The main island was completed in six months. The island for tourism was claimed and established rather quickly. It was a huge success. Who wouldn't want to swim with blue whales or dolphins? When the krill began to dissipate, the whales had to leave, but they would return when the weather conditions were right again. This would be the off time for the new business. There were already reservations being booked solid for the moment the whales returned. The mainland government was already benefiting from the tourism, and they approved everything the moment they saw things happening for themselves. The researchers also had a hand in that.

"What do you think of everything?" Nichole asked from where she stood in the finished kitchen. The place had been tiled with blue marble, marble counters, and water-resistant wood cabinets. Each piece of wood was specially treated to withstand Kilnak's usual need for humidity. The rooms were also dug down far enough into the island that she could easily stand and walk around with ease. Several rooms were made into the rounded design they liked with the water tunnels running under the floors with steel pipes. Kilnak had himself resting in a small pool, as he watched her cook. The ledges of the pool were made of synthetic, water-proof leather for comfort, and he was resting his arms over them.

"It's interesting, really," he admitted. "Right after the whales showed up, everything sort of...fast forwarded for us. Didn't it?"

"Yeah. It was monotonous for a while," she smiled. Her belly was clearly showing her condition now, and he gestured for her to get into the warm water with him. As much as they wanted pool water to work, they had to stick with ocean water for the fish tanks. Kilnak just took the extra measure to lightly scrub the tunnels clean to keep minuscule things from growing on the steel. "I'm surprised they were able to make the tunnels. I was a bit concerned over that."

"I know it," he nodded. "But, it turned out well in the end. Now they're working on that place on land for the others. The estate, I think it's called."

"That's it," she nodded. "I'm also surprised that Michael got the alarm system to work!"

"That was interesting to put in place," he grinned and kissed her. He laughed at the small movement he felt from her belly. "I am a bit concerned with the ultra sounds that Rick did."

"I know," she nodded.

"I'm concerned for Kina, too," he frowned. "Everyone is concerned."

"I'm surprised Lisa got pregnant five months ago," Annie grinned a bit widely.

"That was bound to happen. Lotisoo wouldn't leave her alone!" he snorted. They both laughed after that and sighed. "Then there's Tina. It was an awkward moment when she called her parents up to tell them she had eloped."

"They wanted to fly out first thing, didn't they?"

"That they did. Then I talked to them and told them where she was living. They opted to wait for the estate to be built," he chuckled. "They didn't appear to be the islander type."

"I know it," she said and kissed him. The kiss began to deepen, but the phone rang. He sighed and reached over to slap his hand on a small water-proof panel on the side of the pool.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Hey!" Joel said over the phone system. "I wanted to let you know that I'll be dropping by in a bit. I have some paperwork to go over with you and Nichole."

"Okay," Kilnak said and punched a few buttons that were under a water-proofed sheet of plastic. "When Little Star appears, the signal will let her in. We'll see you soon."

"Amazing how all of this works now," Nichole chuckled after the call ended.

"It took a while for them to get the gates to work. We had to hardwire a signal to the ocean floor with cable lines when wireless didn't work."

"It is so funny to watch you talk technical!" she laughed.

"I'm in shock at how quickly you picked up my language," he smiled.

"I know," she smiled warmly, and they kissed again.

"I still find what you first said to be the best thing you ever said," he snickered. Then his mind went numb when she whispered it. "That...is not fair..."

"Just shows that I win," she chuckled and kissed him senselessly before moving from the pool. She was trying out a new fish recipe that Annie had sent her, and she opened up a side freezer to pull out a bag of prepared lionfish. Separating a few of the filets, she saw Kilnak gesturing for one. She sighed and handed him one to let him chew on it. "I could cook that."

"Nah!" he grinned and dunked it in the water to help thaw it a bit more. "Oh. Can you hand me a crab, too? Grandfather told me I need to try and steer away from your basic foods for now."

"Right. You had a gut explosion?" she chuckled. "It was the pizza?"

