Changes In Paradise: Chapter 15 - Camouflage, Connections, And Chesapeake - The Saga Continues free porn video

Disclaimer: If you're underage, stop reading. If you're offended by transgender or transsexual ideas, stop reading; and if you're unlikely to enjoy erotic descriptions of sex, stop reading. This story is adult material. Finally, if mermaids aren't your "thing," read this story anyway; it might change your mind. Please read, "Changes In Paradise, parts 1 - 14," if you haven't already, and please take a moment to post a comment to the site on which this story appeared, or send an email. For newbies, when dialogue is set off in brackets, [like this], the characters are speaking via CHEW, which is- -more or less--telepathically. On a special note, one I'm very happy to share, is that this chapter links to or intersects with "Another Piece of Paradise," the first story in this universe to be authored by someone other than myself. When you get the chance to read that excellent story, you'll see where and how the two stories link. I ask readers to read JJ's story in all its glory for details and ask forgiveness for my clunky weaving of the other story into the CIP saga. I want to thank those of you who have left "prodding" comments on the various sites to which this saga has been posted. In particular, I am grateful to Josh (and his fan-fic), Len, Mermaida, Pat(rick), and Fran(k) for their help and encouragement. Without these fine (fin) people, this chapter would never have been finished. I much appreciate your time and interest. Perhaps this somewhat epic chapter will reward your patience (I hope so). Thanks for the comments, suggestions, and encouragement on the previous parts. I really appreciate it. I would also like to thank the many others who have left kind and encouraging comments. Your willingness to say anything is of great value to me. So, thank you again! Permission granted to re-post to any free site with attribution. Changes in Paradise: Part 15 - Camouflage, Connections, and Chesapeake - The Saga Continues By Patricia Jackson "Jack" Baker was an odd duck, and he knew it. One of the great perks of being rich was that it rarely mattered what anyone one else thought of you, so Jack indulged himself in all the characteristics that made him odd. He stretched his Ichabod-Crane-like-body upward, his long bony fingers reaching for the low, steel gray clouds that scurried across the winter sky. He admired, for a brief moment, the complex pattern the clouds formed as they jostled past one another above the dark waters of the Chesapeake Bay, but then lowered his eyes to the boat that was approaching from the north, bouncing across the choppy water. Sitting down on the pilings at the end of the long dock, he watched the small craft surging towards him. Annette Dawson had called earlier that morning. Her husband Brent and two friends were going to arrive and it was a "company emergency," which he understood to require absolute secrecy. Annette had been one of the few people in his life with whom he actually felt comfortable talking, despite her beauty. One other person was his boyhood friend, Kyle Johnson. Annette was much prettier. From their very first meeting in college, Annette had somehow put him at ease, and they had remained friends ever since. She was an incredibly bright undergraduate with sparkling green eyes, a thick head of blond hair, and a piercing intellect. He was a reclusive doctoral student in computer programming, but she had found him intriguing and became one of Jack's few friends. They started working together professionally only six years ago, when she brought him in on a case as a consultant. Jack smiled as he remembered how impressed her superiors were with his speed and efficiency in programming the complex web-bots that identified, tracked, and logged terrorist cell phone calls. He could see Annette's blond hair whipping in the wind as the small boat approached. He frowned as he noticed that the boat was not The Slipper, which was Kyle Johnson's deadrise work-boat that normally ferried passengers and supplies to his remote island. The Johnson's had been friends with the Bakers for several generations, and Kyle was nearly the same age as Jack. Like Jack, Kyle was something of a loner, and the two men found an easy tolerance in the other, mostly born of their long association and partly because both men did not like talking. No, Annette and her crew were arriving in a speedboat, not Kyle's sturdy working boat, but the speedboat looked as if it were equally as old as The Slipper, and a lot worse for the wear. Jack thought back on his various associations with Annette. They had always enjoyed an easy friendship, no awkwardness after long absences, but Jack recognized that neither he nor Annette had ever sparked anything more than a friendship between them. There was no sexual tension. Nothing. Which was odd because Annette was beautiful. Jack knew that while he wasn't, himself, repulsive, he was never going to be confused for a heartthrob. He hadn't dated very may women in his relatively long life, and he didn't know if he ever would. He didn't want to die alone, but he had reconciled himself to the possibility. He watched as the boat drew nearer and shook his head to clear these old and well-worn issues from his mind. As the clouds of doubt finally cleared from his mind, the lurching boat drew up to the dock where he sat waiting. Brent Dawson eased the bobbing craft alongside the ramshackle dock while Annette threw the painter to Jack, who nimbly secured the line to one of the dock cleats at his feet. "Thank you, Jack," Annette said, as she reached up to his extended hand. "You have no idea how much this means to me." Jack nodded, his long face impassive. "We didn't call Johnson's Marine because we needed absolute secrecy," she explained, sensing his question. "Kyle understands company business," Jack said, as he caught the stern line and secured that to another cleat. "I'd trust him with my life." "You may have to," Annette said with a wan smile. "This isn't exactly company business." "Let's talk about it after we get these two inside," Brent suggested impatiently, waving his hands over two figures covered in blankets. "Can you give me a hand?" he asked with a nod to Jack. Jack nodded back and stepped down into the rocking boat, easily navigating the somewhat tamer gyrations of the boat as it lurched against the ropes holding it in place against the dark, winter waves. Brent stooped to pick up the larger of the two figures, and Jack again marveled at the retired Navy man's strength and agility. Brent heaved what looked like a young man up from the fore section of the speedboat up onto the dock, where Annette steadied the shivering body. Jack was glad that he was still in decent shape himself as he reached down to pick up what looked like a young woman who was shivering, apparently delirious, wrapped in a wool blanket. "Right here," Annette indicated a space next to the body Brent had deposited on cold, worn, wooden dock planks. As Jack eased the shaking, female body onto the dock, Brent made his way aft and picked up several olive drab duffel bags. He gathered them up and joined Jack in the front of the boat. He handed the bags to Annette, who strung one over each shoulder and headed up the dock towards the house that brooded over the rocky island from its center. "You follow Annette up to the house with Joy," Brent ordered, indicating the obviously female body Jack had just placed on the deck. "I've got something to do here, and then I'll join you." "Make sure it's to the southwest," Jack said as he picked up the still unconscious woman. "There's a deep spot in the channel about a mile out." "You were always a smart one," Brent said, with a stiff smile. "With this weather that's about three minutes at 20 knots?" "'bout that," Jack agreed. He watched Brent attach a small device