Chapter 4: Dealing with Sharks

"Just you wait, and you'll see that you're swimming with sharks."


"You got a lotta nerve showin' your stupid faces 'round here again, Als." Samuel seethed, already aiming a shoddy-looking splattershot at Sal and Cal.

After Callie decided to speak with Mr. Wale, she practically forced the brothers to lead her to the whale shark's lair—which was an underground pub on the far side of town, located in the sketchiest street known to mollusk. Cal was the one to discover it one day on one of his nightly strolls, and ever since Inkopolis fell to crime, both brothers occasionally visited the pub in search of odd but high-paying gigs.

The entrance to the pub was cleverly hidden between some back alleys, which looked no shadier than the rest of the block. As luck would have it, it just so happens the Sam twins were put on guard duty.

"Cool it. I'm not here to fight you again," Sal claimed, raising his hands in surrender. That was the truth. They didn't want to fight. They were at a clear disadvantage if they did, as they changed back into their casual attire due to their gear needing necessary repairs. The lieutenant was on standby should things go south, but Sal didn't want things to escalate to that.

At the same time, he also didn't want to give Samuel the satisfaction of believing he held the authority in this situation. "Besides, one loss is enough for you today, don't you think?" He taunted, agitating Samuel further.

"You little—"

Cal stepped in. "Fellas, fellas. There's no need for bad ink between us. Let's keep it civil, yeah?"

"We should at least hear them out, Sam..." Samantha murmured, holding her bucket close to her side, but not raising it in a hostile manner.

Samuel took a few seconds to think about it, only to stand up straight and lower his splattershot. "You got five minutes."

Sal wasted no time. "Remember that lady you two were tryna rough up?"

"Yeah? What about her?"

"Well..." On cue, Callie walked from around the corner into view. However, she was in her disguise, so the twins did not recognize her as the popular idol who had gone missing. "She wasn't your average lady." Callie then flipped her shades up and mask down, revealing her face.

The twins took a moment to process what they saw, and then they both spazzed out in shock.

"S-She's—!" Samantha was about to yell, but her mouth quickly got covered by Sal's hand.

"Yeah, she's Callie. Don't go announcing it!" Sal shushed. Once Samantha calmed down, he removed his hand from her lips. To his dismay, the palm of it was smeared in her cyan lipstick. "Oh, for fuck's sake..." He hurriedly wiped off the smear on his pants.

Meanwhile, Samuel got himself together and returned to his tough guy demeanor, though with a noticeable bead of sweat on his forehead. "S-So what? She expectin' an apology or something?"

"Nah, not exactly," Cal replied. "She wants to speak to Mr. Wale."

Samuel paused. "Are... Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," Callie confirmed.

The twins looked at each other, then at the brothers, followed by a moment of silence. Sal half expected them to question why Callie wanted to speak to him, while another half of Sal expected them to deny them entry.

Surprisingly, Samuel just gave a simple nod. "Get in." He moved to the side as Samantha opened the entrance, gesturing for the others to follow her inside.

Callie was the first to enter, followed closely by Cal. Sal stopped right before the entrance and looked at Samuel.

"What?" He asked in an irritated tone.

"You dropped something." Sal took out the inkbrush Samuel used earlier, handing it to him. The three agents had made a quick pit stop at the brothers' apartment to pick up the weapon before going to Mr. Wale.

Samuel looked at his weapon, then back at Sal. His glare held a mix of emotions, but ultimately, he responded with a "Hmph." and snatched the inkbrush out of Sal's hand.

"You're welcome," Sal added before heading inside. Samuel followed, closing the entrance behind them.

The group headed down a flight of stairs, and their surroundings gradually darkened. Eventually, they reached the bottom and came across a large set of double doors guarded by a bipedal bull shark and a bipedal cookie-cutter shark.

They gave Sal, Cal, and Callie a suspicious glare. "They're with us," Samantha said. The two sharks grumbled something to each other, then opened the doors and moved aside.

They all passed by the guards and entered a much bigger room lit by colorful spotlights. With how active everything was, it looked and sounded like a party. Some people were even hitting the dance floors, while others sat at one of the many scattered tables and enjoyed a lovely meal.

Callie barely showed it on her face, but Sal and Cal could tell she was a bit surprised at the lively environment. Sal couldn't blame her. He, too, once thought shady places were as quiet as they were secretive.

Cal surveyed their surroundings, noticing a bunch of weapons, gear, and other illegal items being packed into boxes. "What's with the boxes?" He asked, looking at Samantha.

"The boss gave the order two weeks ago. We're leaving Inkopolis in a couple of days."

"Huh? Didn't think he was the type to get spooked by a city like this."

"Well, it's not like he's afraid of the rival gangs."

"Then what's he runnin' for?"

Samantha shrugged. "All he told us was something was gonna go down in town pretty soon, and he doesn't wanna be here when it does." Cal frowned, not liking whatever that meant.

Suddenly, Samuel sped up ahead of the group and approached a large figure who had their back turned. The only notable feature on their back was their huge dorsal fin. "Boss," he called out. Surprisingly, even with all the noise, the figure could hear Samuel.

They turned, and the group was greeted with the sight of an eleven-foot-tall whale shark dressed in a formal light blue suit with white stripes. The suit was fitted with a white-dotted blue tie.

Yep. That was Mr. Wale, alright. There was no mistaking him for anyone else.

His beady, black eyes quickly studied everyone standing before him. Sal wasn't sure what expression was on his face, but he saw it change into a joyous one.

"Hey! Hey! If it ain't my four favorite lil' pods." He boomed in a deep, hefty voice with an upbeat tone that radiated happiness.

