Shalie sighed. “Talk us through it.”
* * *
Dillon listened to his dad. How did everything he say always make it sound so easy? Sure, just take the submersible, dart around a couple dozen live mines, somehow intimidate a pair of full grown bull sharks and drive them out of the channels.
No big deal.
“I supposed you’re going to need me in the submersible?” Quax asked.
“You are the best rated at the controls,” his dad stated.
“Damn me and my excellence,” Quax said, shaking his fist at the sky.
“Who all is going down?” Dillon asked.
“QX59 and me,” his dad said.
“And me,” Dillon insisted.
His father frowned.
“Hey, if this is such an easy run, why not?” Dillon pressed.
He had his father in a bind. If he admitted it was dangerous, Shalie was going to weigh in and try to nix the whole thing. If his dad admitted it wasn’t that dangerous, why not let Dillon go?
“Fine, the three of us then,” his father relented, probably not wishing to give Shalie a reason to start asking for success percentages.
Dillon held up his hand and Quax gave him a high five. “Expertly done,” Quax whispered. Dillon knew how much Quax did not want to go down there with just his dad. His dad could get, how would you say it? Intense.
“I’ll monitor everything from here,” Shalie said. “The QXs will swim in ahead, awaiting your instructions, Callum.”
His father nodded and headed off the bridge. He wasn’t big on inspiring speeches. He just assumed everyone was as fired up as he was.
In this case, he was right. At least for Dillon. Quax and Shalie didn’t look so sure, but now that the moment was at hand, game on.
Dillon clapped his hands together. “Let’s go get some bullies.”
* * *
How Shalie wished she had Dillon’s resilience. Her concerns still weighed heavily upon her, even though she could not quantify them. On paper the plan looked solid. The men were protected by the submersible and the QXs could outswim the bullies, in at least a sprint.
So why did her heart feel so heavy? Those mines glistened in green as the radar swept past them. Why wouldn’t the bullies just come back out? But she knew from her research that they had caught the bullies moving from one feeding ground to another. They might stay within these channels for months until they had culled the fish population and were forced to move to another archipelago. And they certainly did not have months to wait. Callum was right about that.
Shalie didn’t even want to think about all the work she had left to do back at Salechii. The QXs were meant to do double duty there. Shark wrangling, but also park maintenance. It was a heady task that seemed to be evolving daily. And these robots were barely booted. They could learn, but that took time and experience.
Maybe that was it. Maybe she was worried about her robots. They had become like children to her. She was scared for them to be out in the wild with two bull sharks capable of ripping them to shreds within seconds.
They did not have a submersible to protect them, but wasn’t that the point? She was starting to think like QX59. Too worried. The robots were built out of titanium and had been programmed with every aspect of shark behavior. They knew how dangerous the bullies were. She had to trust they could handle it.
Shalie looked out the forward window to see the winch bring the submersible up and over the side of the ship.
Dillon waved from the tiny port window. Callum didn’t even look out the window and QX59 begged with his eyes for her to save him from going down.
If only she could.
She gave a wave back as the sub disappeared over the railing. Then a loud splash announced that the sub had been dropped into the water.
Shalie took in a deep breath, chanting, “Everything’s going to be okay.” “Everything had to be okay.” That sub held every person in the world she cared about.
CHAPTER 2
Callum watched the undersea world come into focus as the bubbles dissipated. Their small submersible had a large front window which allowed for nearly 180 viewing. It wasn’t really glass, but transparent aluminum impregnated with lead. It was the toughest clear shield you could have. The aft hull was dotted with smaller port windows. The thing was electrically powered so it was whisper quiet.
The fish they passed didn’t even give them any mind. Of course the mines didn’t either. Given how many there were and how closely they were packed, Callum was shocked they didn’t blow one as they entered the channel. The Allies were serious about keeping subs away from the islands.
The large steel orbs were at least three feet across with pressure sensitive spikes sticking out from their hull. Thank goodness Shalie had killed the engines, if they’d hit that mine any harder, they would have been blown out of the water.
“There!” Dillon exclaimed pointing ahead.
One of the bullies, the larger one, the female came into view. She chomped down and ate a fish whole. One moment the fish was swimming along, having a grand time, then boom. It was swallowed without warning.
That’s how the bullies rolled. They would take on whales if they were hungry enough. They were also persistent. They could harry their prey for miles and hours until they were just too tired to fight back.
Its broad, grey snout swung back and forth, searching for its next prey. It cruised over to the submersible, skimming along the side, bumping it with its pectoral fin, seeing if they would respond.
Callum didn’t. He wanted the sharks to get used to the sub so that when he made his move the sharks would be startled and hopefully drive them out of the channel.
The bully took another long pass at them, waving her head, taking in all the sensory information she could.
“Over there,” QX59 said pointing to behind the shark. Two of his robot companions were positioned along the reef. Their titanium glistened as the sun began to set.
“Speakers on?” Callum asked.
“You know it,” Dillon said, his finger over the control.