to the bottom of the boat near the gas tank, and then lash the steering wheel and throttle to fixed positions. Brent released the bowline, pushing the boat into a southerly direction. He started the engine and hopped quickly up onto the deck, holding a second aft line in his hands. As the boat strained against the mooring lines, Brent tied both lines to a single cleat and then shortened one until he was satisfied, lining up the prow of the boat against the horizon. He checked his watch for a few seconds, and pulled a pocketknife from his pocket. He knelt down and watched the seconds go by, and then cleanly sliced through both lines, freeing the boat. He refolded the knife, gathered the severed ends of the rope still attached to the cleats, and turned to pick up the young man, still shivering on the deck. "They aren't contagious, at least not in any conventional way," Brent said. "It will make for a good story," Jack said simply, turning with his burden and heading up the dock towards the house where Annette had already made her way inside. "You have no idea," muttered Brent to himself lifting Mac into a firefighter's carry and following the tall, thin man up the dock towards the ancient house looming over the grassy island. A few moments later, as they neared the house there was a short, loud thump that echoed sharply across the bay, followed by the soft, strangled sound of an outboard engine choking as it was overwhelmed by water. "I guess we're staying for the night," Brent joked. "Ah, yup," Jackson observed, kicking the door open as he maneuvered Joy into the house. ***** "Is all this really necessary?" Jaclyn whined as she lay next to her new sister-wife, Janice, both of their bodies covered in a thicket of wires and sensors. "I feel like the frog in a high school biology class." "Almost done," Pat assured the newly minted mermaid. "The data on your transition are the richest yet, and we need to try to figure out what factors affect our transformations. Your data might be able to help Mac and Joy or the rescue team up in Davao, so just relax, and it will all be over in a few minutes." "The table is really uncomfortable," Jaclyn continued. "My dorsal fin itches." "I know," Alexis reported from behind a cluster of computer screens, only her pink tail visible as it thumped impatiently on the polished floor of the cave. "Will someone please scratch her port side, about ten centimeters up from the base of her fin? My readings are getting corrupted by all that surface muscle twitching." Brian left Julie's side where he had been watching the mer scientists poke, prod, and measure two of his sister-wives and salamandered over to the table where the two beautiful, but very different mermaids lay next to one another. He carefully slid one hand under Jaclyn's shapely waist until he found her dorsal ridge, then approximating ten centimeters with his fingers; he gently scratched her soft fin where it bent against the table. "Aaaaaahhhhhhh," Jaclyn sighed, her body relaxing as her mate's fingers brought instant relief. "You always liked getting your back scratched more than anything else," Janice teased. "Even a blowjob doesn't compare." "I still do," Jaclyn said with a wicked smile. "Now, however, I give blow jobs, not get them. Right Brian?" "Is that a promise?" Brian joked. "Oh, trust me," Jaclyn said, smiling, "I don't need to wait for another transition for an excuse to suck on your lovely cock." "How much longer on this testing?" Brian shot over to Pat, clearly agitated by Jaclyn's teasing. "Easy, Tiger," Pat admonished. "You guys will get us all going again, and then we'll have to start the data collection all over again." "Brian, get back here," Julie ordered. "I want all four of us back in the water, and I don't want to wait for Ms. Frankenstein to restart everything." "That's Dr. Ms. Frankenstein to you," Pat joked. Brian returned to Julie's side, letting his steel-gray and green flukes droop into the pool. Draping his arm around Julie's waist, he watched as the mer scientists worked. Several moments of relative silence passed as Pat, Phoebe, Alexis, and Galina hunched over data screens and sensor arrays, while Jaclyn and Janice lay patiently on the table closest to the pool. Brian sensed a tingle running up his tail, and he recognized the stirring of his CHEW. His mer-senses were still new to him, and carefully he had to sort out John and Danni's strong signals from their children's signals. Closing his eyes to concentrate, he then identified Eric, Sally, Liga and little Mari's signals. The tingling intensified as a new set of signals emerged from the long passageway connecting the Lab Pool to the Moon Pool. A few seconds later, he identified the signals of Gabriel, Petra, Xing, and Michelle as they swam towards him. "Your pod approaches, Galina," he announced. "They can wait a few minutes," she answered in her slight Russian accent. "We are almost done here." "Ten more minutes until we're supposed to contact the rescue team," Eric reported as he surfaced with the rest of his pod, searching for Alexis. "We know," both Pat and Alexis answering in unison, neither lifting their heads from the screens flashing data in complex rows and columns. "Phoebe?" Pat asked, knowing her pod mate knew the rest of the question. "Two minutes, nineteen seconds," Phoebe reported from deep within the cave where she monitored the array of computers they had cobbled together into a mock supercomputer. "The data is clean, and all systems are green." "You should have seen what they did to me when they discovered I could see CHEW," Eric said as he pushed himself out of the water and flopped next to Brian, Sally landing next to him a half second later. "The taste of that metallic paste stayed in my mouth for three days." "Ugh," protested Jaclyn. "Not what I was looking forward to." "You'll get over it," Eric joked. "It's not nearly as interesting as the anal probe." "If you keep distracting us, you'll get reacquainted intimately with that probe," Galina said with a scowl. "Can't wait," Eric said, thumping Brian on his shoulder. "No thank you," Brian said with a grimace. "Don't knock it until you've tried it," Janice said, winking at her mate. "Why do we still call it an anus even though it's been moved over to the front?" asked Jaclyn. "Quiet," hushed Galina, her scowl fighting for space on her face with a smile. "Good idea," Eric advised in a whisper. "Don't piss off the Russian," "Never a good idea," Gabriel agreed in hushed tones. "But she's worth it," Petra said gently, her head bobbing above the water of the pool. "I said hush!" Galina repeated, but the smile won the battle as she lifted an eyebrow at her pod-mates. ***** Malaki frowned at his computer screen, wondering--again--why two of his three sons had disappeared, along with a valuable (and beautiful) executive assistant, why one of his most reliable and ruthless operatives had disappeared along with his entire gang, and more importantly, why it felt like the edges of his carefully built empire were beginning to crumble. For the last few months, many of his officers seemed to be acting with greater and greater independence. The disappearance of his sons, with little or no explanation from him, was probably the biggest reason why. Now he was getting reports that several of his most senior people were thinking of going independent. He had to act soon, and he needed to find his sons or produce their bodies as examples for what happens to even his own family members who are foolish enough to attempt an "independent" operation. One of his Davao operators reported seeing Manalo and Abao together and suspected that they were plotting to overthrow their father. According to the reports, his sons had been dividing their time between Davao and several other remote islands, some of which were unknown to anyone. Malaki suspected that they spent most of their time at the old hide-away island