Return to The Deep (From The Deep Book 2) (2 page)

The group stood across the street, trying a little too hard not to look like they were up to no good.

"So what now?" Jim asked, looking increasingly uncomfortable as he fidgeted from foot to foot.

"Relax," Clayton said, frowning and breaking into a grin, "you're gonna give us away if you don't take it easy."

"Sorry, it's just my old man ain't gonna be too happy if I get busted again."

Clayton nodded. Jim's father was one of the many great American statistics, a narrow-minded bigot who liked guns almost as much as he loved booze and beating the shit out of his family if they ever dared to step out of line. Although none of his friends ever mentioned it, there were slow but sure signs that Jim was following in his father’s footsteps. He had already racked up a few petty crimes and a nice collection of arrests in his seventeen years on earth, each of which was seen as another excuse by his drunk of a father to take a belt to him. It was perfectly understandable why Jim wanted to avoid another brush with the law. The last time he had been arrested was after getting drunk and stealing a car belonging to his former high school English teacher, Mr Morrison. Jim had led the police on a hell of a chase, before finally getting himself caught when the tire of Morrison's car screamed enough and blew, slewing the cherry dodge into a fishtail and subsequently a drainage ditch. It was a tale of two halves. The state let him off with a caution and a stern warning that further incidents wouldn't be tolerated. His father unleashed his own brand of justice, and broke three of his son’s ribs and bruised his spleen.

Lesson learned.

"It's no good hanging around here out front," Clayton said. "We wanna be around the back. If there's a way in, that's where it will be."

The group started to walk, careful not to rush or to look too interested in their eventual destination. Beyond the entrance to the aquarium, the street became a smattering of gaudy gift shops selling assorted trinkets for the tourists, everything emblazoned with either the word Florida, or a picture of a crocodile. Anything from mugs, to t-shirts to key rings was available. One such store adjoined the perimeter wall beyond the car park of the aquarium, and the group led by Clayton, slipped down the alleyway beside it. To their left, the eight-foot tall wall which surrounded the aquarium complex, and on their right, the grubby white wall of the gift shop.

"This ought to do it," Clayton said, coming to a halt halfway down the natural alleyway. "Fernando, give me a boost."

Fernando scratched at his crew cut, hesitating for a moment before dropping to one knee and cradling his hands together. Clayton stepped into the miniature step and he was boosted up onto the wall, hoisting himself up and sitting one leg on either side.

"Okay, come on,” Clayton said, first helping Fernando, then Jim, and finally Marie, up and over the wall.

There were two huge steel loading doors down a steep incline, and rows of dumpsters filled with assorted garbage. Beside the loading ramp was a door marked 'Staff only'.

"That's our way in," Fernando said, sauntering across the deserted yard with an almost nonchalant ease.

"It's locked, you won’t be able to get in there without a-"

"One of these?" Fernando said, fishing through his wallet and holding up the key card, stopping Clayton mid-sentence.

"Where the hell did you get that?"

"I have my sources. Come on."

The group huddled by the door as Fernando prepared to use the key. He held the magnetic strip against the reader and paused. "If this doesn’t work or sets off any kind of an alarm, be ready to run."

"What does that mean?" Jim said, looking agitated.

Fernando smiled and before there was any further protest, slid the card against the reader. The red light flicked to green and the door clicked open.

"Alright," Clayton said, clapping Fernando on the shoulder. “Nice work."

He pulled the door open and assumed the lead. Fernando held the door open for Jim and Marie, and then followed, closing it gently behind them.

III

The air was much cooler on the other side of the door. Air conditioning units growled high on the walls, and the cavernous space was heavy with shadows.

"I can’t see a thing," Jim whispered.

"Hang on," Clayton replied. Seconds later, the room was illuminated by a powerful light emanating from the rear of Clayton's phone.

"Who the hell are you, James Bond?" Jim asked.

"Torch app. Come on, this way." Clayton grunted, leading them towards a set of doors on the left of what looked to be a storage room of some kind.

