“I know,” Cliff said. “Not much to look at.”
“Oh, no,” Emily said. “I was just—”
He smiled at her and waved the comment off. “I’m just kidding,” he said. “Is this your first time out on a trip like this?”
“Yes, it is,” Emily admitted.
“Well then, you’ll understand the dress code in short order,” he said. “Now, which one are you? I know there were two young women coming but I am terrible with names, so…”
“Emily,” she said, extending her hand. “Emily Nevins.”
“Nice to meet you. So, are you ready for this?”
“I am. I’ve been wanting to do something like this since my sophomore year of college.”
“Good,” he said. “It’s always nice to see fresh, young blood getting involved in the good fight.”
The fight was the struggle to bring justice to those that continued to poach sperm whales. As of late, there had been several reports of such heinous activity forty miles off of the coast of where she and Cliff Zinsser currently walked across a parking lot to a boat rental shop. It was a cause that Emily had cared deeply about since she had been in high school, but a fire had been lit under her in college that had nearly consumed her. She’d seen enough videos and documentaries…she’d had enough friends that had wanly turned their nose up at her desire to do something to help the environment and its endangered species. This was what she wanted to do with her life and she was anxious to get started.
She had just started grad school, with just a single semester under her belt. She knew the road ahead would involve some very hard classes and quite a bit of travelling. But she was in for all of that. After all, if she was going to sincerely make a go of it, what better way to start than to get involved in an expedition that might help bring a few poachers to justice? She knew it might be dangerous, but that was part of the appeal.
Well, that plus the fact that someone as well-respected in environmental circles as Cliff Zinsser was heading the trip up. The man wasn’t much to look at, but something about the way he was so passionate about the cause had made Emily develop something of a crush on him a few years back. Now that she was standing next to him as they entered the rental shop, she felt that crush crumbling and transforming into something along the lines of pure respect. It was heartbreaking in a way but Emily couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such an adult feeling about a man.
Cliff opened the door for her as they reached the front door of the rental cabin. Alongside the pier than connected the cabin to the ocean, several different boats were tied. They ranged from speed boats to what Emily assumed was a tug boat that had likely been in the water during the Biblical flood. When she stepped inside, Emily had her first true doubts about this trip. Suddenly, her often-frigid home in Minnesota seemed incredibly far away.
The shop smelled like bait, which made perfect sense as the place also sold several forms of it behind the counter. An elderly man in a clichéd-looking floral Hawaiian shirt greeted them with a nod and a mumbled, “Aloha.”
“Aloha,” Cliff said. “I believe you have a boat reserved under my name. Cliff Zinsser.”
The clerk nodded and rummaged around under the counter. He retrieved a set of keys and handed them over to Cliff. “Can I please see your license and documentation?” the clerk asked.
Cliff removed the small backpack he was wearing and went looking for the materials. As he did this, Emily looked out of the window and back out to the parking lot. Another car was pulling in and when it pulled alongside her own rental, Emily knew who it was. She could barely see the shape of the driver, but she could see enough to know that it was Steve.
She frowned a bit, recalling the small bit of drama between them at the airport. She and Steve Locke had carpooled together for the trip from Minneapolis to Lāna‘i and then sat beside one another during the six-and-a-half hour flight. She knew Steve was very much into her and even though she had expressed no interest several times, he remained persistent. A large part of her was certain that the only reason Steve was on this expedition was to spend two days alone with her out at sea. Sure, it was a conceited thing to think about herself, but Steve made no attempts to hide any of it. Because of that, she had made a lame excuse at the rental car counter at the airport. She had insisted they get two cars because she wanted to do some sight-seeing when they returned and didn’t want to hinder him. He had objected but she’d gone to the point of being rude to see that she got her own car.
The bad part of it was that Steve was an okay guy. If he didn’t have what appeared to be an obsessive streak about him, Emily thought she could maybe convince herself to be interested in him.
When she saw him coming across the parking lot towards the rental shop, Emily stepped a bit closer to Cliff. She listened to Cliff and the clerk exchange a few pleasantries. With the key in his possession, Cliff gestured for the door.
“Shall we?” he asked.
She gave him a smile and left the shop. They had made it no more than five steps out towards the pier before Steve started coming in their direction. He stepped onto the pier, carrying a pack on his back and headphones hanging from his shoulders.
“You’re Cliff Zinsser, right?” Steve asked.
“I am,” Cliff said. “You must be… Steve, right?”
“That’s me.”
“Great. So glad you could join us!”
“Same here,” Steve said, although he was sizing Cliff up in the same way a jealous dog eyes a visiting dog moments before it starts pissing everywhere to mark its territory.
“Well, we have one more coming with us,” Cliff said.