that the equally absent Alberto had used occasionally. At first, the entire problem appeared to be Alberto going rogue, but now it seemed there was a deeper conspiracy within his organization, and that two of his own sons were leading it. At first, Malaki refused to believe it. But he confirmed the rumors with his newest mole, Conjo. There was nothing like revenge to motivate a spy, Malaki thought. Conjo was not entirely trustworthy, and so Malaki decided that he would personally travel to Davao, find his sons, capture them, and then properly punish them for their disloyalty. He had hoped to hand off his business to his eldest son, but he was unwilling to let it be taken. The betrayal he felt gnawed at him, sending a tight knot of pain in his chest. He slumped before his computer, feeling the weight of his loss. Only his youngest, and least tested son, Torro, was left to him. Well, it was time to test his youngest son's loyalty and leadership. "Sudhish," he barked into the speakerphone on his desk as he straightened up. "Yes, sir," the voice crackled in return. "Make travel plans for Davao for the executive team, and get Torro in here immediately," he ordered. "Yes, sir," the electronically transmitted voice replied again. Malaki frowned at the phone, considering what to do about his current executive assistant. His last one had disappeared with his eldest son, and while he hoped that they might be holding Shen against her will, he knew that the death of her sister had freed her to act independently. His sources had confirmed that the girl had been killed trying to escape, but those reports were deeply suspect. No one had escaped from the Davao brothels in years, and he suspected that Manalo ordered the death of Shen's sister, blamed it on his father, and then manipulated the girl in to serving him in revenge. That insult would add another day of pain for his son, provided he could put his hands on the bastard. Sudhish was modestly trust worthy as long as Malaki held his sisters in captivity. However, if his older sons were plotting to take over the operations at Davao, where he had recently transferred Sudhish's sisters, then his hold over Sudhish was at risk. "Sudhish," he said, as he punched the speakerphone button. "Yes, sir?" his assistant answered from the other room. "Make plans to accompany the executive team to Davao," he ordered. "Yes, sir," he replied. A visual reminder of the danger into which Malaki could put Sudhish's family would be a useful reinforcement, Malaki decided. He could move the girls from the standard duties of prostitute to the more exotic duties of snuff film actress. Fear and revenge were useful tools, and Malaki had built an empire with those simple tools. It was time to return to basics, he concluded. Fear and revenge. ***** The six mermaid children swam in playful circles among and around the otherwise motionless twenty-four adult mers who had arranged themselves into their triangular formation for long-distance CHEW connections. Their playful squeals didn't distract any of the adults, especially since toddler mermaids could not generate "directed" CHEW themselves. The sea was relatively still and calm off Mermaid Island, the bright sun glinting and sparkling off the gentle swells of the ocean. The tiny mermaids chased the flickering beams of light as they bounced around the otherwise still adult mers, being careful not to move too far away from their parents. Just beyond where the tiny mermaids frolicked, the sea floor fell away sharply a few meters in front of the lead mermaid, Pat. She floated at the front of the formation, concentrating on communicating with a mermaid thousands of kilometers distant. Her eyes were closed, and her long auburn hair floating around her pale, beautiful face like a fire-lace curtain that curling about her graceful neck, falling along her gently sloping shoulders, her lush breasts, and down past her slender waist. Her long, powerful tail, with its sparkling green scales that covered her wide hips, hung motionless beneath her, the pink fringes along her flukes and fins fluttering in the still water only when one of the children swirled past her. Her brow was furrowed in concentration as she communicated over a mind-boggling distance. She was a vision of beauty, but no other mer was currently contemplating her beauty. Everyone was arranged behind her with their eyes closed too, all concentrating on their CHEW, helping to amplify Pat's own signal. All the pods made for a colorful array that might have reminded a distant observer of a magnificent aquarium full of tropical fish floating over a sandy basin just beyond a dark coral reef, except they were in a perfect formation and otherwise unmoving. No normal fish behaved like that! Nor were the large fish and marine mammals of the ocean that colorful; not until recently, of course. Unknown to the beautifully, if unnaturally, arranged mermaids and mermen, a distant observer did pass overhead, so far overhead as to be invisible to the mers below, even if they had been looking upwards. Nevertheless, the silently orbiting satellite recorded yet another image of brightly colored aquatic animals arranged in a formation of inexplicable behavior in fish or sea mammals. The surveillance system flagged and then shunted the picture into a Blackgate protocol folder, hiding it from nearly anyone who might casually stumble across it. That folder was growing slowly, and while the two creators of that folder were themselves now among those unbelievably colorful marine animals in that picture, the folder was nearing its maximum size before the protocol creating it needed reviewing and renewal. Someone, soon, was going to have to look at that folder. Both Eric and Sally held their places within the formation near Liga and Alexis, all four of them ignoring the happy squealing of Mari, Liga's child. Alexis still wasn't showing, but she was pregnant with Agba's child. As the former Russian scientist focused her efforts on boosting Pat's CHEW, she could feel her womb throb as the mermaid within continued to develop, a faint glimmer of CHEW emanating from the fetus. Alexis refocused her attention from within to the conversation she was facilitating. [Yes,] Pat said, answering Trixi's question. [We hope that Joy and Mac will make their transition safely. We have no way of reaching them now. Have you made contact yet with Michael Thompson?] [No,] answered Trixi. [We have made good use of the time, however, by performing a lot of reconnaissance. When did they say they would arrive?] [Two, perhaps three more days,] Pat answered. [Once you make your plans, please let us know what they will entail.] [Will do,] Trixi said. [Chat in 24 then?] [24.] Pat answered. [Rodger dodger, over and out.] Trixi said. The formation of mers stayed still for a few beats more, and when Pat turned away from the west, everyone broke off into their individual pods to begin their day. James' pod, being some of the newest members of the mer family, could hardly contain their excitement as they raced each other from point to point. Pat rubbed her forehead lightly as she watched Bridget and Elise rocket towards the surface performing some aerial maneuver. [You O.K.?] Danni asked as she drew her long body next to her sister- wife's. [Yea,] Pat answered. [This actually gets easier with practice. Is Phoebe supervising food for the brood?] [For a change,] Danni said as she wound her tail around Pat's. [John's helping.] [What's gotten into you?] Pat asked as she felt Danni's graceful fingers play along the edges of her gills, causing tremors to race along her body. [John's orders, actually.] Danni said as she pulled Pat into an embrace, kissing her deeply. [What orders are those?] Pat asked, her chest rising and falling with increasing passion as her sister-wife expertly played her body like a musical instrument. [A little mermaid milk to rejuvenate the