"Quiet," he warned at her wry smile. "When my body is stabilized again, I'll want more of it."

She laughed at him and fished out a live crab from a specialized fish tank built into the floor. Kilnak preferred to keep track of the living foods personally. With tank water walls being screens as a form of natural filtration, he was able to help clean the tanks his own way. It also helped him carefully monitor the water flow. It was also what they wanted to do to help with breeding rare fish. He was helping to test it this way, and, so far, it was working beautifully. It was just getting the fish out of the tanks that he always encountered a problem. They tried to cut slits into the tank, and even use a screen door, but the fish always managed to swim out from how fast they were. Other methods were being tested to keep the fish in when the tank was being cleaned, but, for now, it was Nichole that had to work from the top of the tank.

"We should build the tanks around your pools," she sighed and fished out the crab he needed.

"No. The structure would be too weak to support you walking on it. We'll figure something out," he chuckled and took the crab to bite down on. She picked up a few to steam with the lionfish, and she moved to relax in the pool with him.

"I still wonder..." she mused in his arms. "what would have happened if I just...went to school? Never bothered with coming out here..."

"Shut up," he muttered and squeezed her. When she felt him tremble, she turned in his arms to kiss him lovingly. "I don't want to think about that. You shouldn't either."

"I know that," she said and ran her hands over his shoulders. "It's just thoughts that tend to pop up. Kinda hard to ignore."

"Tell me about it," he muttered and began to succumb to the massage. "Just don't think of that anymore. Okay? Thoughts like that just..."

"I know," she smiled and ran her hands over his broad shoulders. He had definitely filled out intensely over the past few months. And, because he filled out more, his sonic roar was even more devastating from the stamina he built up. He actually shattered several underwater rocks from the shockwaves alone. He was even experimenting with changing the pitch in his tones, too. The variations in sound could easily deafen a human for a whole day. He was even able to shatter glass.

When the alarm sounded to show that Little Star was near the gate, he sent out the signal to let the yacht into the inner area. The signal buzzed out in a serious of low beeps for the dolphins to hear. They were able to pull apart various strands of seaweed to keep the motor cleared for entry. Joel was able to dock the yacht and walk into the small free-standing house on the beach. True to form, it resembled a small cottage. It was actually where he was living for now.

He walked into the bathroom and pushed on a panel. Kilnak made it so that the panels would change every ten minutes on which one needed to be pressed on. If the wrong one was pressed, it would switch to another panel. Joel was able to tell which one was current by the ring he wore. It vibrated from the hidden signal in the wall. Only he, and other close family members, would gain access to such high-tech jewelry for quick access to safety.

"Dad!" Nichole beamed and got hugged. He had a suitcase with him, and they both sat down at a floor table. It was much like what the Japanese residents had, but it was done so that Kilnak could join them from his pool. Joel took out the papers and had her look at them.

"This is for the new island purchase," Joel said. "Yes, Kilnak, we got that island Kep found. The one about five minutes out for you."

"Awesome!" Kilnak grinned. "Oh. Josh and Doug said that they were going to look for that hidden cave here. Did they find it?"

"They did," Joel grinned back. "They need expedition gear to get into it, though. It's very dark."

"Hmm. It was located off to the side of the island from the interior, right?" he asked.

"Yep. They did find those old weapons, though. The old sword and a couple of daggers. The museum curators out here were impressed," Joel smiled. "Those items needed to go into the museum."

"And they loved the pieces of treasure we did donate," Nichole giggled.

"As much as we could have sold them off, sometimes it's good to just...share it this way," Kilnak nodded. "What did we donate? A few coins? Jewelry?"

"Those and a couple cups," Joel nodded. "When Bobby questioned it, I pointed out that some of it needed to be shared with the public to keep a good face on. He couldn't argue with it."

"And we let him donate a few pieces to keep himself in good standing, too," Kilnak grinned. "Ashley is still sending things out?"

