The Murky Water Syndrome

Part 2: Call in the Pro

Dr. Opus looked up from what he was working on. Down in the office by the holding tanks in the aquarium. There had been quite a ruckus just a few minutes ago. Yanei came down and pulled off her human mask. "Had some kids up top, they came to swim. Thought that the place was deserted."

"And?"

"One girl swam out into the tank." Yanei said, almost coldly. "She was killed."

"That'll teach those kids to stay out of places like this." Dr. Opus muttered, "Looks like Brig won't need to be fed tonight."

"Experiment 562 just KILLED someone!" Yanei snapped, rushing over to the madman and yanking him by the collar.

"That's what she was designed to do!" Dr. Opus shouted.

Yanei released him and he crashed down onto the floor. "Not humans! They weren't created to kill humans. You said no casualties. We funded this project to unleash these unholy weapons on the Egnorks, not humans!"

"The sharks will be ready for use as weapons, but you can't blame me and my team for the death of some hooligan teenager that snuck in here!" he insisted. "Relax Sergeant Yanei, things are going according to plan. In four days I'll deliver to you and your people a breed of animal that will obliterate the Egnorks and end their attack on your planet for good."

"I don't like the way things are going, you seem unconcerned about the cause, and the consequences should ANYTHING go wrong." Yanei said sternly, "Perhaps the Hiquip Council is in over their heads this time."

"That's treasonous talk." Dr. Opus laughed, "Don't worry, my beasts will live up to our agreement, and you'll be free of your enemies the second they set foot in the water."

"You will ship these things straight to the Egnorks' planet?" Yanei inquired, "None of them are to be left here or taken to any other planet, including my own. Is that understood Doctor?!"

"Understood."

"Even the MIB couldn't rid us of this problem," Yanei sighed, "Let's hope your living killing machines can."

"You've seen what they can do," Dr. Opus chuckled.

Yanei turned and glared at the coldhearted alien, "Dr. Opus, what I just saw was an innocent civilian of Earth killed in front of her closest friends. That's not progress, it's murder. And I'm holding you responsible for her death should the MIB ask questions about your little 'pets'!"

Yanei left the room and went by the holding tank, passing an officer on her way. She stared at the murky waters behind the thick glass, "Officer, I want that girl's remains fished out of there. It's the least we can do." she watched a dark image appear. It seemed to be gliding through the water and got bigger in size.

Yanei leaned forward, it looked like it was---speeding up?

It was amazing the kind of vision it had beneath the murky water. The creatures on the other side of the glass were still baffled and didn't have the slightest idea of what was swimming towards them at such an alarming rate. They'd know in a matter of seconds though.

"Officer!" Yanei grabbed the man's shoulder. "What is that? Tell me it isn't the-"

"THE SHARK!" the officer shouted and pulled Yanei back just as the dark gray creature struck the side of the tank.

Glass cracked and finally shattered, sending water spewing everywhere as the creature burst through, full force, it had temporarily escaped it's prison. And then it beheld it's next meal.

"We've got to get out of here!" the officer insisted, pulling Yanei to her feet and dragging her away from the beast as it swam towards them in the deepening water that was pouring out of the whole in the tank.

The hallways filled with water and the two scrambled to their feet, having been knocked over by the blow of the rushing water. The only place they had to run to was the office where Dr. Opus was working.

"Doctor!" Yanei gasped, the officer forced the door closed behind him. "It's loose! That monster of yours is loose!"

"Brig?" Dr. Opus turned around and stared at the water seeping out from beneath the closed door. "But that's impossible, those tanks were used to contain Orcas once. How could a shark break through one?"

"Quite easily," Yanei assured him from the spot on the floor where she'd collapsed.

"So, what do we do now?" the officer questioned.

"We wait," Dr. Opus shrugged, "there are drains in the halls and soon the water level will decrease and the shark will be unable to move. Once it's weakened enough from the lack of water, we can move in and tranquilize it with these guns." he laughed a moment, "Looks like Brig's all ready for shipment, ay Sergeant Yanei?"

Yanei looked up at the crazed scientist, "What have we done?" she asked herself.

Her people were desperate for a means of defense that would defeat the Egnorks and end their raids upon their planet, but this? This was ruthless, merciless. Their worst enemies didn't deserve an attack by creatures like this! These things were wild and loose, they could very well wipe out an entire species simply by inhabiting the waters of the world on which they lived! What gave her people the right to use such a thing, especially with the great and almost certain risk that it would and could be used against them. Things had a way of coming back to those who tampered with nature.