“Yeah, that’s Zoe,” Emily said. “She’s…well, she’s dedicated.”
“That’s an understatement,” Cliff said. “When I spoke to her on the phone, she basically told me point blank that she wants in on this trip so it’ll look good on her college applications. How did you manage to meet her?”
“College for a weekend,” Emily said. “She stayed for the weekend as a visitor. She roomed with the girl that lives across the hall from me. She found out that I was majoring in Environmental Science and we started chatting. She e-mails me at least twice a week with articles she finds online about endangered species.”
“She’s looking to major in Marine Biology, right?” Cliff asked.
Emily shrugged. “That’s what she said a few months ago. But she’s only eighteen and straight out of high school. So we’ll see if that changes or not.”
“Speak of the devil,” Steve said, nodding towards the parking lot.
They looked and saw another car turning in at a speed that was pretty close to reckless. As a group, they waited for the driver to get out of the car. Zoe Burton was listening to something rather loud on the rental’s stereo and made no attempt to hide it. She got out in a flurry of movement, taking a pack out of the back of the car and quickly dashing across the lot to reach them.
“Why three cars?” Cliff asked as Zoe joined them. “That’s not very economical.”
“I’ve already been in Hawaii for two days,” Zoe said. “Sort of a vacation with some friends.” She took a moment to look around, as if she was just now realizing that she had arrived. “Hey guys.” She then offered her hand to Cliff. “Zoe Burton,” she said. “It’s such a privilege to meet you, Mr. Zinsser.”
Cliff took her hand and gave it a dainty shake. “Just Cliff, please.”
“Sure,” she said, nodding to Emily and Steve. She smiled widely at Steve, whom she had met a few times in preparation for the trip. Emily had even introduced them on one of the nights where Steve couldn’t take a hint while Zoe was visiting, hoping he’d spring at the chance to impress an eighteen year old that was enamored with college men.
“We ready to go?” Zoe asked.
“Yup,” Cliff said. “You guys load up, choose your bunks, and meet me in the main cabin in ten minutes. I’ll run the necessary checks before we head out.”
“Wait,” Steve
said. “You’re driving? I thought we’d have like a pro driver or something.”
“Yeah,” Cliff said, giving him a comical look. “Nothing to fear… I’ve got more than fifteen years of experience. I’ve taken a boat out into these waters at least fifty times. You’re in good hands.”
“Okay,” Steve said, but he still didn’t seem convinced.
“Which boat is ours?” Emily asked, looking out to the boats alongside the pier again and thinking, Please not the tugboat…
“This one,” Cliff said, pointing to his right to a small commercial vessel to their right. “It’s not the best-looking thing, but it’s great on fuel and has sleeping quarters for four down below.”
Emily, Steve, and Zoe looked at the boat. Cliff was right; it wasn’t much to look at. But it looked sturdy and well-used which, Emily guessed, was all that mattered. Navy blue letters had been painted along the back, dubbing the vessel The Gull.
Emily followed Cliff closely and then stepped on board. She felt the slight give of the boat on the water under her feet and was pleased to find that her heart was already leaping with excitement.
2
The boat actually looked a bit nicer once they were all on board. They all got on board at the back of the boat where Cliff instantly opened up a hatch and started looking at the engine. From the back of the boat, a single doorway allowed them into the cabin. Inside the cabin, there was a single table and a bench installed into the wall. A few cabinets and shelves lined the wall. Behind the table, two flights of stairs took up the rest of the cabin. One went up, clearly leading to the cockpit, and the other went down into a darkened area where four small rooms were set up.
Emily selected the first one she came to and when she stepped inside, she tried not to let the cramped space bother her. She barely had enough room to extend both of her arms. There was a small mattress with sheets on it, supported by a short metal frame. Other than that, the room was empty. She tossed her little suitcase on the bed and didn’t bother to unpack. She went back up top to the back of the boat where Cliff was coming up out of the hull in which he had been checking on the engine.
“Everything looks good from my end,” Cliff told her. “You all settled?”
“The rooms are pretty small,” she said. “There’s not much to get settled.”
“So you understand what I was talking about in terms of the dress code?”
“I’m starting to,” she said.
Steve and Zoe came up the stairs and out of the cabin behind her. Zoe was looking out to the ocean as if she didn’t totally trust it while Steve stood directly beside Emily. He looked to her like a child that was waiting on instructions from its favorite parent.
Sensing the hesitation in his young and inexperienced crew, Cliff pointed up to the cockpit. “I’ve got a few more things to check out. Head up there and I’ll be up in about five minutes. Look around and let me know if you have any questions. We’re going to get to know each other very well over the next two days—maybe a little too well—and I want to make sure you three are as well-informed as you can be.”
