brushed my teeth, then stepped back into my stateroom.
To my surprise, I had a visitor.