Aaron cleared his throat and dove right in. “When you saw these hybrids, what were they made out of? What exactly has been blended together?”
“I’d call it nanobot, but it’s not anything like we know it. I could call it a highly adaptive virus, but it’s not completely organic.” The Lagoon Watcher held his hands in a ball as if he were molding a new form of life. “It’s nanobiotechnology. We’ve only begun to scratch the surface in this field, or that’s what I thought until I saw them. Someone has advanced it centuries into the future. Part of it is a composite metal. I’m not sure if it’s a shield or a battery pack or a mini computer. It might be all three. This metal can slice and dice its way through anything in the body, even bone. Then it has interfaces made of biomaterial that work sort of like keys. They unlock a genetic code and change it. When they need some bacteria soldiers, they pop one out and it starts dividing into an army.
“Remember the Borg on Star Trek? It’s kind of like that, but a tiny version of those cyborgs.”
Wearing a serious expression, Sneed leaned in close to the man. “I had no idea it was so serious. Are the Klingons involved too?” The detective threw his head back and guffawed. “What about the guys with the pointy ears? I bet they’re inside our bodies blasting their phasers.”
As the officer behind him joined the laughter, the Lagoon Watcher’s face burned so hot that Aaron could see the red through his over-crisped tan.
“Stop it! This is no joke,” Trainer said. “The hybrids are real. If you’re looking for who’s responsible for the polluting of my lagoon and all the murders, blame them, not me. Want evidence? Look into a microscope for once in your life, and you’ll see.”
Sneed got in the man’s face again. This time he didn’t seem so jovial. “I don’t need to search the globe looking for the killer who poisoned the lagoon. I’m looking right at him. If you’re an innocent man, why’d you kidnap that child?”
“Kidnapping? Please. I was trying to save her,” Trainer said.
“From the real killer?” Swartzman asked.
“From herself,” he replied. “Or, what’s inside her. I heard that she hasn’t said a word since spending the night along the lagoon. That’s consistent with the behavior of the infected animals. None of them can vocalize. The hybrids are in that girl. I’m not sure how strongly they’ve taken hold, or whether they can control the human brain, but they’re doing some damage, or else she would talk. I was looking for a blood sample so I could at least see how potent the bacterial infection has become.”
When Aaron thought of the diminutive girl, he couldn’t compare her to the frenzied snake that tore through the window screen after him, or the dolphins drowning those teenagers in the harbor. She didn’t bath in sulfuric acid and eat bowls of iron for breakfast. But at the same time, he knew the girl didn’t come anywhere close to acting like a normal kid. He had assumed that the apprehension that backed her into a silent corner came from her fear of being victimized again. Perhaps what really scared Mariella was dwelling among people and socializing in a culture she didn’t understand. How could little bio-machines make sense of a second grader’s world?
He couldn’t say for sure whether the Lagoon Watcher had just blown open the case. For Mariella, and Moni’s sake, he wished that he hadn’t. Not this way. But if Trainer was right, Aaron couldn’t let the girl succumb to the invaders inside her body.
“You believe me, don’t you Herb?” the Lagoon Watcher asked.
“It certainly is plausible. But it’s not important whether I believe you. It’s all about what this man right here believes.” The professor pointed at the detective seated beside him.
“Damn straight,” Sneed said. “And if I were you, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”
Trainer hung his head.
“Then it’s a good thing we can test this hypothesis,” the professor said. “We’ll go over some live samples from an infected rat tomorrow and see if we find what you described.” Trainer nodded eagerly. His face beamed as if he were one step away from leaping out of his seat and clicking his heels together as a free man. “I didn’t say it would completely exonerate you. But it might lead us to the real inventor of this bizarre technology and help us clean up the lagoon.” Swartzman faced Sneed. “What do you say? Can we have another day or two to examine the suspect’s claim?”
Sneed gazed upon the pencil-pusher as if he would rather yank his tie until his windpipe caved in than give him the privilege of yet another scientific jaunt.
“You’ve got two days until I start lining up a grand jury,” the detective said. “If you find anything, you better get it on video or else I’m liable to accuse you of forgetting.”
Swartzman nodded in spite of the obvious slight. With that, Sneed had the other officer pull the Lagoon Watcher from his seat, and drag him away. The moment before his head passed out the door, the man stopped and faced his three former interrogators.
“Since you’ve only got two days, I figure I better tell you.” Trainer planted his feet and resisted the guard’s tugging on his arm. “The most startling stuff is at the bottom of the lagoon. Not at the sea grass beds, but deep in the Intracoastal channel that runs down the middle. Show the detective a few photos from there. That’ll be proof enough.”
Catching the look in Swartzman’s eye telling him that a certain lucky student would be taking that dive, Aaron groaned. He better make sure his wetsuit doesn’t have any holes. Too bad he didn’t have one that was mutant gator proof.
“What exactly will I find down there?” Aaron asked.
“It’s a colony. God knows who it’s for. Just make sure that you…”
The officer finally dislodged the Lagoon Watcher from the doorway and slammed the steel frame shut. As Aaron watched his professor’s sullen expression, he chewed on a dreadful feeling that Swartzman would never see his friend again.
Chapter 37
Moni couldn’t get out of the Enchanted Forest fast enough, but when she parked in the dark lot around her hotel, she couldn’t leave her car. Too much weighed on her mind.
Gazing into her rearview mirror, she saw Mariella awake and alert. The girl should have fallen fast asleep after wandering through the steamy forest all day, Moni thought. It had truly been a miracle that she had found the girl in those endless woods. Yet, she didn’t feel so overjoyed. Moni knew that Mrs. Mint wouldn’t come out of that forest alive. She had no idea how she knew, but she felt so certain of it that she might as well have buried the body herself.
The teacher had meant well. She just lacked the toughness required for a special girl like Mariella. The girl didn’t seem all that distraught over losing her teacher. As she tugged futilely at the door handle, which had been locked from the inside, it seemed that leaving the car as fast as possible concerned her more. Moni reached for her own door handle and pulled it halfway before her thoughts interrupted her again. She had arrested the Lagoon Watcher, so he couldn’t have hurt Mrs. Mint.
Can he control his mutant animals from his cell? Are they still hunting us?
Shaking her head as she finally yanked the handle and pushed open the door, Moni realized that it didn’t matter either way. She wouldn’t put Mariella back in school. She wouldn’t take her by the police station either. The urge to hurry up and move somewhere, anywhere not familiar, tugged at Moni.
Moni finally stepped out of the car. Her sore legs buckled. She steadied herself by posting a hand on the window. Moni sent Mariella a reassuring smile. The girl didn’t even pay attention to her. She sat up on her knees and arched her head to face something off to the side. When she saw the girl’s startled expression, Moni realized that she better turn around. She glanced over her shoulder. Moni met the silver nozzle of a gun. Through the cloak of darkness, she saw the whites of Darren’s eyes transfixed on her. His gold grill of teeth glimmered. She felt like a gazelle the moment before a leaping lion buries its fangs into its neck.
“Sit yo’ ass back in the car,” her ex demanded.
Moni didn’t move. His words were muffled by the mind-blowing shock. She pondered whether if she had gotten back together with him, or even returned some of his calls, she could have avoided this moment. It wouldn’t have mattered. With her or not, Darren wanted more than she could give and he broke what he couldn’t own.
“Quit ignoring me!” Darren barked. “Get in the car. Unlock the doors.”