hard-working scientist, who stays up half the night crunching data and then does a little long distance CHEW in the morning,] Danni answered as she pushed Pat's face towards her own breasts. [You guys are wonderful,] Pat said kissing the sides of Danni's impressive breasts, working her way towards the long stiff nipple that now oozed milk into the water. [But this is just medicinal, right?] Pat teased as she lightly nipped Danni's long nipple, causing the blond mermaid to twitch and moan in pleasure. A small squirt of mermaid milk shot into Pat's mouth, the warm sweetness mixing with the cool saltiness of the ocean. [Uuuuuuh, yessssssss,] moaned Danni as she caressed Pat's auburn hair to encourage her sister-wife to feed. [Nothing else, ooooh, at all. Just medicinal.] [Fine, then.] Pat said as she pulled Danni's teat into her mouth and sucked hard. She felt Danni arch into the feeding, her body quivering with passion. Pat could feel her body responding quickly to the life- giving, healing effects of the mermaid milk that was now gushing down her throat. She could also feel her flukes beginning to quiver as her own passion rose from within. An hour later, Phoebe asked Danni to switch with her, and Pat happily embraced Phoebe as Danni swam back to John watching his three daughters continue to frolic unaffected by the shared passion of their mermaid mothers. ***** "So, is some sort of parasite in these two that is changing them into mermaids?" Jack said, waving his hands towards the two swaddled figures still shivering on the floor of his family's island home. "Well, only Joy will be a mermaid," Annette corrected. "Mac will be a merman, technically." "They call themselves mers," added Brent. "Mers," Jackson repeated, savoring the word. "And they need to be in sea water in order to complete their change." "We think so," Annette said. "Pat and the other mers are going to give me more a conclusive answer after the most recent batch of transformees had finished." "And that will be ..." Jackson asked. "Soon?" Annette answered. "It may have already happened. The last few days have been pretty hectic with these two." She waved her hand over the two unconscious people on the floor. "I'll try to raise the mermaids on the short wave early tomorrow morning, which should be their afternoon," she explained. "Well, there's no sense in waiting any longer, is there?" Jackson asked as he stood up. "Getting them into my primary tank won't do them any harm, right?" "Right," Annette agreed. "As long as we keep their heads out of the water until we're sure their gills are working." "Gills?" Jackson asked. "You'll see once we get them into the water," Annette answered, nodding to her husband Brent, who rose to gather up the bundle cocooning Mac Bennett. Jackson bent his long frame over the swaddled Joy Simpson and hoisted her into his arms. "Follow me," he said as he headed for the basement stairwell. Annette picked up one of the small, duffel bags and opened the door at Jackson's invitation, watching the two men descend with their burdens. As she followed them down the stairs, she glanced around the otherwise unremarkable basement of an Eastern Shore island home. Jackson used Joy's feet to move an otherwise normal looking pipe a few inches into the stone blocks of the foundation, and then stepped back as a section of the wall silently slid back to reveal another passageway angling down and away from the house. "When my father accidentally burnt down the chicken barn twenty years ago, I used that opportunity to build this facility," Jackson explained. "The rebuilt chicken barn is a fake and it doesn't have any working doors above ground, and the only access is through here." They made their way down the wide passageway until they emerged into a large underground room, having a thick, glass partition stretching across the room. The fake barn was visible above the three-meter high glass wall as it bisected the room. There was a winch with a chain at the apex of the rafters, and light filtered down through the seemingly transparent roof. The enormous aquarium stretched an additional five meters below the ground where they stood and at least ten meters back from the glass wall. "My god," gasped Brent. "How big is this tank?" "It's nearly one million gallons," Jackson reported. "And it is slightly more saline than the estuary water surrounding the island. There is direct outside access to the bay through a tunnel that connects to this tank, but you have to operate two different sets of locks and gates to swim through." He gently laid Joy onto the floor. "We harvest energy from the tidal flows to power the systems keeping the water in the tank fresh, filtered, and aerated, but we have emergency pumps if something should happen with the passive system," he explained. "So this tank could function in the absence of outside power?" Brent asked, impressed. "This tank DOES function in the absence of any outside power," Jack said with pride. "The electrical pumps are backups in case we have to radically clean the tank, if an invasive species or algae bloom were to appear." "Jackson collects marine life as a life-long hobby and has a particular affinity for cuttle fish," Annette added as she began to sort through the duffel bag. "You can see some of them over there," she finished, pointing through the thicket of other fish swimming in slow lazy circles near the front of the tank. There, towards the back of the tank, Brent could barely make out a few cuttle fish darted among the rocks and reefs. "These two aren't going to become an invasive species?" asked Jackson as he gently laid Joy onto the floor in front of the glass wall. "I mean the parasites that are in their bodies won't harm my animals, will they?" "The mers live in complete harmony with all kinds of marine life in their caves," Annette said. "I'm not sure if cuttlefish share any of their spaces, but I know that fish who have been otherwise sick or injured have recovered after being exposed to the mers' unique parasites." "The same parasites in mers also healed fish species?" asked Jackson, stunned. "Apparently," Annette said. "Again, Joy told me as much, but I've only talked to rest of the mers twice over short wave, just before these two became delirious and then unconscious. Here, take one," she added as she handed Jackson a small plastic bag. "What's this?" he asked. "It's a float that will keep their faces open to the air," Annette explained, opening hers and unfolding the small plastic device. "If the parasites are beneficial, then why do these two look so sick?" Jackson asked. "The parasites live only part of their life cycle in mer bodies; they don't live in them permanently," Annette explained. "The microorganisms spend most of their life cycle outside a mer body, so that's why they look sick. The mers identified over 50 different types of microorganisms all sharing a viral packet that carries inert Mer DNA. Inside a human body they become Siren Cells." "Sirens of the Sea," Jack said, smiling. "So, these two have been infected by a viral change agent. Aren't you afraid of becoming infected?" "I plan on becoming infected," Annette said. "However, according to my brief conversations with Pat, the mer scientists believe that the parasites are not topically viable, and that only immersion into an environment in which they live can actually allow the infection to occur. They can survive inside our bodies, particularly the GI tract, our reproductive fluids, and our lymph nodes, but not on our skin. They only appear on our skin for part of their life cycle. They cannot survive in air. We think these two were infected when they swam through the Moon Pool, which is the central chamber in the mer community." "Still doesn't explain why these two look like they're dying," Jackson persisted. "I'm at the edge of my knowledge here," Annette explained. "I think the parasites require the salts and