BAMB!

"What was that?" Dr. Opus asked as the door shuddered on it's hinges.

"I t-think it's trying to get in…" the officer gasped, pressing his back against the door, using all his strength to hold it shut.

"How much water is out there right now?" Yanei demanded.

"Given the holding capacity of the tank, and the rate of drainage," the doctor ran a few quick calculations threw his brain. "I'd say three, maybe four feet."

"It can ram a steel door in a depth that shallow?" Yanei couldn't believe this. "And it's after us! That thing knows we're in here! It's almost like it's thinking, showing advanced intelligence and hunting skills."

The doctor nodded, almost proudly, this disgusted Yanei.

Grabbing his collar and slamming him against the desk she hissed, "What DID you do to those sharks?!?"

"Only one got loose you know, in a moment she'll be too tired to swim." he didn't sound worried at all. "Genetic enhancements were part of the funding agreement. You wanted the same 'side effects' that the researchers got fifteen years ago, nine years ago, well-this is what it takes. You've heard the same horror stories as me. The sharks hunted down the scientists, killed all but one scientist, her assistant, the photographer, and a young human girl. What, you didn't expect this to happen? Don't be a fool, discovery and scientific advancements always come with a price."

"The stakes are too high this time, I want those 'things' destroyed!" Yanei commanded.

"I'm afraid you don't have absolute say on that Sergeant," Dr. Opus chuckled, "the Council has to issue the order. And they've just given me clearance to ship these things out."

"What? When?!" Yanei couldn't believe this, these monsters would destroy everyone who dared to set foot in the water.

"While you were out admiring my work."

"I don't mean to interrupt," the officer at the door spoke up, "but the shark's stopped ramming the door and the water's not flowing under it anymore."

"Good," Dr. Opus exclaimed, picking up a tranquilizer gun, "time to package these fish for delivery."

"You're experiments are insane!" Yanei snapped.

"Maybe so," Dr. Opus laughed, yanking the door open and firing the gun. The tranquilizer dart pierced the shark's thick skin and rendered it motionless, "…but at least I get paid for them!"

That was it, Yanei knew she was in over her head. She'd cautioned the Council against rushing into this means of weaponry, now she had to go over their heads.

Dr. Opus motioned for the officer to come out into the hallway and help him shove the giant killing machine onto the lift. "The Council did require one tiny thing though." he told the officer.

"What's that?"

"Oh, something that could've been taken care of had I placed a security camera in the tank."

"Huh?"

Yanei eavesdropped on the conversation, "They want to be sure that the creatures can live up to all that I've promised, so before I can ship them tonight, I have to come up with some filmed proof of their destructive abilities."

"How are you going to do that?"

"By letting my 'creations' go for a swim."

The officer stood there shocked, "You can't be serious, those things will kill everyone! How would you ever find and recapture them if they got loose into this planet's ocean?"

"We're not placing them in the ocean…" a ghastly smile crept over Dr. Opus's dark face. "…we're going to flood a very large facility here on Earth and allow the Hiquip Council to witness the destruction of the MIB HQ!"

The officer was dumbfounded, Dr. Opus laughed manically, "What better way to prove how efficient my 'pets' are than to unleash them on the best of the best and let them RIP them to shreds! Imagine it, MIB HQ is the one place on this planet where you're guaranteed to have some of the most powerful and strongest, not to mention the smartest beings in the universe gathered together in one area. And once that area is flooded, it belongs to the sharks. And anyone who gets wet, regardless of their special capabilities, will be killed! There's no more perfect way to show off my creations than to show the Council how they can destroy any creature in their path no matter their prey's strengths."

The officer shook his head as the fish was hoisted onto the lift, "I gotta agree with that Sergeant lady in there, you're experiments are insane. What gives ya the right to kill off all those innocent people?"

"Oh it's nothing personal," Dr. Opus laughed, "it's just science."

"Science my-" Yanei was infuriated and then spotted the vent above the counter, "The Council would never approve of this 'test', I'm going to alert the MIB and personally see to it that this maniac is stopped!"

Dr. Opus and the officer walked back into the office and noticed the grate to the ventilation shaft's opening was lying on the floor. "Should we stop her?" the officer asked, unsure that he was willing to.

"Forget that pain," Dr. Opus grunted, "there's nothing she can do now. The MIB and all the unsuspecting aliens in the HQ building, are fish food!"

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