Once the shark moved away, Callum nudged the sub around the area, heading to the other side of the lagoon. As they passed, the second shark came into view. Submissive to the female, the male swam under the big girl, checking the reef for food as tiny fish scattered and all the crabs and eels headed back into their hiding spots.
“Shalie, are you ready on your end?” Callum asked.
“I’ve got two robots on the cage and another in the holding bay for transfer. Clint is ready with the tranq gun as well.”
It was now or never.
“Hit it,” Callum said.
Dillon pushed the button and the mixed tape of over a dozen dolphin calls sounded. Both sharks swung around, facing the source of the sound. Sharks might kill individual dolphins, however a pod of them? They were a danger to even a full grown bull shark.
Yet they didn’t run. Instead they swam over to submersible. Apparently they felt they had strength in numbers.
“Go with the bio scent,” Callum ordered.
Again Dillon’s young fingers were nimble across the keyboard. He injected just a few milliliters of an artificial scent of a decaying shark. The navy had been using the compound for decades to keep sharks out of sensitive naval bases.
Both sharks turned on a dime, heading in the opposite direction of the sub. Callum increased their speed to follow the sharks to the outlet. Beside him the two robots swam to keep level.
“It’s working,” Dillon said with a smile.
Correction, it worked. The shark cruised toward the outlet, then suddenly turned tail and surged back toward the lagoon.
“Blast the noise,” Callum said, darting around a mine.
Dillon cranked up the dolphin calls so loudly that Callum feared the high pitched cries would split their ear drums.
The sharks seemed oblivious though and headed straight back at them.
“What’s going on?” Callum bark
ed.
“We’ve got a swarm of box jellyfish out here,” Shalie responded.
There wasn’t much a shark was afraid of, but box jellyfish were one of them. The single most potent jellyfish, they were also called wasps of the sea due to their extremely painful venom. A venom which packed a punch. Just a few stings probably wouldn’t phase a shark, but hundreds of them? That could kill them.
As a matter of fact, along the female’s side were scars from box jellyfish stings. Callum knew because they were in a long line down her side. Clearly the female bully knew firsthand the damage the jellyfish could do. She’d rather face a pod of angry dolphins than those jellyfish.
“Get to safety!” Callum yelled, but it wasn’t in time. One of the QXs was caught out in the open as the sharks coursed back into the lagoon. The female caught the QX around the waist, shaking him, flinging metallic body parts into the water.
* * *
“No!” Shalie screamed as she watched the video feed from the submersible. The other QX tried to race to his partner’s rescue but the male was quicker, grabbing the second robot by the arm, dragging him along the reef. Scraping his metal exoskeleton along the rock.
“Play the music!” Callum ordered.
Strangely, AC/DC came on over her headphones.
Even more strangely, the sharks calmed down. The male released his QX and the female stopped her head shaking. She didn’t release the robot, however she stopped her aggressive behavior.
Sharks were so odd. And shark researchers even odder. Who came up with that bright idea? To play AC/DC to sharks? But it worked.
“Okay,” Callum said quietly. “Have the QX bonk her on the nose and try to get her to release the robot.”
Shalie turned on the radio channel. “QX11 carefully targeted the shark’s nerve array on her snout and precisely hit her there. Be ready to use your turbo jets to get away once she releases you.”
“I do not believe my jets are functional,” the robot responded.
“QX4 can you help provide cover?” Shalie asked.
“I will do so to the best of my ability.”
“Then go,” Shalie said, giving the order.
Through the sub’s video, Shalie watched as the QX reared back with his fist and slammed it into the bullie’s snout. The shark reeled back, opening her mouth as predicted, releasing the robot. She shook her head, trying to clear the electrical confusion coming from her nose. The male darted in, trying to snatch the released treat, but the other QX darted in, using a small electrical pulse in his hand along the shark’s side.
The male too, started writhing, confused by the sudden stimulation to his side. The two QXs, arm in arm, sped away from the scene. QX4 using his jet propulsion to get them far away.
Only then did Shalie breathe a sigh of relief. That had been close.
“So what’s the plan?” Shalie asked. “I doubt if the sharks are going to come out with the jellyfish here.”
* * *
Dillon glanced to his dad. He knew how badly he wanted these two bull sharks. It took so long and so much money to not only track the sharks but get them into a position for capture. Who knew if they would have an opportunity like this again.
“We are coming out,” his father said, not bothering to hide his disappointment.
He knew what his father was probably thinking. Could they even open Salechii without bull sharks? Next to the Great White and the Hammerheads, Bull sharks rounded out the big three.
To be so stinking close. They could see the sharks, which were now recovering from their skirmish with the QXs. Dillon could practically reach out and touch one. Not that he would ever do that of course, but he could if he wanted to.
And these bulls were smart. And strong. They would make great additions to the park. But sometimes you had to know when to throw in the flag.
Slowly his father brought the submersible around, heading back out of the channel.
The QXs were following, obviously trying not to make any sudden movements that might attract the ire of the sharks.
They were nearly out of the mouth of the lagoon when a shimmer appeared ahead of them. The box jellyfish. Besides their venom another problem with this species was that they were nearly transparent. They were lucky enough to catch them during the setting sun, when the rays of light were angled enough to illuminate their umbrella shaped domes and super long trailing tentacles.