minerals that are naturally dissolved in sea-water to function properly, and so they are harvesting those salts and minerals from within Joy and Mac's bodies." "Why haven't they changed," Jack asked. "They have changed," Brent said. "Both of these two are, or were, our age." "They got younger?" Jack said, surprised. "Yes, now they both look twenty-five," said Annette. "A very pale, sunken, and sallow twenty-five," offered Brent, unwrapping Mac from his woolen cocoon. "They've also started developing proto-mer features," Annette said. "Here, look at this," she said as she unwrapped Joy a little bit, and pulled an arm free from the swaddling. Joy's arm twitched every few seconds, sometimes from the wrist, sometimes from the elbow, sometimes just a few fingers. In fact her whole body was twitching and jerking about, just little twitches, but noticeable nevertheless. Jackson peered closely at Joy's hand as Annette held it forward. There he could see webbing up to her first knuckle in between each finger. "Wow," he breathed. "You weren't kidding." "We don't know how much they've changed internally either, but mers have several organs that humans don't, and these new organs do everything from generating electricity, real electricity, to allowing them to see parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that we cannot," Annette explained as she finished unwrapping Joy. "Wow," Jack repeated. "Those parasites pack a wallop." "No kidding," Brent said, surveying the two, twitching and shivering humans. "And you're quite sure these parasites won't hurt my animals?" asked Jackson. "Pretty sure. Most of these fish look very much like the ones we know live in in the same reefs and caves as the mers," Annette answered, waving her hand towards the hundreds of fish swimming in the large tank. "But you weren't sure about the cuttle fish?" Jackson persisted. "Even if they were in any danger, there's only one or two in this tank," Brent said. "How many?" Jackson asked, turning to Brent. "I can only see two, back there, see," Brent answered, pointing to where he could see the medium sized creatures moving among rocks and sand. "There are seventeen cuttlefish in this tank," Jackson said. "They can camouflage themselves like few other creatures on earth." "Seriously?" Brent asked, searching the tank more carefully. "Aren't they predators? Wouldn't most of these fish be dead?" "Yes," answered Jackson, warming to one of his favorite subjects. "But nearly all animal species in the ocean classify as predators, and yes, most of the fish you see here are supposed to be a dinner for the cuttlefish." "They won't pose a danger to Joy and Mac, will they?" Brent asked. "Cuttlefish rarely attack anything bigger than themselves," Jackson reassured. "They rely on stealth and surprise, not power or speed." "Do they have venom?" Brent asked. "Yes," Jackson said. "But they are more likely to use it on one another than on humans." "You're the expert," Brent said, eyeing the few cuttlefish he could actually see. "He's one of only a few private citizens able to keep and cultivate cuttlefish in an aquarium," Annette said. "They are hard to keep and breed in captivity." "Wow," Brent said, impressed. "It's a hobby," Jackson said dismissively. "Jackson," Annette began. She paused, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Jackson, both Brent and I plan to join them as mers. I can't promise you that your pets will be unharmed, but I'm going to subject myself to this process as soon as I can. I promise you I will make whatever reparations you think necessary if something happens." "Would that include allowing me to join you as well?" Jack asked. "Ha! I win five bucks," Annette said, turning to her husband. Brent fished around in his pants for his wallet and gave her the money. "What did you bet?" Jackson asked, smiling at his old friend. "Brent still has some difficulties with the whole becoming-another- species-thing," Annette said. "He didn't think you'd want to become a mer." "He doesn't know me as well as you do," Jack said. "Yes," Annette said. "But we have lots to talk about what 'joining' the mers actually means before I'll let you make that decision. Just to start things off, the mers are organized in pods of three mermaids to one merman." "But that would mean that ... that ... " Jackson said, glancing at Brent and back to the body at his feet. "Yes," Brent said. "I'm supposed to become the third mermaid. It's a long story." "I can't wait to hear it," Jackson said with a nod. "Why don't we get these two in the water before the parasites and siren cells kill them before they get the chance to change them." "Let's get them both undressed and set the floats," Annette said as she moved over to Joy's still twitching form. "Then we can winch them into the tank," she finished, looking at the sling hanging on the far wall. ****** A diamond shaped formation of four mers swam in unison about five meters below the ocean surface. The undulations of their bodies were not as graceful or fluid as mers were normally, but then again, mers did not usually swim while harnessed to an ungainly looking contraption that might end all life on the planet. The relatively large, cage-like device, which they decided to call The Device, lay suspended beneath them as they swam slowly but steadily. Each mer, three mermaids and one merman, wore a utility belt that fitted snugly around the mers' hips, just above their pelvic fins. Attached to each utility belt was a nylon rope, and all four ropes connected to a steel ring anchored in the center. From these four ropes The Device hung suspended in the middle of the mers about two meters below them. Anchored within the steel structural cage were several air bladders, almost giving The Device neutral buoyancy, thus towing the contraption wasn't as impossible as it might otherwise have been. [How much further?] Ann asked from her starboard position in the formation. [Nearly there,] Trevor answered from his lead position in front. [Thank goodness,] Kate sighed. [You doing o.k. back there?] [I'm good,] Rose answered, bringing up the rear of the formation. The mers swam for another hour before Trevor pulled them up and stopped. They each oriented vertically, keeping their flukes and fins moving to maintain their current depth. Trevor reached into a pocket along the side of his utility belt and removed a small device, oriented the device along cardinal points and pushed a button on its side. One of the four, intercardinal red LEDs blinked twice, then the center, green LED blinked once. [Only another 1000 meters to the northeast,] Trevor said, returning the digital GPS to his utility belt. [Wow, that was pretty good dead reckoning,] Rose said. [I don't think that even Emma could get that close without help.] [Lucky,] Trevor said simply. [Even a blind squirrel gets a nut every once in a while.] [We're going to have to come up with mer-versions of those sorts of sayings,] Ann said. [There are no sea squirrels.] [Crabs sort of act like squirrels, always scampering about, taking stuff back into their nest,] Kate said. [Can we return to our task?] Rose said. [I don't really want to be yoked to this damn thing longer than I have to be.] [Sorry,] Kate said. [We'll swim.] [It's fine, my love,] Rose said back. [This is just a big responsibility.] The mers turned together, reoriented horizontally, and continued to swim in perfect unison for another 1000 meters. Trevor stopped them and checked his GPS device again. This time the green LED blinked once. [Everyone ready for the descent?] he asked. Everyone responded affirmatively. Trevor released the air from two of the air bladders, and the pod angled toward the bottom of the ocean, swimming slowly into the darkness. They headed for the middle of a large abyssal plain in which an extinct volcano reached up from a depth of 5000 meters to a peak of only 500 meters below sea level. As they