"Emma? Thank heaven you got my message. Where are you?"

"I'm already in the Helix, Adam. I got your call a few minutes ago and took off immediately. What's the situation?"

More important: "How long before you reach my location?"

Emma consulted the GPS. "Two hours, maybe a little less."

Adam swore. "Not fast enough. Push it, Emma. I've lost Brennan and Jesse, and we need help now." He thought a moment. "Can you link the Helix's computers into the ones on this boat?"

"A boat? Adam, I have trouble linking the Helix to Sanctuary's computers, never mind a small computer in a boat—"

"Never mind. I'll talk you through it. I need to upgrade this boat's search capabilities, and fast. Jesse is lost somewhere in the ocean."

Emma closed her eyes, and quickly re-opened them. "Just tell me what to do, Adam."

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Getting to the top of the cave, right above the entrance, was child's play for Shalimar Fox. There was an armed guard in front to keep out unwanted visitors; Shalimar took him out with one practiced swipe. Not in the mood to dally, buster. She slipped inside, eyes adjusting swiftly to the gloom of dusk made darker by the interior of the cave. She saw several things: she saw her teammate, flat on the ground. He didn't look good. Shalimar resolved to help him look a lot better very soon. Hang in there, Brennan. Help is on the way. And she also saw Dr. Morrison next to her teammate, tied up. And last: twenty or more black marketers, all armed and waiting for shark mutants. Surprise, surprise, guys.

Another guard was a little brighter than the rest. "Hey, people! I saw something move out there!"

"Must be the sharkies," Caruthers growled. "Get the electrical mutie. We're gonna need him."

Whatever the situation, Shalimar couldn't fault their training. Two of Caruthers' men hoisted Brennan to his feet, the mutant swaying in their grasp and kept upright only with their help. Caruthers himself held a shark stick. "Hold his arms out. I goose him with this, he'll spray electrons out there that'll knock 'em all flat on their asses. Get ready to pair off," he added. "We'll slut the whole crowd of them, make a real killing on the market. Teach them to come after us."

Shalimar felt the gorge rising in her throat. These men were vile! Removing them from the realms of the living would improve the human race by several notches no matter what their gene structure.

But there were too many weapons in too many hands for her to grab Brennan. She had to wait…wait…

Of all things, it was Morrison who broke the stalemate. Tied up, gagged, but not helpless. As the two men hoisted Brennan up, she lashed out with her feet, striking one on the knee. He yelped and twisted. Another guard jumped up to help. But when he did so, he came out from behind his cover.

A shot rang out. The uncovered guard spun around and collapsed, screaming, his hand clutching his shoulder trying to keep the blood from pouring out. Caruther's men fired back.

"That's it! That's it!" Caruthers yelled. "The sharkies are here! Get the mutie into position!" The two guards holding Brennan hustled the elemental to the entrance of the cave, propping him upright with his hands in front of him. Brennan tried feebly to resist; it was futile.

"Take a dive, sharkies!" Caruthers screeched, and jammed the shark stick into Brennan's ribs.

Breathing was out of the question. Vision too was superfluous. Brennan's world dissolved into a sheer hell of agony, and he dimly felt sparks flying out of his fingertips into the night. Silver lining: my ass doesn't hurt nearly as much as this. Is it time to pass out yet?

But the shooting didn't stop. Shark mutant bodies didn't flop to the ground. "What the hell—?" Caruthers yelled, shocked. "Why aren't they hitting the dirt?"

Shalimar stepped out from behind. "Because they're not shark mutants," she told him sweetly, "just regular joes that are honorable members of the armed forces. The good guys." She grabbedCaruthers' arm, pulling the shark stick away from Brennan and, incidentally, breaking it—the arm, not the shark stick. Caruthers screamed with the sudden agony and sank to the floor of the cave. Brennan, released by his guards, just sank. "Orgy's over, slime. You're finished."

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"Got 'im, boss. Damn, he's cold. And kinda' blue."

"Exposure. He doesn't have our type of skin. Lubber, remember? He breathing?"

"Yeah, but not too well. Think we can do CPR with these teeth?"

"Don't really want to find out, Warren. Get your ass in gear and haul him in. The doc's not gonna be in any hurry to fix up that ointment that will turn you back into SuperStud with the ladies, Warren, if you let his man die. Move your tail."