Page 21 of Lagoon

Then, another shot, and she saw the tranquilizer dart hitting the lizardman, right in the middle of his chest.

She turned, and there was Greyson, advancing, tranq pistol first. His face was bloody, trickling all down his face, over his cheekbone, into the stubble on his chin.

The lizardman roared, stumbling, trying to get at Greyson, but he was too sleepy. He wavered on his feet and then collapsed.

JONATHAN’S HEAD WASbandaged and most of the blood was cleaned from his face, but Riley thought he looked somehow more savage now than he used to as he pounded his finger into the table for emphasis. “I told you I’d get him into the tank, didn’t I? Well, that’s where he is now.”

It was late, the middle of the night now. Everyone was back in the mess hall. The guards sat on one side, and Riley realized there was still one guard she hadn’t met yet. He was tall and Black, wearing a uniform that bared his impressive arms because the sleeves had been ripped off. Had he been in the meeting earlier? She couldn’t remember. Everything seemed hazy. She felt as if she’d been here a week. It hadn’t even been a full day.

Harris leaned back in his chair, glowering at Jonathan. “We’ll wait to hear back from Anderson Scott, I think.”

“Anderson Scott is going to say that everything goes back to normal now,” said Jonathan. “And when he hears the way you refused to do your job, I don’t think he’s going to be pleased.”

Harris didn’t look ruffled. “You’re the one who got someone killed, Dr. Greyson. You’re the one who got every single lady in this place stabbed in the belly by that thing. We don’t know what happened. Scott’s going to shut us down, just mark my words.”

Riley didn’t like the tension here.

“Understand this,” said Jonathan, pounding his finger into the table again. “We had to get him into the tank. Myself, these three women, and all of us were wounded or shaken in some way. You and your men were down here playing cards or some shit. What’s the point of having a bunch of muscleheads on hand if they won’t use their muscles?”

“Yeah, well, we all know you think you’re better than us,” said Harris. “That’s no surprise.” He rounded on Nancy. “You heard anything back yet?”

“You left her to die today,” said Jonathan. “So, don’t talk to her like that.”

“But… we know that Bub was never trying to kill anyone,” Riley spoke up.

Jonathan turned to her, annoyed. “Dr. Stine, we have a theory. We don’t know for sure, and we won’t take risks to find out anything to the contrary. Bub will remain in captivity from now on.”

“What’s the point of being here, if you’re just going to keep him in an aquarium?” said Harris.

Nancy sniffed hard. “I heard what you called me,” she said in a cold voice, glancing at Harris and then away. “This ‘dumb bitch’ has Anderson Scott’s ear.”

Harris rolled his eyes. “Lady, it ain’t no secret you don’t want to be here. So, if you had his ear, you’d be leaving. He stashed you here for some reason, didn’t he? You’re trapped.”

Nancy glared at him. “You seem eager to go. I think we can arrange that,lieutenant.”

Harris made a face, like something smelled bad. But then, he rolled his shoulders as if it didn’t matter. “Hot as shit down here anyway.” He got up from the table. “Men, we’re off duty. Get some rest.” He stalked out of the room.

The other guards stood up, too.

Roger Lee, Nathan Robinson, and Peter Mann eased their way out of the room, too. Angela and the other guard were all that remained.

The other guard chuckled, his voice low and booming. “You go out on one long-range walkabout to see if there’s been damage to the cells that store the solar and, uh, you miss everything.”

Nancy rubbed her neck. “I lied. I’ve heard from Anderson.”

Angela sat back down. “No shit?”

“He wants to send Harris off but promote internally,” said Nancy. “He’s already putting together some kind of package for Nick’s family—he’s not calling it hush money, but you know that’s what it is. He says that we can do with five guards.”

“So, no replacement for Harris, then,” said the Black guard. His gaze settled on Riley. “You must be Dr. Stine. I’m Luther Thompson.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Riley, trying to smile and failing.

“Do you want it?” said Angela.

“Me?” Luther said with another booming laugh. “I was hired half because of my electronics expertise, right? So, I’m supposed to do both?”

“Well, I think promoting any of the others is just asking for more of the same,” said Nancy with a sigh.

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