descended into the inky blackness, their mer senses took over. They began "seeing" millions of tiny life forms as well as thousands of fish and other sea creatures occupying the depths. Some of these creatures even generated their own bioluminescence, making the darkness seem less oppressive. Each of the mers could feel their bodies respond to the increase in pressure as their mer-organs kicked into overdrive, shielding them from the otherwise deadly pressure. [It's so quiet down here,] Kate said with reverence. [I can't believe our bodies can withstand this pressure,] Ann said. [I mean, I can feel it, but it isn't hurting me.] [This isn't very deep, as far as the ocean goes,] Rose reminded them. [And we can go much deeper if we have to. Just keep it slow and steady, and we'll be fine.] [Let's conserve our energies, shall we?] Trevor said. [We have a lot to do once we get there.] He received non-verbal assent from each of his pod-mates and they continued downward in silence. After another ten minutes of swimming, they reached the top of the extinct volcano. It had the classic cone shaped top with a small crater-shaped bowl. Then they descended into its center. [It's so empty,] Rose remarked, looking around. [It won't be empty for long,] Trevor said. They let The Device settle onto the sea floor and unhooked themselves from it. They coiled the ropes along cleats built into the frame of The Device, and then Trevor pulled the GPS device out and checked their location again. A single green LED blinked. He then carefully reached into the center of the contraption and grasped a lever near its center. He worked the ratchet back and forth for several minutes, winding a steel spring hidden within a waterproof cylinder tighter and tighter. When it finally "clicked" tight, he stopped. He pulled back from the frame and reached into his utility belt again and brought out a small, flat, device looking like a car remote. He pushed a hidden button and a beam of pale, blue light pierced the darkness. He pointed it towards the surface and watched the microorganisms and other small creatures pass through the beam. When he was satisfied that he could see the direction of the barely perceptible current, he shut off the light. Everyone took a moment to re-adjust to relying on their mer-senses, then he signaled his girls to swim with him to the far side of The Device, and there he brought them all into a group hug. [We have to secure the Dead Man's Trigger,] he said. [Who wants to go first?] The three mermaids all looked at one another. They all remembered Pat's admonitions about the responsibility given them: the future of all mers and the future of the entire planet. Each felt the weight of those words weighing heavily upon their hearts, their chests tightening with emotion. [God, I can't believe we're going to do this,] Kate said. [I can't believe we HAVE to do this,] Ann said, putting her head against Trevor's shoulder. None of them wanted to admit it, but it was difficult for them to be in the mood, so to speak. After towing their burden for nearly two days, and arriving at this great a depth, and knowing that the hulking steel framed device next to them could wipe out all life on the planet, all combined to put a damper on even a mermaid's libido. A few moments passed, the four of them floating silently in the darkness. [We can't not set it,] Trevor said. [I've already tightened the spring. We have to do this.] [I'll go first!] Rose said with sudden force, twisting her body to be in front of Trevor's, forcing Kate to move to one side. [We're going to make so much love right here that this thing won't be able to go off for at least two years!] She grabbed Trevor's face, which she could sense more than she could see, and kissed him fiercely. As soon as she did, her tail began flickering softly in the darkness. Soon Trevor's tail was also flickering as she built up their passion slowly and deliberately. Rose broke away from the kiss and floated down Trevor's torso, kissing and stroking his body as she descended. When she got to his vent, she began teasing him until he pulled at his vent muscle, releasing his now expanding cock into the cold, dark sea. She took him into her mouth, giving it a few quick strokes, making sure her lover and mate was ready, and then she flicked her tail and rose quickly back up to his face. She kissed him again. [It's ironic, you know,] Trevor said. [What's ironic?] Asked Ann as she drew near, trying to add her own energy to Rose and Trevor's slowly growing passion. [Love is what will keep the world safe,] Trevor said, giving Ann a quick kiss. [Love is the only thing that can keep the world safe,] Ann said. [Well then, let's set this trigger so that it can never go off,] Rose said huskily, her body flush with passion, her tail now flickering madly with bioluminescence. [Yes, let's get this love-fire going,] Kate said as she floated next to Trevor opposite Ann. Rose put her arms around Trevor's neck, and kissed him again, grinding her pelvis against his, trapping his cock between them. She turned her head, inviting Ann in for a kiss. Her sister-wife gave her a fierce kiss, massaging Rose's full breasts as she did. Kate pulled Trevor into a kiss from the other side. Rose continued to grind her hips into Trevor, while Ann stroked and pulled on her breasts and nipples. She felt her breasts grow heavy with milk, and she moaned into Ann's kiss. Rose felt Kate reach down and grasp Trevor's cock. She moved her hips back, and let Kate position Trevor's cock between her now engorged vent. [I love you,] she said, looking at each of her mates in turn. She then locked eyes with Trevor as all three together pushed his cock inside her. Rose luxuriated in the feeling of fullness that his mighty penis created inside her. She held his gaze as he buried himself to the hilt, her warm depths burning like a furnace compared to the frigid water around them. The lights emanating from Trevor and Rose dazzled both Kate and Ann, and they re-positioned themselves along Trevor's sides, where his pelvic fins were alive with light and motion. They each nestled their own vents along the ends of his fins and locked their hands behind both Rose and Trevor creating a group hug. [God, this is so amazing,] Kate said. [Yea,] Ann agreed, feeling her breasts swell with passion. [The future of the world,] Rose said, her body tense with passion. [We have to protect the future of the world.] [You guys are the future of the world,] Trevor said, wrapping his tail around Rose's, feeling both Ann and Kate press into him on each side, the tips of both his pelvic fins vibrating inside a fiery mermaid's vent. Rose rolled her hips into Trevor's slow stroking, her vent rippling against his cock as it slowly sank into her and gripping it as he slowly withdrew. Her breasts reached their fullest as her passion rose, and she could feel the warmth of her own milk beginning to leak from her nipples. Trevor's rhythm increased steadily, and she gave herself over to the rising power of Trevor's stroking, feeling her body jerk each time he slapped into her hips, the pleasure rippling outward from that point, roiling through her stomach, shaking her heavy breasts now beginning to spray milk into the murky water. Flashes of her days as Robbie appeared in the dark water around them like misty images that only sweetened the embrace they shared. As her body embraced the welcome assault of Trevor's affections, Rose remembered her transformation in his arms and the adventures they had already shared. She remembered her parents and the long talks she had with her father before he became Jaclyn, and she wondered if her father felt the way she did when Brian made love to him/her. Trevor's eyes seemed to bore into hers, and in those eyes, she saw herself nearly overwhelmed with passion. She wondered if Jaclyn remembered being Hank when Brian pounded into her. Soon Trevor's