*
Connor arrived at the lab early in the morning. His mom worked at a law firm, and it was a nine-to-five job she refused to be late for. Growing up, if he was lagging behind, he was left behind. Now, however, if his mom left him behind, her new husband would see that. Trevor’s presence gave Connor more wiggle room now than he’d had the entirety of his childhood.
The lab was on the outskirts of the town, and as they drove up to the checkpoint, Connor examined the tall chain-link fence that towered over the car and saw the rolls of barbed wire over the top.
“Did they have a break-in?” Connor asked.
“What?” she asked him, distracted. She was digging through her purse as they approached the check-in. Connor leaned forward in his seat, examining the barrier and the two guards that stepped out of the small hut at their approach. Two German Shepards walked obediently at the smaller guard’s heels. No chain or lead kept them tethered.
Connor took in the men’s athletic big builds and camo gear. Batons swung from their belts. But honestly, if there had been a gun, it wouldn’t have looked out of place.
His heart rate picked up as he stared at the two guards. His nerves prickled as familiarity washed over him, akin to déjà vu, but stronger.
I know them.
“Come on, Mom, didn’t you hear anything?” Connor insisted, unnerved. “They must have had a bomb threat or something.” The last time he’d been here, he’d been waved on through by a pink-cheeked, jolly old man. Now he felt they were about to have the car sniffed for contraband. Plus, the fence was new. The old one was barely enough to keep stray sheep out.
Looking up, Edith tensed. The taller guard held up his hand to stop them, and the one with dogs circled the car. She rolled down the window.
“This is private property,” the taller guard said. He stared at her, then at Connor. The déjà vu intensified. A sick feeling twisted in his gut. Suppressing the instinct to avert his gaze, he stared at the man’s face, racking his brain to figure out how he knew him. Maybe he’d been here when Connor was smaller and visiting the lab?
“This is Connor.” Edith’s voice was small. “His father, Ben Kelly, said he could spend the day in the lab with him. He emailed a permission slip.” She took out a piece of paper, the one she’d been digging through her purse for, and offered it to the guard. After a second, he took it. As he read the sheet, the guard with the dogs came to the front of the car and stood there. The dogs sat obediently on either side of his legs. They both watched the car with unwavering intensity.
“Reverse and leave the way you came in,” the guard said, folding the sheet and putting it into his pocket. He nodded at Connor. “Walk from here.”
“Okay,” Connor said. He could try to get answers from his dad once he got into the lab. Shouldering his backpack, he exited the car. He kept a wary eye on the two dogs as he passed, but they didn’t budge from the guard’s side. His mom, as if she was eager to leave him alone with the two intimidating men, reversed at speed and gunned it down the road.
“Grab me a coffee while you’re there,” the shorter guard ordered the taller one. His voice sent a shiver down Connor’s spine. He discreetly rubbed the goosebumps on his arms but kept his face level to hide his averse reaction to the man.
The taller one nodded at Connor. “Let’s go.”
If he hadn’t towered over Connor, he might have been brave enough to ask questions, but as it was, his courage abandoned him. He looked around instead. Tall iron posts with cameras had replaced the woodlands that used to surround the lab. There was a clear line of sight in every direction approaching the lab.
With relief, he saw his dad’s muddy, sea-salt-covered Jeep parked haphazardly by the front door.
The guard scanned his badge to open the front door. The lobby was the same; an open room with doors leading off of it. Among them was an elevator door. The guard indicated for him to get in.
The doors closed without the guard following, and Connor descended. A few seconds later, the doors opened. Connor stepped off the elevator into a room bathed in blue and green light. There was a long walkway lined with the ocean. Connor approached the glass. No matter how many times he saw it, the ocean rising above him, taller than he could see the surface, was both awesome and terrifying.
The water was murky with very little light streaming down from above, and Connor could only see a few feet—or at least what he thought was a few feet—into the depths before shapes became indistinct shadows. Seaweed rose from the ocean floor and swayed in the ocean currents like grass yielded to wind in a field. He had to look closely to spot the glimmering scales of small fish swimming among the seaweed.
Connor crouched down, narrowing his eyes as something with a bigger tail weaved through the weeds in the distance.
Chapter Five
“Connor?”
Connor’s attention was stolen from the bigger fish that teased the edge of his vision. He looked over his shoulder at a bulky man with greying hair and wide green eyes. “Arthur, hi.” Connor straightened up as Arthur approached him, bringing with him the potent smell of fish. He wore an oilskin jacket and pants with his feet stuffed into heavy-duty wellies.
“Just in?” Connor asked.
“I was picking up some equipment we had out in the water.” Arthur brandished a sphere-shaped black object lined with camera lenses. “We were getting a lot of activity readings on this fella. I couldn’t wait any longer before hauling it in.”
Arthur was as married to his work as Connor’s dad. Maybe that was a job requirement for underwater labs?
“Your security is beefier,” Connor said.
“Those two brutes didn’t give you any trouble, did they?”