With that, Cliff walked back onto the pier and headed to the rental cabin again. Emily, still very much enamored over being in the presence of Cliff Zinsser, went dutifully back into the cabin and headed up the stairs to the cockpit. Unsurprisingly, Steve went directly after her. Zoe brought up the rear, trailing behind in a way that made it clear that she felt out of place.
“You getting excited?” Steve asked. He asked in a tone that Emily had come to know all too well. It was one that was desperate for a conversation and once again reminded her of that downtrodden child that was looking for approval from a parent. She resented him for coming on this trip because he was going to be doing it the whole time—she just knew it. Why would the next three day be any different than the past eight months?
Still, she was determined to not let Steve ruin this for her. She could tolerate him and still get something out of this trip. Hell, maybe he would go back home with an actual appreciation of their cause. Maybe he’d better understand the severity of what was happening to the sperm whale population. Maybe he’d start to care about something other than trying to talk her into dating him.
“Yeah, a little,” she said. “Nervous, too.”
She glanced around the cockpit and was relieved to see that the controls and equipment were in much better shape than the outside of the boat had led her to believe. She knew what very little of the equipment did and was not going to fake an interest by asking pointless questions. She knew that Cliff had a stellar reputation for these sorts of expeditions and that he was also incredibly skilled out in open water. She was in good hands and that knowledge was enough reassurance as far as she was concerned.
“Okay,” Zoe said. “Confession time. I’m sort of scared out of my mind.”
“Why?” Steve asked. “You never been on a boat before?”
“No, I have. On a lake for skiing. Not out in the middle of the ocean where you can’t see land. How about you guys?”
“I went on a cruise with my parents when I was in middle school,” Steve said.
“And I’ve been about six miles off the coast of North Carolina for a dolphin sight-seeing sort of thing,” Emily said.
Zoe nodded but still seemed freaked out. “We’ll be okay, right? I’ve read tons about Mr. Zinsser and he seems reputable out on the water.”
“Absolutely,” Emily said. She could go on and on about all of Cliff’s qualifications, but she didn’t want to come off as being a kiss-ass.
“Okay,” Zoe said hesitantly. She eyed the controls and electronics of the cockpit with reservation. She reached out and touched the helm, giving the wheel a nervous caress.
“So here’s the question I have,” Steve said. “Let’s say we find some of these poachers. What do we do then? I don’t think three college-aged kids and an environmental activist are going to really scare them off.”
Their answer came from behind them as Cliff bounded up the stairs with two duffel bags. “We keep our distance,” he said. “We take pictures of the vessel—with identifying marks or tags, if possible—and mark down the coordinates. I’ll then radio those in to the Institute of Cetacean Research. They’ll have someone within their agency send someone out to take care of the legal part.”
“Have you done this before?” Zoe asked.
“About a dozen times. Most recently, I was on an expedition off the coast of Japan and we were able to locate eight poaching vessels. Within a week, more than twenty men were arrested and fined.”
“Awesome,” Zoe said, smiling. Emily saw the same passion in Zoe’s eyes that had once been in her own when it came to the topic of poaching and endangered species in general. Seeing this made the nerves go away, replaced by an urgency to get out on the water.
“So, guys,” Cliff said, kicking at the duffel bags he’d brought up. “I’ll be kicking us off here in a few minutes. In these bags you’ll find all of the food and supplies we’ll need for the next two days. If you would, please set it all up as you see fit. Also, no fighting over the food…not that there’s much to choose from. I hope you like cereal and peanut butter and jelly.”
Emily couldn’t help but notice the look of worry on Steve’s face. She suspected that he hadn’t taken the time to read over everything this trip entailed. Between the cramped sleeping quarters, the lack of food, and the uneventful hours on the open sea, she had a feeling that Steve might be resenting this trip as early as tomorrow morning. A small part of her was almost flattered that he would take part in such a thing just to be alone with her—especially if it made him this uncomfortable. Sure, it was borderline creepy, but the attention was nice. It wasn’t like she had guys knocking down her door for a chance to spend time with her.
Emily took one of the bags and, eager to please, Steve took the other one. They went down to the small central area of the cabin and started filling the cabinets and shelves with the food. There were crackers, Cheerios, a few loaves
of bread, peanut butter, jelly, a pack of pudding cups, a case of bottled water, and a case of Gatorade.
“Not much like the cruise you went on with your folks, huh?” Zoe asked Steve as she came down the stairs.
“No, not at all,” Steve said, making no effort to hide his annoyance.
As he hunched over his bag, Zoe gave Emily a smile and a roll of the eyes. Emily nodded her agreement and appreciation and continued to unpack.
Megatooth is available from Amazon here
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