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Holter takes it from the table and unlocks it. “There are detailed records of everything Haden’s done. Experimenting on Kraken. Developing his own science division, trying to make?—”
“Geminae mermaids,” says Fero. “Can we go? I want to take you to the lab.”
My eyes travel the length of him. Old Nico would have shot him and taken the evidence to Atlas. But there’s something about Fero. He’s not hiding anything.
“I’ll come with you,” I say. “They’ll follow in our solo behind you.”
“Okay, the second coming of Poseidon in my solo. I’d be excited if I wasn’t so flubber fish scared.”
Holter laughs.
Fero pilots with the same fear he had back in the dorms.
“Watch out for the swordfish.”
“Shoot. I hit one last month. It left a big dent.”
“Right, well, keep your eyes on the water.” It’s the longest thirty minutes of my life. He pulls into the Braesen dorm dock. Holter and Eros are next to us.
“This way,” Fero says.
“Don’t make any sudden moves,” I say.
“I won’t. I fully expect you’re going to kill me, but I want someone to take care of these podlets. They’re due to be born in the next month, but the tests... well, I’ll show you.” He pushes the button for the elevator, and three purple butterflies land on his shoulder. “I bring people to help me sometimes. Act natural. Hello fellas, it’s nice to see you too. You be good.” He’s talking to the damn butterflies. They take off, fluttering to the ceiling.
Inside the lift, he swipes a device over the buttons, and all the subfloors illuminate. He holds three buttons down at the same time, and the lift rockets down. “You got that, right? You saw what I did?”
“We did,” answers Holter.
“Good, good. I need someone to?—”
“We understand,” I say.
“Right, keep your heads down so no one recognizes you.” He points at Holter and me. When the door slides open, this isn’t like what Eros and Holter described before. This lab is in use. Clean with bright lights.
“They’re with me,” Fero says. And the guard behind the front desk waves us through. Fero takes us deep into a room full of equipment and rows of benches where people are working. Deep in the back of the room, his face is scanned.
“You’re a scientist here?” Eros asks.
“No. Here, I’m nothing. But I’m everything to them.” The door opens, and there are three rows deep of geminae pods. All of them glow, with podlets growing inside.
Holter steps near one that looks about ready to be born. “They’re mermaids.”
“No, they are female. We’ve never actually gotten one to be a true mermaid. And when I say ‘we,’ I don’t really mean me but Braesen.”
“What do you do here, if you’re not a scientist?” Holter turns from the pod.
“I’m the one who is supposed to kill the little females when they turn out to not be perfectly formed.”
“Supposed to?” I say.
“Yes. I don’t. I could never. My father, Calvin, he helped start all of this, his legacy. But I can’t kill a butterfly. No, I found a Kraken with a fast transport. I pay him, and he helps me take them to land. They are essentially human anyway.”
“How long? How long has this been going on?” I’m staring at the pods. The whooshing keeping the little podlets alive.
“I’ve been taking them to land for thirty years. But . . .”
“Fero?” I growl, and the male shakes.
