Kiss of the Bionic Mermaid, page 11
Then she remembered the stream of bubbles that had escaped the fish when she’d speared it. These things must have a swim bladder that keeps them buoyant. If she could just reinflate it, that would make the fish much easier to handle.
She examined the fish closely and found a small button deep inside its mouth. This has to work, she thought, and pressed it.
The fish immediately sprang to life, bending her finger painfully as the robot’s programming kicked in and it struggled to get away from her. Fortunately, it was still secured in the net.
Jayna held on tightly, unwilling to let the fish get away. She wrapped the net rope around her right arm and wrist while she scrambled to grab her trident from off her back. The fish pulled hard, and Jayna found herself being dragged through the water while the rope bit into her arm.
After several long agonizing seconds, Jayna retrieved the trident from her back. She pulled on the net as hard as she could and jabbed the trident into the fish’s side. The thrashing stopped, and the water around her was instantly still.
Jayna wrapped the fish in her arms, rose to the surface, and did a quick assessment of the damage. Her hand and wrist were raw where the rope had dug into her flesh, but she was otherwise unscathed.
Unfortunately, her display showed that in the few dozen seconds it had been active, the reanimated robotic tuna had pulled her off course. She had fallen from third place to a position near the middle of the pack.
Frustration welled up inside her, and only the approach of a floating streamer drone kept her tears from falling. But stories of perseverance and determination always did well in the Myst, so even if she didn’t win, her dropper still might see a boost.
With a sigh, she attached the trident to her back and began the long slog back to the stadium. Come on, Aaramere. Time to finish strong and salvage what you can.
Almost as soon as she began swimming, a fresh wave of disappointment washed over her. While the Merathlon prize money wasn’t enough to make or break the employee purchase of the park, it certainly would have helped. Her feelings for Sid would be so much easier to deal with if he wasn’t her boss.
But she had blown her chance to win the Merathlon, just as she had failed to suppress her feelings for Sid. She had lost that fight when they clipped themselves together and pulled the chariot.
Remembering the way Sid had rigged the chariot gave her an idea. What if she hooked the net to her merbreather? That would take the pressure off her hands and allow her to swim more naturally. The ability to swim with both her arms and her tail might give her enough speed to make up three or four places.
As she had hoped, the hooks on the rope secured perfectly to the merbreather loops. As she secured the second hook, she had an even crazier idea, one she tried in vain to discard.
What if, with the net secured to her merbreather, she reanimated the robotic tuna?
For several long seconds she warred within herself, but the more she thought about it, the better the idea seemed. Letting the strong robotic fish pull her through the water would undoubtedly get her disqualified, but it would make an impression—and boost her dropper score in the process. The move was a huge risk, but if she was going to lose anyway, she might as well lose with style.
Jayna pulled the fish to her, making sure it was secured in the net and that the net was firmly attached to her merbreather. Then holding tightly to the rope with her uninjured hand, she shoved her other hand into the fish’s mouth and pressed the button.
She barely managed to keep herself from being slapped silly by the fish’s strong tail as it sprang to life. The tuna shot forward. The merbreather dug into her armpits.
Jayna held tight and added her own tail to propel herself. With each second, the gap between Jayna and the others closed. Pulling firmly on the ropes kept the fish moving in the right direction.
She splashed and thrashed through the water, pulled along by the strong robotic fish. She had no idea how long the fish’s power would last. At least it was now only swimming away from her and not returning to the fishing grounds.
The artificial sea shelf that marked the boundary of Manutai loomed ahead, and Jayna pulled sharply at the tuna, desperate to guide it to the shallow platform rather than below the wamo.
The fish pulled her past one mer after another. At last, she was within sight of both Merman Pala and the stadium. She lowered her head and swam for all she was worth, passing Pala just ahead of the finish line.
Before she could relax and savor her victory, the tuna looped around the lagoon at full speed and headed back out to sea.