"How do you know it’s that way?" Marie asked. "What about
those
doors?" she pointed to the two other sets of double doors on the opposite side of the room.

Clayton pointed to the pipes, which skirted the top edge of the wall. "Water filtration pipes. They lead that way," he said, nodding towards the doors he was initially heading for. "If they're hiding anything in here the size of this supposed super whale, that's where it will be."

He turned and walked towards the doors, not waiting for anyone to reply. As he knew they would, the others followed.

Clayton tried to open the doors. "Shit. It's locked."

"Come on, man, let’s forget this and get the hell out of here," Jim whispered.

Clayton almost felt sorry for him, and could almost see the fear in his eyes in anticipation of his father delivering his own brand of justice if they happened to be caught. "Not yet, we're here now, so we might as well try the other doors."

"I don’t like this," Jim countered, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, “it feels…wrong.”

“Maybe that’s your pussy clenching up on you and telling you to run on home,” Clayton said, looking at the others for approval.

“Screw you, man. Don’t tell me you don’t sense it.”

“All I sense is you being scared shitless.”

"Maybe he's right," Fernando said. "We could all get in big trouble for this if someone catches us."

"Look," Clayton said, shining his torch beam at them, “if the two of you want to leave, that’s up to you. I’m staying. I want to know what's going on here."

"I just think it’s a risk, that's all," Fernando countered. “I mean, what does it matter to us anyway? It was just a story. Nobody really knows the truth.”

"That’s what makes it exciting," Marie whispered. She was staring at Clayton, the look of anticipation and attraction unmistakeable. “I’ll go with you, even if they won’t.”

Fernando felt another pang of jealousy, which in turn, made him think with his groin rather than his head.

"Alright, fine, I’m in too, but just a quick look, then we get out of here," he snapped.

Clayton smiled. "See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?" He tipped a wink at Marie as he said it, causing her to break eye contact and look at the floor.

"Fine," Jim muttered, "let's just get on with this."

They crossed the room. The second of the two sets of doors was also locked. The third however, was open. Clayton quietly swung it open and stepped over the threshold.

"Holy shit," he whispered as the others followed.

They were on an enclosed walkway, a corridor of white marble with glass observation windows running the entire length of the corridor. To the right were a series of laboratories, cast in half illumination from the discreet overhead lights. They were pristine, and each glass door to the half dozen labs bore a red painted stamp, which said:

CAUTION!

ABSOLUTELY NO ACCESS TO UNAUTHORISED PERSONNEL.

ANTI CONTAMINATION MEASURES ARE

IN PLACE AT
ALL
TIMES

The labs would have been interesting enough on their own, if not for the view to their right. There, some twenty feet below them, was an enormous body of water, which looked like a sheet of black ice in the gloom.

"What the hell?" Clayton said, grinning at Fernando.

"This must be it. This must be what they're hiding," Fernando replied, breaking into a grin of his own.

“See there?" Clayton said, pointing at the double doors visible through the window beyond the edge of the lagoon of water. "Those were the ones that we couldn’t get through. You can see where the pipes run through, and then down the wall and into the water. That’s where we wanted to be."

"What do you think is in there?" Marie said, her breath fogging the glass as she stared at the water.

"Whatever it is, it’s obvious they don’t want the public to know about it."

“What if we-"

Jim was cut off by the shrill sound of the alarm ringing through the building.

"Shit, run!" Clayton said, turning back and racing back the way they had come, Jim and Marie not far behind.

"Come on, man, hurry up!" Jim yelled to Fernando.

However, Fernando couldn’t move. He thought he had seen a shadow, something shifting beneath the glassy surface of the water.

"Hey, I think I-" he turned to tell his friends, then for the first time noticed they were gone, and he was standing alone.

He turned to follow, thanking his luck that he didn’t get caught, when he felt the vice like grip on his shoulder just seconds before he was tackled to the ground by the security guard.

"Get the hell off me," Fernando grunted as he tried to wriggle free.