hips were mighty pistons, and she couldn't help but vocalize each time he bottomed out in her womb. The dark depths kept her shrieks small and quiet, but her passion overcame the murky, oppressive depths. In the midst of her passion, Rose wondered what a child of her own might be like, and suddenly a spark of passion overtook her and gripped her body. "Treeeeevvvvoooooooooorrrrrrr," she screamed into the silent depths as her body began convulsing. She tried to focus on Trevor's eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, but all she could see were a sparkling pair of violet eyes that she had never yet seen. She suddenly realized what she was doing, but it was too late to stop visualizing her daughter's eyes. Her vagina suddenly clamped down on Trevor's cock, stopping him just as he started an outward stroke, trapping him within her fiery depths. Rose's own orgasm forced her eyes to roll back in her head and her entire body convulsed around Trevor's now stationary cock, her breasts gushing milk into the sea. "Roooooseeeeeee," Trevor heaved as his cock was being magnificently massaged by muscles in Rose's birth canal that sought one thing; his seed. He was barely aware of Ann and Kate both starting into their own intense orgasms, thickening the water with mermaid milk, much of it drifting over and around The Device. He felt a powerful, unstoppable orgasm rise up from deep within his tail, shoot through his trapped cock, and pulse into the quivering and jerking body of Rose. After the fifth pulse, his own eyes rolled back in his head, and he joined his beloved pod-mate in blissful unconsciousness. ****** Sudhish closed his eyes as the small jet bounced in the turbulence, trying to will his stomach into submission. He tasted his own bile, but he swallowed and refocused his efforts. After a few moments he felt his stomach settle, and he opened his eyes. There were eight people on the sleek, small Leer jet, and Sudhish could see that the beefy bodyguards that Malaki always had near him were laughing at his airsickness. He closed his eyes again, shutting out the brutes making up most of the passengers on the jet, focusing on memorizing the instructions he had received from Conjo. He went over them again and again, while he fingered the ring on his right hand. How Conjo had made a copy of this old ring, Sudhish didn't really know. But the new ring, with its hidden transmitter, looked exactly like his old, Oxford school ring. Sudhish hoped that Conjo would be able to pull off this surprise attack. The five bodyguards that Malaki had brought with him were experienced, hardened, and capable men, and Sudhish knew each of them was incredibly well-armed. Malaki's son, Torro was also present, but he was the same size as his father. Sudhish surmised that he was along for the ride because Malaki hoped to teach him a lesson, one that probably involved his sisters. He twisted the ring with nervous anticipation. Why did all this have to happen, he thought somewhat uselessly to himself. His three beautiful sisters were now sex slaves in some wretched corner of the Philippines, and unless he could free them, they would all eventually die. He screwed his eyes tightly shut as the jet dipped and bucked in the air. In the swirling colors behind his tightly clenched eyelids, he could not make the vision of Geeta, his older sister, being beaten and raped leave his mind. She was closest to him in age, and she was one of the most beautiful women he knew, even if she was his own sister. Up until two weeks ago, he lay trapped in a situation from which he did not know how to escape. Now, he had hope, not much, but it was something. He shook his head, breathing deeply, both to control his nausea and to steel his nerves for what was to come in Davao. He needed to be able to think, to act when the time came. He had no idea what Conjo's instructions might mean, but he was determined to follow them to the letter. 1. Once in the brothel, turn the stone in the ring one-quarter turn. 2. Find the window or door closest to the sea. Open it, if possible. 3. Ignore Conjo if you see him. 4. If a little whale slapped her tail on the water, jump into the belly of the whale to be safe. He had no idea what that last one meant, and he worried that none of the instructions seemed to include his sisters. According to Conjo, Malaki had captured and enslaved all three of his sisters. His parents were devastated, he knew. Somehow, he would make everything right. Somehow. First, he just had to survive the flight, he thought as the plane lurched again. ****** About an hour after Jackson had released Joy and Mac from the sling, allowing them to float freely in the tank. Both stopped the involuntary twitching that had plagued them for days. The three of them watched for the rest of that afternoon, but there were no other changes. They noted with relief that the other animals in the tank were completely uninterested in the two humans drifting among them. Despite a long afternoon of watching, neither Joy nor Mac showed any signs of regaining consciousness. After a brief dinner break, Jackson, Annette, and Brent divided themselves into shifts to watch over the two changelings, in case they did regain consciousness. Jackson pulled a cot from a storage closet and settled down for the first shift that evening. He attached a movement alarm to the corner of each of the floats that supported the proto-mer's heads above the surface of the water, and then he settled into his cot. He was asleep within the hour. When Annette relieved Jackson in the morning, carrying two warm mugs of coffee, she found him still asleep. After nudging him awake, they sat together for nearly an hour simply watching the tank and sipping their coffee. It was beautiful and calming. Both Joy and Mac were naked, suspended in the water by the floats around their necks, their now youthful and graceful bodies were completely still, no movement whatsoever except for the barely perceptible movement of their chests. Their statuesque stillness contrasted dramatically with the constant movement of most of the other animals in the tank. The Tangs and Puffers mixed among the Parrotfish and Damsels, a few large Groupers moved lazily along, and the cuttlefish scuttled occasionally among them, the other fish avoiding them as much as possible. It was mesmerizing. After Brent had spent most of the afternoon watching the tank impassively, he noticed a small change in the two humans. Tiny air bubbles covered them, sticking to their skin in odd patterns. The most densely blanketed area was over their new gills, red patches of skin that had lengthened and darkened overnight. When he called the others in for confirmation, they all noticed that nearly all of Mac's body hair had disappeared, and that both of them appeared to have longer hair. Still, however, there appeared to be no signs of their awakening. On the second day, Jackson discovered that the tank's salinity had changed dramatically. He started cycling more water from the bay into the tank. They were finally able to raise Pat and the other mers on the short wave radio, and together they decided to add more salt and some key minerals to the water that the mers had discovered to be major factors in their transformations. Jackson made a quick call to Kyle Johnson, and two hours later his old friend showed up with the necessary supplies. "Are you sure about this?" asked Annette as she watched the Slipper approach from the northeast. "I trust him with my life," Jackson said, watching his boyhood friend expertly maneuver the shabby looking craft up to the dock. "Jackson," Kyle greeted his old friend with a nod. "Hello," he smiled at Annette. "An old friend, Kyle," Jackson said without inflection. "Her name's Annette." "Annette," Kyle repeated, brushing his unkempt, graying hair away from his ruddy face. "Pleased to meet you," Annette said with a nod of her own. "I