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  “No! Think, James! Why would Shelby start the water and then go into the room? He had been watering the female with the shower. It just doesn’t make sense!”

  “What doesn’t make sense is what any of us are doing here.” James turned to stare at his colleague, his brown eyes intense. “But I know that after I get him out of there, this whole project is done.”

  Leaving her behind, James raced down the steps and stopped before a wide metal door, reading the water gauge inside.

  When the water reached one-half foot, he spun the locking mechanism and pulled the door open with a jerk.

  “All right in there! I’ve come for the body. Back off and no one gets hurt!”

  Silence greeted his pronouncement.

  Entering the room, barrel first, James stepped onto the wet floor, ignoring the rush of water wetting his pants and pressing against his forward motion.

  The only sounds were dripping water, and then…

  An enraged gasp of breath.

  Jerking his rifle in that direction, James swiveled his body and paused as he aimed at the nearly naked woman in the wet lab coat.

  “Where is he?” James asked, his voice low and dangerous. “What did you do to the body?”

  “Behind you,” a voice rasped, and James jerked, spinning towards the sound, his finger pressing reflexively on the trigger.

  There was a loud boom that echoed across the room, then the sharp ping as the bullet ricocheted off the walls.

  Instinctively, James ducked, his ears ringing, but his eyes were trained on something that he never thought to see!

  As his hearing slowly began to clear, he was aware of a woman screaming and the sound of feet rushing across the room.

  “What have you done?” Elanna screamed. She nearly leapt over the crouched doctor, ignoring the rifle in his hand as she raced towards the body that had fallen the moment it had been fired.

  * * * * *

  In his office, John Woods heard the boom of the rifle, and the resulting scream as a woman cried out.

  “Finally,” he sighed as he crossed his hands behind his head and mentally began to do math.

  One day for the autopsy for the male, maybe two as I make up some excuse about not knowing how to treat his wounds. If he is not already dead, he will soon be.

  Hmm, the woman. We can do the syringe thing and say that she died because her mate did. And then we get to see what changed Dr. Elanna Richfield into the mutation that she was.

  Yes, and then maybe he could find that mutation agent and create a bigger stir than the doctor herself did when she broke that genetic code. The government would pay trillions for it! Truly amphibious soldiers, underwater spies…the possibilities were endless.

  * * * * *

  They scream! Chipper trilled as he raced towards Sting and Amadala. Kindred! She screams!

  “We can’t wait anymore!” Sting growled as he gave the signal.

  The Children of Triton had amassed and at the given sign, the furious warriors began to move forward, encircling the small metal island. Others grouped together, ready to head towards the island called Hawaii.

  Whether or not the second attack force would be deployed was up to whatever they found on the small metal island.

  “We are ready,” Amadala spoke quietly as she swam up beside Sting. “Our people will do nothing until we give the order.”

  “We?”

  “You and I, Sting. We both made this decision and we both will face the consequences.”

  “Very well.” Sting nodded as he moved forward. “Be prepared, Amadala. This thing with the humans ends now.”

  Chapter Thirty-three

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  Elanna stared at the stupefied man, but James Manda had a look of shock and fear on his face.

  “Shelby?” he gasped, staring as the man eased to his feet, his hands held up as if to protect himself from further harm.

  “You shot at me!” he muttered as Elanna helped him to his feet.

  “You’re alive!”

  “You shot at me! You fucking shot at me!”

  “Shelby!” Elanna admonished as she pulled the stunned man to his feet. “And of course he is alive, no thanks to you or that insane bastard you work for!”

  “But…but…” James stammered as he rose to his feet, the rifle clattering to the water-covered metal floor. “You were dead!”

  “Oh, he was not dead! We kept him alive!” Elanna sighed as she kept her eyes on the nervous doctor.

  “Elanna Richfield?” James gasped as his attention turned towards the woman.

  “No, it’s the Little Mermaid, sans flippers! Of course it’s me, you idiot!”

  “But…. But you’re dead!”

  “This conversation seems to be going around in circles,” a droll voice said from behind him and James turned, only to come face to face with something that could not possibly exist.

  “You!”

  “Me!” Storm sarcastically spat back as he rolled his eyes. Once again he sat on one of the metal tables, but this time, he was soaking wet and more comfortable.

  “But I saw…”

  “The kiss of life, Doctor!” Elanna sighed as she moved a bit closer to him, arms held out as if to show that she meant no harm. “And we had to fight him to make him accept it from a man.”

  “I don’t go that way,” Shelby groused, a blush highlighting his features.

  “What way? Alive?” Elanna snarled, before she turned to face James.

  “But he said you were dead, that they killed you!” James stammered as he took a step forward, his rifle forgotten as he ran his hands over Shelby. “How could you survive so long underwater?”

  “He breathed for me,” Shelby admitted, pointing to Storm. “He saved my life.”

  But they were interrupted again, as Crystal ran into the room, armed with a rifle of her own.

  “James! I heard a sho… Shelby?”

  “He’s alive!” James related unnecessarily, a smile on his face.

  “But how?”