Jayna strained at the ropes, trying to steer the fish back towards the stadium lagoon. Her arms screamed in pain and exhaustion, but she kept the fish moving in a broad circle that looped back into the lagoon.
As the robotic fish dragged her towards the finish line the second time, Kalani splashed after her and speared the fish with a trident. It immediately went still.
He scooped both Jayna and her fish out of the water and held her close. “Are you okay?”
Relief washed over her. She dropped her fish and wrapped her arms around Kalani’s neck. “I’m fine,” she said. Only then did she register the wild cheering of the crowd. “Who won?”
Kalani laughed. “I have no idea, you crazy girl. The judges are beside themselves trying to figure out if what you did was legal or not.”
Jayna waved at the cheering crowd and the hovering streambots as Kalani stood in the lagoon and cradled her in his arms. She found Sid in the stands and waved. He waved back.
The gesture made Jayna’s heart flutter.
The conch sounded, and everyone in the stadium went quiet. “Since this is the first ever Merathlon,” the announcer said, “the rules are still somewhat vague and ambiguous. You can be certain that the Merathlon board will be making some clarifying changes to future events. That said, there is nothing in the current rules, as written, that prohibit a mermaid or merman from utilizing the power of their fishing trophy in the race. Therefore, the winner of the first ever Manutai Merathlon is Mermaid Aaramere!”
The theater erupted in cheers and Jayna’s heart swelled with happiness. She had done it! She tried to find Sid again, but Kalani held her tightly and kissed the top of her head. “I knew you could do it!”
When he finally released her, she looked for Sid in the stands but couldn’t see him. Her heart sank a little, but the disappointment was soon replaced by anticipation, knowing she would be with him later that evening at the Jubilee Beach Bash.
Chapter 21
Hazel’s oversized image stared disapprovingly at Sid from his hotel room’s display wall. “Are you and Jayna Cooper in a relationship?”
Under her stern gaze, Sid felt like he was back in middle school, about to get a lecture from his teacher. He cast a quick glance at Emmaline, who raised her eyebrows and shrugged in an “I-didn’t-say-anything” gesture.
Sid put on his best in-control-executive face. He had set up this meeting with her to brainstorm ways to leverage Jayna’s Merathlon win. He hadn’t planned on discussing his apparently not-so-well-hidden feelings for her.
“Jayna and I are not in a relationship.” Not yet, anyway, he added silently to himself. That would hopefully change once Rosalind’s analysis came back but only if he was confident enough to move forward without putting himself—or his reputation with the Cerulean Order—at risk.
Hazel narrowed her eyes, and Sid could tell she didn’t believe him. “Why do you ask?” he said, trying to maintain some control over the conversation.
“Your friend Crystal is convinced that you are,” Hazel said. His insides went cold at the mention of her name. “She’s filled her stream with content that’s focused on the similarities between Jayna and herself. She is insisting you have coerced Jayna into a relationship, just like you did with her.”
Crystal.
Bile rose in Sid’s throat, and anger filled his chest. He fought to keep his voice even. “I did not coerce Crystal into a relationship. And I am not even in a relationship with Jayna.”
“That’s what you say, but it sure looks to me like you are. More importantly, Crystal has latched onto this and is trying to turn it into a scandal, saying the employee buyout is only in play so you can extract some quid pro quo.”
Emmaline sighed loudly. “We’ve buried Crystal and her smear campaign deep in the Myst. This won’t go any farther than her direct followers, and she doesn’t have many of those left.”
Hazel shook her head. “Nothing in the Myst stays buried forever. Sooner or later, some eager streamer is going to dig deep enough to find her accusations and see a golden opportunity to grow their platform. I agree that we need to capitalize on this Merathlon thing, but not until we address this. We can’t risk calling attention to her before we have this situation under control.”
Sid knew Hazel was right. The best way to stop Crystal was for them to own the narrative about his relationship with Jayna.