"Fernando?" The guard said, hauling Fernando to his feet. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Fuck you, Tom."

Fernando's older brother frowned and released his grip on his sibling’s shirt. "How the hell did you get in here?"

Fernando held up the key card.

"You little bastard. That's mine. I had to report it lost last week."

"I only borrowed it."

"Do you know how much trouble you're in?"

The brothers looked at each other, the two of them remarkable in similarity. The same olive complexion, dark eyes, and slightly hooked nose.

"That depends if you let me go."

"My ass will be on the line if I do that. This is breaking and entering, Fred."

Only Tom called him by that name. He hated anyone else to do it, and made a point of letting them know. Tom had always called him that, and it was something neither of them really thought about.

"Come on, you know mom will go postal on me if she finds out about this," Fernando said.

Tom hesitated, looking at his brother and then back over his shoulder.

"Go on; get the hell out of here. You and your friends just stay away from now on, you hear me?"

Fernando nodded. "What will you say to the other guards?"

"There's only old Harry working with me tonight, and he lost interest in the job years ago. Even so, as slow as he is getting up the steps, I wouldn’t hang around. Now go home. I’ll talk to you later."

"Thanks, bro. I owe you one," Fernando said as he turned to leave.

"Hey, Fred."

Fernando turned around to see his brother’s outstretched hand. "Key card."

Fernando handed the card to his brother then turned and jogged after his friends. Tom waited on the walkway staring at the empty door and waiting for Harry to catch up to him. The old man’s arrival was preceded by the sounds of his wheezing.

"Whatisit?" he gasped.

"Just kids screwing around."

"You get a look at em?"

"No, they got away."

Harry nodded and took his phone from his pocket.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked.

"You know the rules. Any security breach on here and we have to inform Mr Andrews."

"This wasn’t really a breach. Besides, they were just kids. I don’t think we need to bother him."

Harry shook his liver spotted head. "Rules is rules, son. Not worth us losin' our jobs over is it?"

"No, suppose not," Tom mumbled, shoving his stolen key card back into his pocket and wondering just what kind of fish was so important that it warranted such intense security. He looked out of the window, staring at the inky surface waters. He thought he saw a flash of movement, and was about to consider looking for a light switch when Harry put a leathery hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, kid, you know the rules. We ain’t supposed to have anythin' to do with what’s in here."

"Yeah, I know. Aren’t you even a little bit curious though, Harry? About what they're doing in here?"

The old man pursed his lips, and ran a hand through his wispy white hair. "Whenever I get curious, I always think about what it did to the damn cat. Now, come on, let’s get the hell outta here before we get into trouble ourselves."

Tom nodded and followed the old man, unable to resist another lingering look out of the window to the water below, but whatever he thought he had seen, was gone, and the opaque waters were still again.

CHAPTER TWO

The following morning arrived much like every other day in Florida, the intense heat of the sun already borderline unbearable by eight in the morning. Pristine blue skies devoid of clouds stretched as far as the eye could see, and storeowners all around the aquarium were opening up shop, hoping to entice another fresh glut of tourists into purchasing a souvenir or two as a memento of their holiday.

Tom sat in the staff room, waiting to be interviewed about the break in. He was glad of the time to think ahead of the pending arrival of Andrews. When Harry had made the call, Andrews was on a business trip in Atlanta. Upon hearing of the break in, he had told them to wait for him and he would be there as soon as he could. For as much as Tom knew, it could only lead to bad things, he couldn’t help but think about what he thought he had seen in the water, especially since whatever it was seemed important enough to Andrews to drop everything and fly out immediately. His inner voice screamed at him to let it go, and although working as a security guard wasn’t exactly a dream career, it was a job, and meant that he could at least pay the bills and afford to eat until something better came along. The door to the office opened and Harry popped his head in.

"Heads up, lad, he's here."

Tom nodded, and waited for Andrews to arrive.

