Primordial

Chapter 32

The screens were empty. Well, almost empty. The occasional bit of silt or debris drifted past, but the water remained otherwise vacant of any sort of movement. Aston half-hoped nothing would appear. Ever.

He looked out at the slate gray sky, a perfect match for his current mood. Black clouds on the horizon portended a coming storm, and he wondered if they also presaged a storm of a different sort. The lake seemed dark and forbidding, the surrounding hills constricting. Even the brightly-lit cabin felt oppressive, like a pen holding animals for slaughter.

“See anything yet?” Holloway poked his head through the doorway, grinning like an idiot. “With four cameras around the lair, it’s only a matter of time, am I right?”

Aston wanted nothing more than to break the man’s jaw. That wasn’t entirely true — the one thing he wanted more was a paycheck, and he wouldn’t get that unless he rode out the remainder of this clusterfuck of an expedition.

“Did you hear me?” Holloway asked.

Aston slowly raised his head. “Nothing yet, but I’m still watching.”

“You’re sure you found the right lair?” Holloway guffawed and slapped himself on the thigh as if he’d made a great joke.

“I’m sure.” Aston managed a weak smile. “I suppose it’s possible she’s headed back to the sea. We’ve been doing a lot of poking around and probably disturbed her.”

Holloway shook his head. “Don’t lose hope. I think your seal sounds idea just might do the trick. We’ve got the speaker installed and we’re almost ready to go. Just wait. When we catch this beauty you’ll see there was nothing to worry about.” He turned on his heel and strode jauntily out onto the deck.

“He fucking bi-polar or something,” Aston muttered. “His mood goes up and down faster than a busy whore’s underwear.”

“Don’t mind him,” Slater said, staring a hole in the back of the billionaire’s head. “You’re bigger than him where it counts.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? I’ve got ‘heart’ or some crap like that?”

“No. I just figure as much time as he spends measuring dicks with his checkbook, he’s probably about this big.” She held up her pinky finger. “I know for a fact you’ve got him beat.”

Aston had to laugh. “I guess that’s something, but right now I wouldn’t mind having a little more length and girth in the old bank account.”

Slater moved to stand behind his chair. “Just hang in there.” She began slowly kneading his shoulders. Aston closed his eyes as her strong hands worked at his knotted muscles. The woman had an expert touch. “I vetted Holloway pretty thoroughly. He’s an unrepentant ass, but I couldn’t find an account of him failing to make good on his business dealings. If we just ride this thing out, he’ll hold up his end of the bargain.”

“I suppose.” He took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, and let it escape, hoping the stress would go along with it. “You really missed your calling, you know that?”

“I studied massage therapy before going on to college. I wasn’t bad at it, but I got sick of fat, middle-aged guys asking for a happy ending, and then pretending it was all a big joke.” Her fingers worked their way up his neck. “You are like one giant knot, you know that?”

“It’s premature rigor mortis.”

Slater’s hands froze. “That’s not funny, Aston.”

“Sorry. Gallows humor.”

“Not the time or place for it, I’m afraid.” Her fingers moved to his temples, applying gentle pressure and slowly circling.

“What do you think the end game is here?” Aston asked, trying to get his mind off of how close Slater was standing to him. The woman had a way of getting him stirred up and now was not the time for distraction, no matter how pleasant. “If the creature shows its face, if we get convincing video evidence, do you think that’ll be good enough for him? Might he back off his crazy trap idea of his?”

“I don’t know.” Slater let her hands fall back to his shoulders and rested them there. “He’s dead set on capturing it. I don’t think he’ll consider this done until he’s at least had a crack at that.”

“What’s he going to do if he does snare it? How the hell will he get it back to the States, and what comes after that? Let it loose in Sea World and watch it snack on the dolphins?”

“I can’t say what his system of transport will be, but he says he’s had a plan in place for some time. You’re not far off with the Sea World thing. He’s planning to open his own theme park with our beast as the featured attraction.”

Aston groaned and buried his face in his hands. “He definitely didn’t see Jurassic Park.”

“Maybe he did but thought the dinosaurs were the heroes?”

“Bloody hell.” Aston looked up, flashed a rueful grin, and returned his attention to the empty screens in before him.

“Here he comes. Look alive,” Slater warned.

Sure enough, Holloway came strutting in, smile still plastered across his face. “The Captain says the speaker’s ready to go. I don’t think he liked being pressed into action as a set-up man, but with this storm coming, there wasn’t time for Joaquin to do both. What are you gonna do? He’s on the payroll, same as anyone else. We’ll teach these Finns about the American work ethic if we have to drag them kicking and screaming.”

Aston stilled himself to calm, resisting even the urge to roll his eyes. Every time it seemed like Holloway had descended to the nadir of buffoonery, he found new depths to plumb. “I take it you’re ready to try the seal sounds?”

“You got it.” Holloway turned to Slater. “What is it they say in the television business? Ready… action!” He stretched out his arms and brought them together like a clapperboard. At least, that’s what Aston thought the man was miming. To him it looked like Joan Rivers clapping.

Slater summoned up an indulgent smile. “Something like that. Aston, give me five minutes to get set up before you strike up the band. Wouldn’t want to miss it if we’re going to make our girl a star.” She turned and followed Holloway out, pausing at the door to mime strangling someone before leaving.

Aston smiled at her back. The woman was all right.

Two hours later Aston was ready to declare the seal sound experiment an abject failure. He’d run them for an hour straight, and then tinkered with the volume to give the illusion of movement. No joy. The creature, wherever she was, wasn’t biting.

He’d even gone online and snagged a variety of underwater noises — clicks, grunts, and stridulations, even dolphin sounds. Nothing. Of course, it was entirely possible the beast had, in fact, headed out to sea and might not be back for days. Or weeks, or months. He had no way of guessing how often it visited this lake or its cave here. It might have lairs all up and down the gulf coast, for all they knew. Maybe it spent the rest of the year in a variety of other places. There would be a twisted irony to the situation if they’d found out all this right on the day it chose to leave for another season.

“Perhaps it needs a thumping bass,” Slater jibed, rubbing Aston’s shoulders again. “You know, something that really hits. Get that primal beat going, stir her loins, get her hungry for some companionship.”

Aston wondered if Slater might be hungry for some companionship herself. She’d been touchy enough today. Then again, it might be the undercurrent of fear running through the crew, Holloway excepted, that made her crave any sort of contact for comfort.

“How about some Taylor Swift?” Carly added. The young engineer had been walking about in a seemingly permanent state of unease since Aston and Slater had returned from the lair, even as she ensured she caught everything on film. Somehow, the story of their experience in the cavern had driven home the reality of the creature in a way their previous evidence had not. Her tiny laugh sounded thin and forced.

“Philistines, the both of you,” Aston said. “If our beast doesn’t listen to Motörhead she’s not worth catching.”

“You’re all wrong.” Holloway had slipped in unnoticed and stood beaming over Carly’s shoulder. Their failure hadn’t dampened his spirits one bit. “I’m thinking some Hank Williams Junior will go over nicely.”

Aston played along, doing his best to hide his utter disdain for Holloway. “Nope, it’s all metal all the way. I’m in charge of the music, so it’s my way or the highway.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “Sorry, boss. It looks like my idea was a bust.”

“Never apologize for trying and failing.” He clapped Aston on the shoulder. “What’s the old saying? We didn’t fail; we just found a few new ways not to catch a monster.”

“You’re in high spirits,” Slater said.

“That’s because it’s time for phase two. Joaquin’s back with the bait.”