He took a single step, instantly casting a shadow over the whole group—which wasn't unexpected. Mr. Wale had a bulky physique with large, stubby legs, broad shoulders, thick arms, and a blocky torso.

"Hang on a quick minute. Is that who I think it is?" He bent down, staring directly at Callie. "Well now, ain't that fintastic? A household name just popped up in my humble abode. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"She'd like to speak with you..." Samuel answered with uncertainty in his tone.

Mr. Wale tilted his head, staring at the group for an uncomfortably long time. He'd then snap his fingers. "Come on then." He turned and walked to the back of the room with his long forked tailfin trailing right behind him. Each step he took made the ground rumble slightly.

Like his head and dorsal fin, his business suit did not cover his tailfin, which revealed his light blue skin covered in white spots.

He walked to a large booth occupied by two sharks, an inkling, and two octolings. They were all playing a card game, one Sal was unfamiliar with. When they noticed Mr. Wale approaching, they scrambled out of their seats and moved the table they were using, freeing the booth for him.

Mr. Wale plopped down in the booth, taking up its entirety. He'd then raise his legs, showing off his sleek dark blue dress shoes; The inkling from before came back with a big stool, placing it underneath Mr. Wale's feet. The whale shark got comfortable, exhaling a long sigh. "So, what is it you'd like to speak to good ol' Mr. Wale about?"

Everyone turned to Callie, giving her the floor. Without missing a beat, she pointed at Samuel and Samantha. "We wish to pay off their debt!"

Samuel and Samantha blinked, then gawked, "HUH?!" in unison.

"Oh? I'm listening." Mr. Wale leaned back, making an intrigued facial expression.

Callie continued. "How much for their freedom?"

Mr. Wale chuckled. "Trying to buy them off me, are ya?"

"Their debt is worth something, isn't it?"

"Well, what if I said I don't want money?"

"Then how about intel?"

"You sayin' you know something I don't?"

"I might," Callie smirked.

Mr. Wale stared at her intently. Sal felt a twinge of nervousness swell up inside himself.

The whale shark suddenly chuckled. "I'll take my chances." He crossed one massive leg over the other.

"C'mon. There's gotta be something you want. Whatever it is, we can give it to you. What'll it take to absolve them of their debt?"

"What if I said you?"

Everyone froze at that.

Callie's determined face didn't disappear, but her eyebrows curled a little, showing the slightest sign of concern. "What?"

"What if I said you." Mr. Wale repeated, sitting up. "Having an idol in exchange for two workers would boost my reputation. I mean, you're already missing as far as the public is concerned." He folded his four-fingered hands together. "I've had my eyes on you for a while, y'know. Got your line of work already mapped out. I can just see it now. I'd be makin' five—no, ten times the income I make today with you under my belt. So, whaddya say?"

"I... Uh..." Sal looked over at Callie. Her brave face still didn't falter, however, her legs were trembling wildly.

I tried to warn her about this. He shook his head and looked back at Mr. Wale.

Before Sal could say anything, the whale shark erupted into a fit of laughter. "What're your legs doin', little lady? I've never seen you perform this move before!" He laughed even harder, slapping his knee. Callie's cheeks flushed a dark pink, making her embarrassment apparent.

It took a minute, but eventually, Mr. Wale calmed down, leaning back in his seat. "I'm just pullin' your tentacle. Truth is, I'm a fan of what you do." Callie pouted. "Ah, don't give me that face. Tell you what, you caught me at a pretty good time. There is something you can do for me."

Callie immediately perked up, losing any anger she had for the crime boss. "Oh?"

Mr. Wale nodded. "You see, me and my crew will be moving shop outside of Inkadia. But before we do, there's something I want." Mr. Wale snapped his fingers, and an octoling brought a small file to him. He gestured for the octoling to give the file to Callie. "There's an Oct. Co warehouse containing some fancy stuff inside. Now, usually, I'd send my own team to nab it for me, but with us movin' and all, my hands are kinda tied." The octoling handed Callie the file and she opened it.

As she read its contents, Sal crossed his arms. "What exactly does Oct. Co Facilities have that you'd even want?"

"Does that really matter, lil' Al?" Sal bit the inner part of his cheek, having expected Mr. Wale to be vague with the answer. He had a pretty good idea of what Mr. Wale wanted from that warehouse, and he knew it couldn't be for anything good. "I'm on a little time crutch, and I'm sure you've got people to spare, so I'll make a deal with you. Secure those crates in the warehouse, and in exchange, you can have the Sams."

Samantha and Samuel looked shocked that this transaction was really happening.

Callie grinned. "Deal." She turned back to Sal and Cal. "I know Pacifica will help out with this if I ask her. How about you guys?"

Cal turned to Sal, who shrugged. "Sure, whatever. We've got a bone to pick with that company anyways, so screwing them over works for me."

Mr. Wale chuckled. "Then it's agreed. You'll go to that warehouse later tonight. Samuel and Samantha will be there to assist you."

Samuel spun around to Mr. Wale. "B-Boss? You're serious?"

"Well of course! You two have almost paid off your debt anyway, and I think of myself as a fair boss. Consider this your last job."

"I... I don't know what to say."

"How about thank you?" Said Sal, glaring at Samuel. This time, Samuel didn't glare back. Instead, he kept his head down, looking... sad? With the room's terrible lighting, Sal couldn't tell.

"If that's all, you're free to go." Mr. Wale dismissed, and Callie nodded.

"Let's go," she said and walked off. Both brothers followed behind her.

Mr. Wale called out to them as they left. "Pleasure doin' business."