The female shark must have still been disoriented as she reeled to the left, directly into a small patch of the jellyfish. Even though sharks couldn’t make any sounds, Dillon could hear the female scream in his mind. Her body writhed as the jellyfish’s clear tentacles latched onto her and stung over and over again.
In the panic to escape, she ran directly into a sea mine, striking it hard enough to send it careening into the submersible.
A loud metallic clang filled the small sub. Dillon held his breath, waiting for the explosion that never came.
Thank goodness.
However the danger was not over as the male turned and attacked what he thought had injured his mate, the mine. Wide mouthed, he came at it, snapping the metal chain that held it to the bottom of the lagoon.
Freed, the mine floated to the surface.
Quax had to do some pretty impressive steering to get them out of the way of the mine. No one wanted a repeat encounter. “Now I can see why you needed me,” Quax stated as he cleared the mine.
Box jellyfish surrounded them, their shimmering outlines pulsing past them.
“Cut the engines,” his father said. “Let them pass. It should push the sharks further away before we move again.”
Dillon stared as the jellyfish tried to attach to the QXs in the water. Their suction cups could attack to the smooth metal, but they could not get any grip with their stingers. Several of the jellyfish circled the robots as if they were shocked that they could not attach and pump their venom into a creature of the sea.
The female slid along the reef, scraping jellyfish off of herself. The male stayed back, sensing the pulsating enemy. He became more and more agitated though as the female continued to squirm and twist in the water.
“Watch out!” Shalie yelled.
* * *
Callum spun his head around. “For what?”
“Behind you!” she screamed.
Dillon pointed to the rear camera feed. The male was coming at them, his mouth wide open.
The propeller was whirring, but that didn’t seem to stop the male, agitated by his mate’s pain. Guess the big guy thought that everyone should suffer as much as the female.
“Brace yourselves,” Callum shouted a second too late as the male clamped down on the propeller apparatus, shaking the entire submersible. He didn’t have a second hand to grab Dillon as he was knocked from his chair. Luckily QX59 lashed out, catching Dillon before he crashed to the floor.
Then the male shook the sub from side to side just as the female had done with the robot. One handed, there was no way for Callum to stay seated. His head banged against the sub’s wall, then against the front windshield. QX59 held Dillon steadfast though.
“At the least,” Dillon said, bracing against the control panel. “The sub is holding up.”
A second too premature as metal tore and water sprayed into the sub from the rear compartment.
“Life vests!” Callum yelled, handing Dillon his. They weren’t exactly prepared for a water exit.
QX59 shook his head at the vest and headed to the back as the shark stopped his shaking. Using his titanium hands, he tried to pull the metal back together but the male wasn’t done with them yet.
At first Callum was relieved as the bullie released the sub and seemed to swim off, but the shark was just trying to gauge the next most vulnerable spot. Typical bull shark. Once they attacked, they seldom gave up.
This time the male grabbed hold of the main struts and shook, ripping the propeller off the sub. They were now dead in the water. They didn’t have acceleration or steering capab
ilities. And worse, they were awfully close to a set of mines. If the shark shook much harder, they were going to get slammed into one.
In addition they were taking on water, fast.
Then the rear of the sub was gone. Like torn off and spit out. The submersible listed dangerously, water pouring in, nearly vertically. Callum handed his son some scuba gear. They only had one.
“No, dad, you should have it,” Dillon protested.
“We’ll share,” Callum stated. “We need to get clear, ASAP.”
* * *
Dillon took in a big breath before he pushed off the sub’s wall and swam up.
There were so many dangers, it was hard to keep track of them all. His first concern though was getting out of the current death trap. Which wasn’t easy as the shark was taking the sub apart piece by piece. Glass shattered as another section was flung into the sea.
He held onto the pipes to keep himself from being flung out as well because the female, finally free of the jellyfish was tasting each piece that the male was pulling off. Dillon didn’t want to be an appetizer.
He made it to the breach and waiting, hanging on as the male shook and shook until he weakened the metal enough to pull another piece off. Dillon pushed off, hurling himself into the water in the opposite direction as the metal. The female as predicted grabbed hold of the torn submarine hull and chomped down, obviously pissed off that it was yet another inedible piece of metal.
Dillon felt Quax surge past him, grabbing Dillon by the arm, dragging him toward the shore.
“Dad!” Dillon yelled, but it was only bubbles. How could they share air if they were too far apart?
Dillon twisted around in Quax’s hold and stared back at the submarine that was sinking quickly to the bottom of the lagoon.
“Dad,” he screamed again even though he knew it wouldn’t do any good.
* * *
Callum dog paddled, barely keeping his head above the water line. There was a bit of air still trapped in the sinking vessel. He had to wait it out. Wait until the bullies grew weary of their game and wandered off to hunt for actual prey.
Unfortunately bullies were about as stubborn as they were strong. The male grabbed hold of the sub again. Callum went under, struggling to get his head back above the water line.
Apex Predator Thriller Series Collection (Including the blockbuster new shark park thriller, Salechii) Page 2