  “He breathed for him,” James informed her as he pointed to Storm.

  Crystal stared in shock.

  “But… But they were holding him…”

  “Breathing for me,” Shelby explained again. “They saved my life and we had better get out of here fast. John has lost it, big time. He is going to kill us all!”

  “How right you are.”

  All four people jumped and spun around as John Woods walked into the room, the pistol in his hands pointed directly at Crystal.

  “Drop it, dear girl. I don’t want to have to kill you, but I will.”

  “This is the white coat who took you?” Storm asked as Crystal’s weapon clattered to the floor. There was no way she could bring it up fast enough to shoot him. She was a scientist, not a marksman.

  “White coat? How juvenile.” John chuckled as he stepped deeper into the room, forcing the three humans back towards a quiet Storm. “But you all must understand why I must do this.”

  “Murder?” Shelby screamed as he stared at the doctor he once admired.

  “Murder? Such a nasty word, Shelby. I prefer to call it…downsizing.”

  “And how are you going to explain this?” Elanna asked as she stared at the man with hatred running through her veins.

  “John? What are you doing?” Crystal asked finally. “Are you trying to kill us?”

  “All in the quest for fame and glory,” Elanna sighed as she stared at the scientist.

  “You lied to us! You said they killed Shelby!” Crystal added, putting two and two together and coming up with a number that didn’t bode well for any of them.

  “Well, I had hoped that you two would overact, like you did. And I had hoped you would take care of preparing the cadaver for autopsy, but you didn’t. Too squeamish, I suppose, but the one thing I can’t understand is why you are still trapped in your mortal coil, Shelby? You should be floating belly-up right about now.”

  “T
he reason would be me.” Storm chuckled as he tilted his head to the side. “And I suggest you end this right now, or you and your metal island are going to be less than nothing.”

  John exploded into laughter. He moved far enough into the room to kick both rifles under a metal table, and still he laughed.

  “It speaks!” he chortled as he turned to face his second discovery for the first time. “It can actually speak English.”

  “And several other languages as well, human.”

  “Oh! You and Elanna there are a good match.”

  “I told you she was Elanna Richfield!” Shelby called out, glaring at the doctor.

  “But how?” Crystal whispered, turning her head to stare at Elanna.

  “Storm saved me.” she replied, tilting her head in his direction.

  “You make a habit of that,” John groused as he stood back and took aim.

  “And I am not yet done,” Storm added, a smile on his face.

  “What, you can dodge bullets now?” John chuckled as he drew a bead on Elanna.

  “First, I think I’ll take care of Dr. Richfield. She is too mouthy for my tastes anyway.”

  He pulled back the hammer, just as something hit the station and the whole thing began to shake.

  “What the hell!” John gasped as he stumbled backwards, but maintained the hold on his gun.

  Before he could recover, there was another loud boom and the scream of twisting metal as the platform began to vibrate.

  “That is the sound of several angry Mermen,” Storm informed them, calm as ever. “They are planning to tear this place apart piece by piece, until they get what they want.”

  “What do they want?” Crystal screamed, her eyes going wide in shock and fear.

  “Why,” Elanna answered as a grin twisted her lips, “us.”

  * * * * *

  Sting gave the signal again, and a powerful wave of water struck the metal island, shifting and denting it on several of its smooth metal sides.

  He and Amadala stood back, observing as a young Triton, Wave, raised his arms and sent thousands of gallons of water crashing on the platform.

  “It should not be long now,” Sting informed her. His eye glittered with anticipation.

  “You are enjoying this,” Amadala said finally, tilting her head to glance at her co-ruler.

  “Yes, I am. Otherwise, I would not be so good at what I do.”

  “Storm and Elanna are in there.”

  “So are the ones who took them, the ones that need punishment.”

  “And when they come out?”

  “They will return the true Child of Triton, or face the consequences.”

  “They are still in danger,” Amadala said quietly. “But it is not as bad as before.”

  “Then we do good here,” Sting decided and signaled for the island to be hit with another volley.

  “I also feel…”

  “What, woman?” Sting sighed as he turned to face her, wondering how such a beautiful woman could be so contrary.

  “Change is coming, Sting. And I don’t know if it is good or bad.”

  “Change is the one constant in life, Amadala,” Sting replied as he signaled for yet another volley of water.

  “I suppose,” she whispered, turning to stare at the crumpling metal egg that housed the ones she cared about as well as the things that she feared. “But is it for the better or for the worse?”

  * * * * *

  “My God!” Crystal screamed as the walls dented in more and more. “John, you have to stop this! Let them go!”

  “Never!” John shouted back, turning his gun towards Storm. “Make them stop!”

  “Why should I?” Storm asked, lying back on the table as if bored.

  “Because I will kill you if you don’t!”

  Snorting, Storm closed his eyes and rested his hands behind his head.

  “You want to die?” John shouted, growing anxious as the platform screamed and rocked again, a few metal rivets exploding from the walls with sharp pings.

  “Makes no difference to me, human. You will be dead anyway.”

  “I’ll kill the woman!” John shouted, sweat beading on his forehead as he frantically searched the room, as if looking for a way out.

