Page 69 of Leveling

Chapter 48

Beckett joinedeveryone downstairs in the galley. He carried a shirt under his arm, so when he walked in Sarah whistled.

He said, “I can’t get the shirt on.”

Dan grabbed the shirt and pulled it over Beckett’s head in three short swift movements. “There, covered up so my wife doesn’t get all hot and bothered.”

“He was half-naked can you blame me? Rebecca, can you blame me?”

“I cannot,” said Rebecca, “though he isn’t my type at all.”

Beckett joke-pouted, “I’m literally standing right here, stop objectifying me.”

He slid into the booth beside Rebecca across from Dan. Jeffrey, Dr. Mags, and Captain Aria sat together in the next booth.

Beckett said, “The ship is moving at a fast clip still.”

Captain Aria said, “We chased the fishing boat out of the sanctuary, but now we’re riding up and down the border, proving that it can’t come back. Lenny is driving so I could get dinner and some sleep.”

“Are we headed north now?”

Captain Aria said, “Yep.”

“No Nomads?”

Captain Aria said, “Haven’t seen any in ages. All the Waterfolk are either at the settlements or scattered for the islands by now.”

Dan asked, “What’s with you and the Nomads, anyway? When I was in the Navy, we tried to ignore them usually, or took pity on them when they were desperate for food or shelter, but I don’t get your interest. First you risked life and limb out on an Outpost—for how long?”

“Almost six months.”

“Almost six months on a tenuous, non-floating, probably sinking building, and you’re Army, you’re supposed to be building levees, fleeing to higher ground.”

Beckett chuckled, his gauze covered hands in front of him. “I guess I don’t like to do what I’m supposed to do.”

Dan said, “Finally, some truth from the Out-to-Sea-Army-Man in search of Nomads.”

Beckett said, “So what’s with you and the ocean, anyway? In the army we strive for higher ground. Getting wet means you’re a complete failure.”

Dan chuckled and gestured at Sarah, “I followed her passions on this one, Sarah and Rebecca went to school together.”

Sarah said, “We’ve been eating, breathing, thinking ocean for ten years. This organization is the only one that’s checking water quality, protecting the coral reefs, and breeding and restocking fish. We have ships out in every direction. On top of it Rebecca has a thing for whales that’s bordering on obsession, right Rebecca?”

“Absolutely. I have a theory that...” She looked at Beckett. “No, don’t get me started.”

Beckett said, “What? Tell me—I’d like to know.”

“Okay, my theory is that everything that’s wrong with the world, the heat, the waters rising, could have been halted with a healthy whale population.”

Beckett narrowed his eyes.

She said, “It sounds crazy, but look at the ocean—still, stagnant, warm, rising. What it needs is movement, flow, action, the deeps brought to the surface and the surface rolled to the deep. Cool brought up, warmth taken down, oxygen released, oxygen absorbed.”

Beckett said, “That makes sense, I suppose.”

The microwave beeped. Dan slid from the booth and delivered a plate of food to Captain Aria, and one for Beckett. “I’m not the wait staff, everyone else go for your own plate.”

Beckett stared down at his food, “Um, I can’t eat.”

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