"What the hell did you do?" Martin asked when I got back to his house.
"Why?"
"I've had like fifty guys call here asking to volunteer to make the beaches safe." he shook his head as I took a seat on the couch next to Matt.
"Have you been drinking?" Matt asked and I smiled.
"Men tend to get a little pissed when one of their own gets killed and some people don't have the balls to say how it really happened." I said and looked at Martin. "How'd the coast guard go?"
"They're sending us some men, and a helicopter." he nodded and I smiled.
"Good," I looked at Matt. "Your professor pissed?"
"Livid." he nodded. "But he'll get over it." he sighed. "Look, Caroline, I've got to go to the institute and pick up some things for tomorrow. Wanna come with me?" he asked and I let out a sigh, before looking at Martin.
"Do you need me?" I asked and he shook his head.
"No, go ahead, I'll be here." he said and I nodded.
"How are we getting there?" I asked Matt who had taken my hand.
"Why don't we ride to the harbor, and we'll take the boat?" he asked and I nodded in agreement.
"Okay, sounds good." I said. I got onto the bike and he got on behind me, and held on as I drove to the harbor. We got there and I parked the motorcycle, and turned it off. I took the keys and walked with Matt to his boat. He stepped on and I stood on the dock, watching him as he moved around, turning everything on, and getting it ready.
"Can you cast off?" he asked and I started to untie the boat from the dock. I tossed the ropes to him, and he caught them.
"Permission to come aboard captain?" I asked and he smiled looking at me, before holding his hand out. I took it, and hopped onto the boat.
"Hi." he said, pulling me close. I smiled and lightly brushed my lips against his.
"Hi." I said. He started to lean in to kiss me, when a voice on the radio came on.
"SHQ to Fascinating Rhythm, Hooper do you read me?" He let out a sigh, and then walked to the radio.
"This is Hooper." he said to the person on the other line.
"Hoop, what the hell is going on?!"
"Look I-"
"You're dropping out of the Aurora? You've been planning this for close to a year!"
"I know, I know, but what's the point of me going out there to test theories and possibly not see anything to prove or disprove any of the theories, when I've got a live shark right here, proving all the theories I've got!" Matt asked and looked at me. I rolled my eyes and moved over to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist, and started to lightly place feather kisses on his neck, making him let out a small sigh, and run his fingers through my hair. The person on the other line was talking a mile a minute, before I kissed an area right underneath Matt's ear, at the corner of his jaw, making him groan softly.
"Les, Les!" Matt said into the radio. "I'm on my way over there, I'll see you soon." he said before turning off the radio.
"God, finally." I said and he shook his head, letting out a small whine when I moved away.
"They're just scared of losing the money I've pledged to help the excursion." he said and I looked at him curiously.
"You really love it there, don't you?" I asked and he nodded.
"Wait till you see it Caroline," he smiled, and moved up the stairs to the front of the ship. He started to pull the boat out of the harbor and looked back at me as I watched Amity Island get smaller. I had my arms crossed over my chest and slowly turned away from the island. I noticed him watching me and he smiled, before patting the seat next to him. I walked over and sat down next to him. He took my hand and laced our fingers together.
"Lester, I know, okay, I know this is a big deal and I know it's something I've been planning for a long time!" I heard Matt shout from the room he had disappeared into.
I was sitting on a chair in the hallway, waiting for Matt to come back out. Every now and then someone would give me a look, and I smile at them as they passed, but for the most part everyone sort of ignored me. I let out a small sigh, and tapped my fingers against the bench in the cool white hallway nervously. I felt like I was back in school, waiting to see the principal. I let out another sigh, and rested my head against the wall behind me. I looked up at a door on the other side of the hall and let out a small sigh, before I stood up, my curiosity getting the better for me for the time being.
I stepped into the room, and looked around, it was a viewing room for a large tank, the entire wall to the left of the door was made of thick glass, inside was an underwater ecosystem, big rays, beautifully colored reef fish, and a large shark. I stared at it as it swam among the fish; I had never seen them like this before. The sharks I usually saw were dead, or in the process of dying. But seeing this one, this hammerhead swimming, alive and powerful, it was-
"Remarkable isn't he?" a voice snapped me from my thoughts and I looked at the man who had come into the room. He seemed to be in his fifties, with almost white hair, and kind blue eyes. He was a good deal taller than me, and was wearing a brown suit. He walked in and stood next to me, looking into the tank, watching the shark swim. "Caught him off the coast of Florida, about two years ago." he said. "Been studying him ever since, he's a great hammerhead." he informed me, not that I didn't already know.
"I caught one of those off the coast of Florida when it got in one of my nets." I said, and held out my arm. "Nearly took my arm off too." I said, showing off the scar I wore around me left forearm.
"Caroline?" a voice called and I looked towards the door.
"In here Matt." I called and he walked over to the door. He walked in and smiled seeing me there.
"Hey." he said and I smiled.
"Hi." I said, and walked over to him.
"Mr. Hooper, who's your charming friend?" the older man asked.
"Oh, Dr. Stone," Matt said to the older man. "I didn't see you there." the older man nodded and Matt put his hand on my lower back. "Caroline, this is Dr. Richard Stone, he's the head of one of the research teams we have here, Dr. Stone, this is Caroline Quint, an old friend of mine." he introduced us, and I shook the older man's hand.
"Very nice to meet you Miss Quint." he said and I nodded.
"Likewise Doctor." I said, and looked at Matt. "Everything okay?" I asked and he let out a long sigh.
"Yes, they've filled my spot, which was good because they had a waiting list, they're all leaving tonight, and I've informed them that me pulling out doesn't mean I'll cease funding for the excursion." he said and I took his hand.
"Yes, I heard about that Mr. Hooper," Dr. Stone said. "Pulling out of the Aurora, my goodness you must have a very big reason for doing so."
"Yes sir." he nodded. "A great white."
"A great white?" he asked, interested. "Where?"
"Off the New England Coast, about an hour and a half from here." he explained. "It's killing people sir." he said and Dr. Stone sighed, then looked back at Matt.
"Why haven't we heard about this before?" he asked and I looked down slightly, ashamed of what the mayor had done.
"The question isn't why haven't we heard of it before, it's what do we do now that we know." Matt said, and told the story of what happened with the tooth, and I filled him in on the story of Chrissie Watkins. After another half hour of talking to Dr. Stone he said he would inform the shark research panel, but he would allow Matt to still work on the island and report back everything that was happening.
"Matt," I touched his arm and he looked back at me. "We really should get back to the island." I looked at the watch on his wrist. "We've got a lot of work to do." He nodded and I smiled at Dr. Stone. "I'm sorry sir, but-"
"No, no, not at all." he said shaking his head. "I completely understand, I have a lot of work as well." he sighed. "Where to start?" he smiled.
"You can start by praying." I told him and they both looked at me curiously. "Because we're going to need all the help we can get."