II

Having only ever seen him at a distance, Tom wasn’t quite sure what to expect from Andrews. Certainly, he didn’t expect to feel quite as intimidated as he sat opposite the man, who was staring at him intently. Tom thought he had one of those faces- the kind that belongs to people who have seen and done things reserved for a certain small percentage of the population. His dark hair was parted at the side, and although it was greying at the sides, he wore it well, and it gave him an almost regal look. He had a neatly trimmed beard, which like his hair, was starting to lose its natural colouration. Most impressive however, were his eyes, which shimmered as if diamonds set in rough leather. The idea of being able to convince Andrews that he knew nothing about the people who broke into the facility seemed just a little bit more difficult.

"So," Andrews said with a sigh, "let’s go over this one more time. The silent alarm on the rear staff door was triggered at nine forty six, and yet, neither you nor Mr Benjamin responded until ten-oh-five when the interior motion sensor was triggered, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"So, forgive my lack of understanding, but why such a gap? Shouldn’t your response have been immediate?"

"Yes sir."

"So, would you care to explain to me why it wasn’t?"

Tom paused, still unsure what to do. The reason neither he nor Harry had seen the silent alarm is because they weren’t paying attention. Harry was sleeping in his chair, feet up on the desk. Tom had been on his laptop chatting to his girlfriend. Of course, if he told Andrews that, they would both be fired, and so the two of them had concocted a cover story.

"Well, sir, the truth is, it was an unfortunate coincidence. Harry - uh, Mr Benjamin had gone to use the bathroom. I offered to make coffee."

"So you're telling me your post was unmanned?"

"Only for a few minutes, sir. We came back and noticed the alarm and responded immediately."

"And these intruders, you say they were children?"

"Teenagers."

Andrews nodded, and folded his hands on the desk. "How old are you?"

"Twenty six, sir."

"You work out?"

"Yes," Tom said, caught off guard by the strangeness of the question.

"Thought so, you look fit and healthy."

Tom said nothing, not sure where Andrews was going.

"So, I ask myself how these teens managed to so easily evade you and escape without you being able to apprehend even one of them."

"I’m sorry, sir, I take full responsibility," Tom said.

Andrews stared at him for a few seconds, then turned his icy stare away from Tom and grinned. "Well, no harm done in the end. Mistakes happen, that much is a given. One thing I will say to you Mr..."

"Young," Tom said.

"Mr Young, is that although I will tolerate a mistake once, I don’t expect it to be repeated."

Tom nodded, unsure what was happening.

"With that in mind," Andrews went on, "I want you to personally oversee an upgrade to our security systems. I want you to ensure that this incident isn’t repeated."

"Sir, I don’t have the authority..."

"You do now. I’m giving it to you. If anyone tries to question you or stop you, tell them to speak to me."

"I don’t understand, sir, I’m just a security guard. Why me?"

"Because you've had your one chance. I’m confident you will do whatever it takes to makes sure my instructions are followed to the letter, otherwise, it will cost you your job. Understood?"

"Yes, I understand."

“Also understand this is not a promotion. Although this will certainly mean much more work and responsibility, you will remain at your current pay grade.”

“I understand, sir,” Tom said.

"Good. I hope I don’t have to speak to you in this way again, Mr Young. I need to know my staff can be left to do the job they are paid to do. Are we clear?"

"Yes sir."

"Very good," Andrews said, standing and removing his glasses, slipping them into the breast pocket of his jacket. "Now, if you will excuse me, I’m late for an appointment."

Tom could only watch as the enigma known as Andrews swept out of the room in a cloud of expensive aftershave, leaving the minimum wage security guard confused as to what exactly was expected of him.

Outside, Andrews was met by his head scientist, a brilliant but socially frigid man named Neil Barker. Barker fidgeted as Andrews strode past him, almost having to jog to keep up.

"This is completely unacceptable," Barker said as they strode through the vast array of fish tanks open to the public.

"Relax, Neil, I'll deal with it."

"It might have just been kids, but what if it's someone else next time? What if the press get in?" he hissed. “I’ve been requesting a security upgrade for this facility for over two years now. Surely, now you will agree to my request?”