"Yeah. I'm glad you helped front the costs for a storage unit. We made a very tidy profit from the blue whale attractions. The dolphins are out here year round, but it's those whales that really did it," Joel chuckled. "We made...what? An extra fifty million?"

"We did," Kilnak nodded. "And that was put towards the new island purchase. We also put in renovation funds for the hotel Nikki first stayed at. They needed a new wing."

"And the owner to that hotel contacted me, personally, to thank me. We got lifetime half-off discounts for it," Joel nodded. "We even helped the scuba school with new equipment and got the same deal. It will definitely help us out when it comes to excavations with you."

"That it will. But, well...what's the main plan now? Just some downtime to build and gather up our resources?" Kilnak asked.

"In a sense, it's all we can do. Unless your pod found something of interest, that's all we got for now. I was transferred out. Rick was, too. Even Michael and the others are still out here in full, as you know. They're sort of living on that second island still, but we got better housing there now. Didn't we clear away some of the beach, too?"

"We did!" Kilnak chuckled. "That helped with the living space."

"Very true," Nichole nodded. Then she rose up and checked on the cooking fish. "Well, Dad, since you're here, you can join us for lunch."

"Good!" Joel laughed softly and was served up some grilled lionfish. As they ate, Bobby was busy going over the income amounts with a higher up over the phone. They were very pleased with the new profits that were being turned out.

"If this keeps up, there won't be any need for more fronts," the man on the speakerphone said. "We could even lose any form of illegal activity to get the cops and feds off our radar."

"That's what I was hoping to hear, Mr. Valentino," Bobby chuckled. "We gained an extra five million from the tourism alone in one month."

"It's a nice piece of the pie. We only need to spend a marginal amount for advertising. We made it back very quickly," he agreed. "Do you think we can work in a one percent margin per year? Or would that be asking for too much?"

"To me, thirty-five should be reasonable," Bobby said wisely. "If we ask for more, they may gain second thoughts about us. Let's stick with what we have. But, I can ask. It doesn't hurt to ask."

"Good! I'll let the Boss know," he said. "It was his idea."

"I'll definitely ask," Bobby chuckled. "Oh! You can let him know that the breeding of peppermint angelfish is already taking form! He'll get two of them the moment they are ready."

"Really?! That will definitely make him happy!" he laughed. "He may even let go of the question for more funding. These guys have been very fair to us. I want to keep it that way, too."

"Good. What do you think of what Brandon said?" Bobby asked seriously.

"Do you want my honest opinion?" the powerful man asked in a dangerous way.

"You know I do," Bobby said.

"We have a list of the men that were given information. I say we send in our guys and take them all out. We even have addresses. This is the most we've ever had before."

"What about any women or children?"

"Casualty of war, as they say. However, if we have our men target as good as they can in the practice range, all of that could be avoided."

"We want to avoid that. Cases with innocents cost more in the law perspective of things."

"You do have a point."

"I know," Bobby agreed.

"I have been wondering..." he said. "if we could sort of...recruit your contacts to help..."

"No," Bobby said sternly. "We have to leave them out of this."

"The Boss was thinking that, if they help us, then we could take out small parts of their cut as compensation. If they are really as good in the water as we know..."

"Alexandros," Bobby said in a milder way to show respect. "I made a promise to them that I would not involve them with our affairs. They are helping us with funding. Unless they are under threat, there is no need for them to attack anyone. If they are discovered, we lose what we are making."

"So...they have to be under threat?" he mused. Then there was a pause on the line. He cleared his throat and said, "In a way, we don't want to lose any money. If we do, then the Boss won't be pleased. He's getting rare fish out of this, too."

"Don't we all know?" Bobby chuckled. The call disconnected after that. Another call was soon on Bobby's line, and it was answered. "Hello?"

"Bobby," the casual, neutral tone was given.

"Hello, Boss," he said. At the soft chuckle given, Bobby was completely at ease. He wasn't in trouble, but he figured that someone else was. The next thing said would prove him correct.