got your supplies," Kyle said as Jackson secured the lines to the dock cleats. "It sure is a small package for being so expensive." "I'll pay you ..." Jackson began. "I know you will," Kyle interrupted. "You said there was something special. The Company?" Annette stiffened at the now all too common nickname for her previous employer. "Not really," Jackson said. "But the same rules apply." "Ah, yup," Kyle returned as he bent to pick up a small, canvas sack from near his feet. "Do you want it now?" "No," Jackson said. "Why don't you bring it on up to the house? It's for the Chicken Shed." "Ah, yup," Kyle nodded, stepping up onto the dock. Kyle looked casually from Jackson to Annette as the former turned to head up to the house. "How long have you been retired from The Company, Annette?" he asked. Annette shot Jackson a stern glance, but he already had his back to her, heading back towards the house. "I never said a word," Jackson answered without turning around. "Scout's honor." "You didn't like it when I said it the first time," Kyle explained as he offered to allow Annette to go up the path first. "It weren't too difficult to figure out." "I must be off my game," Annette said ruefully. "Getting old," she grumbled, turning to follow Jackson back up to the house. "Not from where I stand," Kyle said with only the slightest touch of lechery. "Men!" Annette groused, hiding her smile from both of them. ****** Leonard Simon's knuckles were white as he gripped the railing of the Johanna. He had been standing along the edge of the boat, unmoving and in a near state of shock for over fifteen minutes. No one else noticed, at first, because all four were all equally shocked. Peter LaMond eventually noticed that his boat-mate didn't appear to be breathing. "Len?" Peter whispered. "Len! Breathe! And stop staring!" Peter chuckled at Len's startled reaction and sheepish grin, but he also blushed at his own realization that he had been gaping at the exotic and unbelievable creatures too. In his seventy-two years of life, Peter LaMond, retired chemist, had never expected to see a mermaid, not a girl in a specially made costume so she looked like a mermaid, but an actual one. The previous day, Michael Thompson, skipper of The Johanna, had anchored along the unpopulated south eastern shore of Davao Gulf in preparation for today's meeting. Despite knowing that they were meeting the mers, nothing prepared them for actually seeing them for the first time. Michael had positioned the boat so that the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary rose dramatically off their starboard bow, while the large and mostly placid Davao Gulf extended off their port side to the west. The provincial capital in Davao City was to the north, which allowed the recently arrived mermaids and mermen to hide in the lee of The Johanna, protected from the line of sight of passing freighters headed towards the deep-water docks reaching out into the bright, blue water along the North West fringe of the gulf. The twelve mers that bobbing in the water next to the boat shared what information they had been able to glean from their several nights of reconnoitering. Peter, Len, and Liz had watched with growing amazement as each pod, or family group, shared their bits of information. The most animated were Mu Su and his three girls. The triplets were identical mermaids, each with beautiful blue and white mottled tails sparkling with flashes of yellow, their tails gently swaying beneath them. It was impossible for Peter to tell them apart, but he could see that one was shyer than the other two, while Mu Su simply seemed to radiate quiet strength. The obvious leader of the three pods was the merman with the long, black and purple tail, Mark who had an astoundingly diverse pod. Mark had the steely-eyed look of command, and both Mu Su and Wong, the other merman, deferred to him at every important juncture of their reports. However, Peter noticed with some surprise, that all three of the mermen deferred to their mermaids as a rule. That fact made the beautiful Trixi, a blond mermaid with a striped blue and yellow tail, the true leader of the group. She also seemed to mother all of them, especially Mu Su and his girls. Despite his air of command, Mark often turned to her so she could summarize and translate some of the more excitable reports from the other mermaids. Never far from Trixi's side was Homa, a dramatically beautiful Persian mermaid with a dark red and orange tail, luxuriously curly hair, and eyes that seemed ready to cut steel with the slightest glance. Homa was certainly one mermaid Peter made note never to cross. The final mermaid in Mark's pod was Binah, an equally dark and beautiful mermaid, sharing the same dramatic coloring as Homa, but her intensely curly hair and ebony human half marked her African origins. The last pod was lead by Wong and his equally exotic mermaids. Two of his mermaids were of Asian descent, like MuSu and Wong, and the girls had dragon red tails marked by gold and silver highlights. Shen and Lin shared nearly identical faces, long, straight, black hair that cascaded over their slender, dramatically more delicate figures, especially when compared to the other mermaids, but both sisters also shared that sinewy strength visible in the more generously proportioned mermaids in the other pods. Their third sister-wife, as Peter had learned they called one-another, was a classic French beauty, Esm?e, whose tail coloring gave testament to her French ancestry and patriotism. "Seriously," Peter admonished as he gently lifted Len's chin up from his chest, causing his crewmate to stir in reaction. "Mermaids!" Len exclaimed, interrupting the report Emma was giving on their discovery of a duplicate of the Little Mermaid statue in Denmark on the other side of the peninsula. The mers all turned to look at Len, who was gripping the boat's railing with white-knuckled amazement. "Sorry," he stuttered. "Please continue." "Anyway," Emma continued with a smile for the still-stunned Len. "She's perched on a few rocks along a really depressing seaside park in Manti City they call the Davao Baywalk. It's really pathetic, though. Sort of like they got started with something and then ran out of money." "Yea," Rikki chimed in. "It looks just like the one in Copenhagen, but she's plastic, I think. You can see where they painted her to look bronze, and the paint's, like, chipping." "Totally," Cleo agreed. "Now that I've seen that statue in person, even if it is the fake one, I have to say, she doesn't look anything like us," Phoebe said. "I think we turned out much prettier." "Perhaps we should return to the subject of rescuing your mother?" MuSu suggested. "Right!" exclaimed Cleo. "What have you been able to find out?" "Well, we can't be sure of anything," Michael Thompson began. "She is alive!" Rikki protested, as Emma and Cleo nodded vigorously. "However," Michael said carefully. "We have made contact with Joy's ex- CIA mole, Conjo, and he reports that an elderly Australian woman is functioning as the cleaning woman and maid for the girls at the brothel. She could very well be your mother, but ... " "But what?" asked Rikki worriedly. "Conjo reports that this woman has been severely disfigured," Michael continued as the triplets gasped, while their pod-mate's eyes flinched into a squint of pure malice. "She seems to have suffered both physical mutilation and facial disfigurement. It was impossible to match her to your description." "It doesn't matter," said Mark evenly, his commander voice rising above the now sobbing girls. "The women in that brothel deserve to be rescued, and some men and women deserve to be killed. We have a plan, and I think it can be successful. I would suggest that we not waste one more minute. If the woman is their mother, we won't help her much by waiting. If she is not, we can rescue as many as possible, and then search in