"Look, I'm arranging for security to be beefed up internally. As well as that, I'll speak to Tomlinson and see if we can get a skeleton crew down here to ensure our restricted areas remain that way."

They strode past the knee level open enclosure containing several dark skinned terrapins and down through one of the many doors labelled staff only.

"You really think Tomlinson will authorise a team to come out here?” Barker said. “He's already pissed at how much money this is costing the government. Do you know what he called it? He said it was a-"

"A financial black hole, I know," Andrews said, interrupting the scientist.

They arrived at another door, this one without a handle. To the right was a keypad. Andrews punched in his five digit code and he was granted access, the door opening with a pneumatic hiss. Beyond were more laboratories, stark white rooms filled with scientists hard at work.

"Look, Martin, I'm not against you here, it's just... I worry about the future of the project," Barker said, nervously twisting his wedding ring around his finger.

"I worry too. The fact is, Tomlinson is right. This
is
a financial black hole. We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the last five years and without a shred of progress to show for it. To be honest, I'm surprised we've lasted this long."

"We're trying, Martin. This isn’t just a simple case of cloning a sheep. This is a unique species, a one of a kind, which is new in every way. We're breaking new ground as we go, learning every day. Plus, I don’t need to remind you the sheer size of the subject makes taking fresh blood and tissue samples incredibly difficult."

Andrews stopped and smiled at the scientist, the expression without humour. "Size?" He said as the smile faded. "How big is our girl these days?"

"A little over eighty two feet."

"Eighty two," Andrews said with a smile. "You know, her mother was quite the spectacle. Well over three hundred feet. Closer to four, now I think about it."

"This one would be the same if it got out into the open. It's only size limited by its environment."

"I know. What I want to hear from you, Neil, is that there is some progress with the cloning."

"We're making steady steps," the scientist mumbled.

"Tomlinson will want something more concrete than that."

"Jesus, Martin, give me a break. I’m working my ass off here, we all are. I need more time."

"Don’t shoot the messenger. I’m on your side," Andrews said. "In a way, it’s a good thing the government has invested so much money in this already."

"Why?"

"Because it means they'll be reluctant to pull the plug with no return for their investment. That said, they would only do that for a certain length of time. We really need results and fast."

"I don’t know what you want from me, Martin. It's not as if we haven’t been trying. It's all hands on deck as it is. You saw the results of those early clone attempts. Is that what you want to present to Tomlinson?"

"No, of course not."

"Then please, let me work. As soon as I have something, I'll be in touch."

"I know you will. I don’t mean to press you on this, but if you only knew the sacrifices it took to get that creature here..." Andrews trailed off, his mind drifting back to a time he had tried so hard to forget. "Anyway," he said, blinking away the memories, "I have to go. I'll try to buy you some more time."

“That’s all it’s a case of. They have to understand the uniqueness of the situation. I’m doing everything I can to perfect this. You have my word.”

“I know that, believe me, I hate having to be the bastard who delivers the news. Chain of command and all that shit,” Andrews said with a shrug.

“You don’t have to apologise, just keep Tomlinson and his people off my back and let me and my team do our job.”

“Alright, leave it with me. I’ll do what I can.”

The two men shook hands and went their separate ways. Barker went straight to his office and closed the door. He sat at his desk and sighed, then took the bottle of scotch out of his desk drawer along with the glass he kept in there. He poured himself a single, then changed his mind and made it a double, taking a sip as he picked the throwaway mobile phone out of the back of the drawer and switched it on. He took another drink as he waited for the handset to power up, then dialled the only number, which was stored into it.

“It’s me,” he said as the line connected, “we need to meet up. I can’t delay this any longer.”

He took another sip of his drink as he listened.

“No, I can’t. It has to be now.”

He listened again, trying to convince himself the guilt would go away, especially when he got the money. That would make everything much easier.

“Alright,” he said as he grabbed a pen from his desk and opened his notepad, “where do you want me to meet you?”