"I was listening in to what was being discussed. Please ignore what Alex said about recruiting the treasure hunters. Even with asking with a percentage. It wasn't my idea. Just for him even thinking that way about me, I may no longer have need of his services. And saying that women and children are casualties of war? That does not please me, either. However, should I have no more need of him, I have been thinking. I would want you to take over what he leaves behind. I sort of...oh...want to leave the drug life behind entirely. A part of me may want to go back, but that's what other factions are for. I need to have some form of legal business to show I'm for the people, in a sense. What do you think of this?"

"I would be honored to take over," Bobby said easily. "But...why the change?"

"Alex has been over-stepping his boundaries. He thinks I don't know this, but I do. He even thought of trying to force himself into your shoes at one point! And, in truth, I like working with you better than him. He's only been under me for two years. I've known you for five. What's even more is that, well...you never ask me for favors. I admire that in a man. I really do."

"Thank you. Oh! I should let you know. You'll be getting two peppers soon. The breeding has been successful! The reef you found for the breeders has definitely helped."

"Good. I'll make room in my aquarium. I may give Alex one last chance to redeem himself. He does have his qualities, but, if he makes one more wrong move..."

"I'll keep my schedule open to take your call," Bobby said. The man laughed softly with understanding and disconnected after that. This was a big surprise to Bobby. If Alexandros was removed, then I would be working directly under the Boss. Of course, it could be a downhill, too. My calls would be monitored. Now he paused with recollection. He called Joel.

"Hello?" Joel asked.

"Is Tessoo there, by chance?" Bobby asked.

"Nope. Why?"

"I need him to sense something."

"Nikki, call Annie," Kilnak said.

"Wait. I can conference," Joel said and did that. Then the lines were sent to the speaker next to the pool. When Annie's voice came on, Joel said, "Put Tessoo on."

"Okay," she said. She was out of schooling for now and was enjoying the down time, too. Tessoo's speech was now as flawless as Kilnak's was. He also sounded just as smooth, too.

"What is...?" Tessoo started. Then he said, "Bobby. If you accept it, you have to be careful."

"You sensed it already?" Bobby frowned.

"Yeah. This man is ruthless. He may sound nice now, but, if things don't go his way..."

"What's going on?" Kilnak asked.

"My Boss was thinking of removing his right hand man. And putting me in his place," Bobby said. "I'll be monitored through almost everything I do."

"It's a way to get close to us," Nichole frowned.

"Yeah, your higher up is nasty and fighting off things. But, this main guy is just..." Tessoo sighed. "If you try to split from them, they'll only hunt you down."

"I'm well aware of it," Bobby said. "and my family would be in danger, too."

"At the same time, you could hold some minor influence," Tessoo thought aloud. "With me helping in guiding various actions, we could make this work for us. He can think he's in control..."

"Tessoo, would you really label yourself as a mob boss?" Nichole giggled.

"Not really. But, if I can get in their heads, I can make them stop what they want to do when it comes to us. Much like how I stopped Mitchell and Anna-Marie from wanting to try to find out where we actually lived when they came out to see the blue whales," Tessoo smirked.

"When you told me they were thinking of exploring, I almost died!" Annie grimaced.

"I know. I simply let Anna-Marie think that her skin was going to blister in the hot sun," Tessoo snickered. That got them all laughing.

"Well, they are set to be married next year. I'm even buying them a house in the mainland on US soil to keep them away from us," Bobby said.

"If you need help..." Kilnak hinted.

"I got this one," Bobby chuckled. As they continued to talk about future housing prospects, Tessoo let his thoughts go to the main man at the top. He sent a small vibe to get rid of Alexandros. That he wasn't needed. But, he also sent another vibe. And he did this with a set of narrowed eyes.

:If you blackmail Bobby, you will regret your decision.:

That single thought would stand out through the man's thoughts for the rest of the day.