Page 22 of Lagoon

“What about Ramirez?” Luther nodded at Angela.

Angela spread her hands, giving Nancy a withering look.

Nancy just laughed. “Funny.”

“Ooh, shots fired,” said Luther, shaking his head.

“They won’t listen to Angela,” said Nancy.

Jonathan regarded Nancy. “You thought he’d pull the plug, too. You were hoping for it.”

“That thing is a menace,” said Nancy. She got up from the table. “I’m too tired to think about this.”

“We all are,” said Angela. “We should get some rest.”

Jonathan nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

Nancy stalked out of the room, glaring daggers at all of them. She slammed the door in her wake.

Riley let out a shaky breath. Rest sounded good.

JONATHAN DIDN’T GOto bed. He went up to the lab and stood outside the tank, where Bub was awake.

The tank was large, the size of one of the cabins down in the encampment. But it was a prison, and Bub wasn’t pleased. Jonathan also hadn’t had time to treat Bub’s wounded shoulder. He would have to put the creature out again to stitch him up. Tomorrow.

For now, Jonathan put his hand to the glass and gazed in at Bub. “I’m sorry,” he said to the creature. “This… we fucked things up for you, Bub, and I’m sorry.”

This lagoon was remote, and it wasn’t easy for anyone to get here. The likelihood was that, if no one had ever discovered Bub and his brother, they would have lived out whatever was left of their lives in peace here and then simply faded away.

No one would have known, but what was that business about a tree falling in the forest?

Jonathan knew that the human desire for knowledge had a destructive element. Foolishly, he’d thought that because he was aware of that fact, it wouldn’t become destructive within him.

“I was greedy,” he told Bub. “Greedy and selfish, and I wanted to use you. I wish to God we’d left you alone.”

Bub swam through the tank to face him. He placed both webbed hands on the tank and bared his sharp teeth.

Jonathan moved his hand to touch Bub’s through the glass. “Sorry, really and truly sorry. I know it means nothing, but it’s all I can give you now.”

Jonathan didn’t know the way forward. He needed to have a conversation with Anderson Scott. If Nancy had gotten in touch with the man, why hadn’t Scott asked for a phone call with Jonathan? He thought this would merit some actual one-on-one discussion.

However, he could count his actual conversations with Scott on one hand. Scott was a busy man.

As far as it all went, he and Scott were on the same page that they were trying to breed more of these creatures one way or the other. But if Jonathan told him he didn’t want to try anymore, what would happen?

Would Scott replace him or would he acquiesce?

“I need something else to pitch to him,” said Jonathan to the tank. “Something that isn’t so invasive but is equally as enticing to him.” What the hell could that be, though?

There was a noise.

He turned, looking around. He didn’t see anything, but it had been in the distance. He moved away from the tank, wandering towards the door. “Hello?” he called.

Now, there was nothing.

He hesitated. Probably nothing.

He turned back to the tank.

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