Unfortunately, Sid didn’t yet know what the narrative was. He knew what he wanted it to be, but if he mishandled the situation, he could lose his chances with both Jayna and the Order.
“I’m assuming you’ve run projections on when Crystal’s accusations might get picked up by a streamer of consequence. How much time do we have?”
Hazel scowled. “It’s nighttime now here in the States. You might have eighteen hours before some overly ambitious intern starts digging for an angle on the mermaid. If we don’t have our own narrative in place by then, Crystal’s will be the one they find.”
Eighteen hours. That wasn’t much, but Sid hoped it would be enough. Rosalind’s analysis was due back at any time. With that analysis in hand, he would know whether to confess his feelings for Jayna when they met up at the Jubilee Beach Bash that evening. If she felt the same way, and was willing to acknowledge it publicly, they could make the announcement.
"Jayna and I are not currently in a relationship, but that might change this evening. Either way, I'll be ready to make a statement within the next twelve hours."
Chapter 22
Jayna laughed and joked with Mermaid Buwan, whose human name was Rani, and a half-dozen other mermaids who had also participated in the Merathlon. They made their way as a group down the enormous strip of white sand known as Pokapū Beach. They were joined by several thousand others who had come to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Manutai’s founding.
Lively, energetic music floated on a warm tropical breeze that was filled with the aroma of food from around the Pacific. Out over the ocean, a constantly changing aerial drone light display stretched for kilometers.
The group stopped to watch a man and woman who were twirling flaming staffs to the rapid beat of drums. A booming male voice said, “Hey, who let those mermaids out of the tank?”
Kalani approached the group, followed closely by Pala and a few other mermen. Jayna gave Kalani a hug, and in typical mer fashion there were hugs all around. Jayna hesitated briefly as Pala hugged her.
He must have sensed her discomfort because he furrowed his brow. “You okay?”
“Um, yeah,” Jayna said. “I’m…I guess I’m just relieved you aren’t still mad about today.”
“Oh, he’s mad,” Kalani said. “Mad he didn’t think to reanimate his ahi first.”
Pala punched Kalani’s shoulder in a way that was clearly playful but with enough power that Jayna knew it had to hurt. Kalani laughed it off and gave Pala a quick slap to the back of his head.
“I’m happy for you,” Pala said. “Though I’m glad they’re updating the rules to close that loophole in the future.”
Kalani said, “I’ve been looking for you. There’s a streamer who wants to do an interview with the winning mermaid. I told her I’d keep an eye out for you.”
Jayna had spent nearly four hours doing interviews after her win, and several of the streamers had expressed interest in doing an in-depth follow-up. “Really? Who is she with?”
Kalani shrugged. “Mondialist or something like that.”
It was a stream she hadn’t even heard of, and she felt a twinge of disappointment. But every bit of publicity helped, so she put on her best performance smile. “Okay. Where did you say they are?”
“I’ll show you.”
Jayna followed Kalani through the crowd, grateful she had decided to wear the silky dark-blue floral print dress she and Emmaline had found during their shopping adventure. It was an amazing look for her. Sid had told her so the night they nearly wore matching outfits to dinner.
The thought of him warmed her despite the cooling action of her u-suit.
Kalani led her to a small, well-lit canopy that had been set up over a couple of folding chairs. An attractive woman with shoulder-length blond hair wearing a simple but well-tailored pant suit stood and motioned for Jayna to join her.
“Jayna Cooper?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Wonderful!” She sat and motioned for Jayna to do the same.
Based on the simple setup, Mondialist was clearly not the most sophisticated streaming show, but the host and her cameraman seemed nice enough, and Jayna was happy to help someone starting out.
“I’m here today with Jayna Cooper—aka Mermaid Aaramere—star of the Sirens of Atlantis show at the Realms of Neptune theme park and winner of the Manutai Merathlon. First, congratulations on your win.”
“Thank you.”
“I understand this is the first international competition for bionic mermaids. That must have been exciting.”