  “I won’t let you,” Storm said, just as quiet and smug.

  “I swear! I’ll do it.”

  “Try.”

  Growling, John pointed his gun at Elanna and began to pull the trigger.

  Before he could move it more than a millimeter, a gust of wind grew out of nowhere, jerking his gun up, causing it to fire into the ceiling with a loud boom. Everyone ducked as the bullet ricocheted off the walls several times to land spent in some unseen corner.

  Everyone stared in wide-eyed horror at Storm.

  “I can use electricity next,” he decided. “I wonder if your brain will shut down first, or your heart? Which will explode, I wonder?”

  “No!” John screamed. “I am too close! I won’t let you stop me!”

  Again he pointed at Elanna, and again the bullet pinged around the room, making a lot of noise but causing very little damage. As long as Storm controlled the wind, there was nothing much John could do!

  But he always had a plan.

  Lunging across the room, he reached for Elanna, daring to touch her, to press his weapon against her neck.

  But he never got the chance.

  The second he raced forward, a bolt of blue lightning exploded from across the room, hissing as it slammed into his chest, sending him flying back several feet.

  As his body hit the water that still covered the floor, the humans in the room screamed, leaping back, terrified the powerful electric blast would strike them as well.

  But they didn’t need to worry. Storm directed the lightning bolt. It went where he commanded and nowhere else.

  John Woods, would-be star of the scientific world, fell dead on the floor, a quick and meaningless death for a selfish, evil man.

  “My God!” Crystal breathed, turning to stare at Storm, who still casually lounged on the metal table.

  “He’s dead,” Shelby gasped as he stared at the smoking hulk that once had been one of the world-renowned experts on marine life.

  “Storm!” Elanna streaked across the room to toss herself on his prone body.

  “Elanna, love,” he gasped as she collapsed on top of him, wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him and dropping kisses all over his face.

  But what would have happened next was halted immediately by something striking the metal hull, shaking the platform and making the lights flicker and spark. The platform was being destroyed.

  “God, you have to stop them!” James demanded, turning to face Storm, panic clearly written on his face. “They are going to kill us all!”

  “Not quite,” Storm replied, his eyes glowing red as he stared at the collection of humans in the room.

  “This platform can’t stand the damage! It’s breaking up! You have to stop them!”

  “I could,” Storm replied as he dried his face in Elanna’s wonderful whirlpool hair. “But why should I?”

  Chapter Thirty-four

  “We’re going to die!”

  “Correction, you are going to die,” Storm said to Crystal as yet another wave rocked the platform.

  “But you can’t do that! You have what you want! You have to stop them!”

  Crystal was frantic while James and Shelby looked on in shock.

  “I don’t have to do anything, human. The only one I would even consider worth redeeming is the young one over there,” Storm replied calmly, as he nodded his head in Shelby’s direction.

  “Storm,” Elanna whispered as he pulled away from her mate. “You have to stop them.”

  “These people, these humans you tried so hard to protect?” he asked, sarcasm heavy in his voice. “The same humans who took you captive and spawned the one who wanted the rest dead?”

  “Not all of them, Storm. Just the one…and he’s dead now.”


  “Yet the rest, save for the young one, didn’t even attempt to right his wrong.”

  At his words, James and Crystal flushed and looked down, something that Storm took as a sign of guilt.

  “You don’t know that,” Elanna sighed as she gripped Storm harder, protecting herself from the rocking of the platform.

  “And I refuse to offer an excuse,” James said finally. “But I did argue that what we were doing was wrong.”

  “And that means so much,” Storm snorted, sitting up and glaring at the group.

  “It means a lot to stand up to an authority figure, Storm,” Elanna said, her hand resting on his shoulder.

  “So these are the humans you wanted to help, Elanna? These are the humans that you almost tossed our love aside for? These humans here? They are pathetic creatures, Elanna, not worthy of your attentions.”

  With a negligent wave, he discounted the people standing in the room as worthless and beneath his contempt.

  “Wait a minute!” James argued, stepping forward.

  “Wait for what?” Storm cut him off. “Wait for you to run into the room with another weapon…after the damage has been done?”

  “Well, that’s not fair!” Shelby cut in. “You have no idea what you are talking about!”

  “I know what I have seen, human,” Storm said as the lights flickered and the platform shook, another dent appearing in the wall. “I know that you took someone I love and you almost killed her with your treatment.”

  “So just go ahead and do it.”

  Crystal’s quiet words were filled with anger as she moved forward and the two men moved back.

  “Just go ahead and kill us and be done with it! At least John,” she snarled, pointing to the body on the floor, “would have done it quickly and gotten it over with. You are worse than him and you claim such disdain for humans.”

  “Worse?” Storm growled, his eyebrow rising as he sneered at the human female.

  She was quite different from his Elanna, though they appeared similar in form.

  Her hair, though, was a mass of straight red strands, not unlike some merpeople he knew. And her skin was pale, with just a few red spots on her face. She was slimmer than his Elanna, not as rounded in form, but there were definite similarities.