[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

his hands. He wanted& He didn t know what he wanted to do. Maybe
punch something. Either that or shove his hand in the water, grab a
Shark Bait 31
fistful of that hair, drag those lips to his and invade them with his
tongue.
Instead, he turned on his heel and brushed aside the rubber
curtain. His feet carried him out of the steam and back to the cool air
conditioning and the stability of concrete walls.
32 Daisy Harris
Chapter 3
Dr. Donald Friedson scanned his inventory sheets, wishing
desperately his mere supplier still delivered. Unfortunately, the
Dendric Two currently fished near Capetown and the Dendric One
was no longer in operation.
Pink clouds bruised the purple sky beyond his wide, low window.
Thick green foliage encroached from outside. His fingers danced
along the staff s requests for subjects and their various research
proposals. He needed more sharks, and fast.
He nestled the phone against his ear, hitting three on speed-dial.
The line began ringing in a tinny, faraway sound as he connected to
the satellite phone Rhoaver Sharazzor carried on his yacht. It rang
about twenty times, finally going to voicemail, but Friedson dialed
again. The young heir slept at odd hours and often took ages to
answer.
After another fifteen rings a lazy drawl answered the phone.  You
have reached the number for Wang s Special Massage. For happy
endings, press one, for rub and tug, press two& 
Friedman cleared his throat to cut off the trust-fund prince s
attempt at humor.  Hello, Rhoaver. It s Donald, Donald Friedman,
you know, from& the Panama facility. He scoffed at his care at not
mentioning his company by name. Dendric brass knew perfectly well
that their staff got subjects off the black market, hence DORC s
twenty million dollar per year discretionary budget.
 Freddy! I missed ya, buddy! How ve you been?
Shark Bait 33
Donald detected a slur but forged ahead, hoping that one of
Rhoaver s underlings at least would remember their conversation.  I
need another shipment. Twenty at least.
He listened as the young shark-shifter shouted at someone in the
background, and then he heard the sound of a television turning on
over the line.
 Can you deliver that quantity within, say, a month?
He hoped the new procedure they were developing would work.
They d lost too many subjects to side effects of the last one. And with
another scientist on staff& Price wasn t the issue with Rhoaver. The
young shark might be spoiled, but he reveled in the power he held
over Dendric s operations.
 Hmm, let me think.
Friedman listened to the unmistakable sound of Rhoaver sucking
air through a water-pipe.
The shark replied, his voice thick from holding his breath,  I can
do that. A long exhalation followed.
 I ll wire the funds to the appropriate location. Donald prepared
to hang up, but a thread of hope steadied him.  Have you had any
luck finding what we talked about?
When Rhoaver didn t answer, Friedson assumed the shark was
thinking, but another loud, bubbling drag through the bong carried
over the phone line.  Let me explain a little biology to you. A series
of coughs followed a long exhale.  When shark-shifters and mere do
the nasty, they produce little baby mere. Same thing when dragons
fuck mere. Those damn fish are like the cows of the ocean- plentiful,
tasty, and easy to farm.
Friedson rubbed at his temples.  But I ve heard& 
In an uncharacteristically sharp moment, Rhoaver cut him off.
 There is no such thing as a part-mere shark. If I found one, you know
I d deliver. Prices you re offering? But that shit doesn t exist.
* * * *
34 Daisy Harris
Raider could tell she tried not to, but every few minutes, the
dragoness s face would turn his way, as if she had a tick or
something. He could tell she was just itching to talk. He hated the
talkative ones.
 My name is Sophia, by the way, she called over to where he sat
on his pallet.  My parents are Russell and Alexandra Aleahar.
Dragons don t use last names much& so it gets confusing to follow
family lines. Underwater City is as big and densely populated as the
island of Manhattan in the US, but the nobility is a small community,
so everyone pretty much knows everyone well, everyone important
that is.
She babbled. Good, that was the first step to breaking down
completely. Crayz always hovered on the edge while a newly-caught [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]