“Yes, it was.” Jayna prepared herself to answer all the same questions about the Merathlon, her career as a mermaid, and some of the controversy around bionic tails and their use in competition.
But the host went in an entirely different direction. “I also understand you are here in Manutai as a guest of Obsidian Hayes, and that earlier this week he purchased the Realms of Neptune. Is that correct?”
She instantly went on alert at the unexpected question. “I am,” she said warily, “and he did.”
“That’s interesting. Why is it, do you think, that someone who makes his money tearing manufacturing companies apart and selling them off for parts would be interested in buying an amusement park, of all things? And why would he then try to turn around and sell it to the park’s employees at cost?”
Jayna had wondered the same things, but her experience dealing with difficult interviewers asking inappropriate questions clicked into place before she could be tempted to speculate. “I have absolutely no idea. I’m just a performer at the park. You need to ask Mr. Hayes to find that out.”
“So, you aren’t worried about him replacing the performers with swimming robots?”
“No. Mr. Hayes has a very good relationship with the performers.”
“He obviously has a good relationship with at least one performer. The two of you seem to have grown quite cozy lately. Swimming hand in hand and singing love songs to each other. Tell me, was that all an act? A way to gain some leverage for your plan to buy him out?” The interviewer raised an eyebrow. “Or are you actually in love with him?”
The question was so ridiculous, Jayna found herself at a loss for words. Of course, she wasn’t in love with Sid.
Or was she?
Maybe not yet, but she had to admit she was well on her way. The question made her realize that she wanted a relationship with Sid, no matter how dangerous it might be.
Jayna broke out in a sweat, despite the cooling effects of the u-suit. She pulled her lips together tight, unwilling to say anything for fear of letting her sudden overwhelming emotion pour out in a very public way. She peered into the crowd, beyond the bright lights, hoping desperately to find Kalani so he could provide her with some guidance.
Her gaze landed on Sid instead.
He stared at her intently, one eyebrow raised, and the sight of him made Jayna’s heart race. Her mouth pulled into a smile, and Sid’s lips crept up in response. He was there!
Jayna turned back to the interviewer, whose name she hadn’t learned. In her best Dr. Tierney voice, she quoted a line from Aurora 293. “I’m sorry, Madam, but the nature of our relationship is none of your business.” And without another word, she stood and marched across the sand towards Sid.
She took him by the arm and led him away from the party and towards the edge of the water. Behind her, she heard Kalani’s raised voice. “No, I really think you should stay here and let them be.”
She fought the urge to turn around, and instead walked with Sid along the shoreline. The warm tropical waves gently lapped at their feet, and the lights and noise of the party seemed a world away.
She had to talk to him. She had to let him know what she felt.
But first, she had to figure out what her feelings were.
After another minute of walking Jayna let go of Sid’s arm, but as she lowered her hand down to her side her fingers somehow became intertwined with his, and her heart raced even faster. Yet her feelings warred inside of her, and Jayna’s mind begged her to let go of his hand and run back into the crowd. As the noise of the party faded and the cool ocean breeze surrounded them, Jayna’s heart won out.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you yet,” she said, her voice barely a whisper above the sound of waves gently crashing into the nearby reef.
Sid stopped and turned towards her, moonlight showing only kindness on his face. “Sorry if I surprised you,” he said. “I didn’t mean to cut short your night out with the mermaids. It’s just…” A strand of her hair broke free in the wind, and Sid reached up to tuck it behind her ear. His touch sent tingles clear through her body. “I couldn’t wait to see you again.”
“I’ve been looking forward to seeing you, too,” she said. “And I’m glad you showed up when you did. That was getting awkward.”
“Yeah, I’m really sorry about that.” He placed his hand on her back, and they resumed their walk along the beach.
She wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled him gently to her. “No need to apologize. I’m the one who agreed to an interview with a random streamer without checking her out first. That’s not your fault.”
