Merman - Romance

Chapter 32

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Chapter 32

“Any break through?”  Kent asked as soon as Ridec entered the sleeping area.

“No.”

“He’s doing the best he can,” Rea said.

“He doesn’t need you to speak for him,” Jessell pointed out.

“What?  That’s your prerogative alone?”  Rea countered.

“Don’t start this again,” Kent said.

“You don’t want to see the kid take another beating?”  Linda questioned.  “That was the most fun I’ve had in years.”

“Clearly you live a very unfulfilling life,” Kyle grunted under his breath.  “Kent is right; we don’t need to be fighting among ourselves.  We have enough opposition to worry about already.”

“You guys are clean and it’s my job to protect you and get you safely back to the authorities.”

“We’re not all cleans,” Mary muttered awkwardly.  “But you said I could get a spot in your facility because I brought you the boy, remember?”

“We never said that,” Linda countered.

“Of course we can get you a spot,” Kent contradicted.  “You just need to play it cool when we get there.  Once we explain to the authorities that you helped us cap…influence a clean to come in you’re definitely going to be in.”

“You were going to say capture,” Ridec said.

Kent didn’t respond.

“Is that what we are?  Captives?”  Kyle questioned.  “I knew there was something about this headquarters I didn’t like.”

“You’re captives for your own good.  You guys don’t understand.  The headquarters has security, fences, home grown food and a lake.  It’s perfect,” Kent explained.  “If someone could capture me and take me to a paradise like that I’d thank them.”

“I don’t plan on being anybody’s captive,” Kyle countered.

“That makes three of us old man,” Jessell put in.

“There’s a state of the art lab there.  It has everything, I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere before.  If you’re going to find a cure for this thing, trust me, you’ll need a lab like that,” Kent persisted.

“We’re not interested in finding a cure,” Jessell countered.

“Are you sure you’re speaking for Ridec?”  Kent was looking directly at Ridec as he spoke.  “It’s not only me that needs his help.  Do you think they’ll accept Mary or Pete…” he paused for emphasis, “in the facility unless we have you and Ridec to put and argument in for them?”

“I can go with Jessell and Ridec,” Pete countered.  “I don’t need to go to your stupid facility.”

Jessell’s mind was bombarding Ridec’s; she was making it clear that there was no way they could bring Pete with them.  He couldn’t survive under water, several of the first scientist that took the drug had still drowned under water, some had mutated into the adicas that now attacked their homes on an annual basis and it had taken a few generations before the merpeople had eventually evolved to the point they were at today, able to live, breath and survive comfortably under water and above the water.  If that was not enough, Pete was an unclean and it was probably only a matter of time before he changed, he could put all Merland in jeopardy as he could represent a new strain of zombies that could survive in the sea.