Reeves’ breath was shallow as he waited for the officer’s reaction. This was the Holy Grail, as far as he was concerned. He had shared the key to the most powerful force in the world.
If Miller would trust him, everything would be fixed. He would have his respect back from Miller, his peers. From himself. More importantly—something he would never admit aloud—he would finally be able to ease his conscience. No more innocent mermaids would be killed by his country. He might, finally, feel like he’d made up for what his team did—whathedid—to the one who saved him.
If Miller decided not to act on this knowledge, Reeves wasn’t sure what else he could do.
Miller slowed his pace. After a moment during which he seemed to struggle for words, he said, “What the hell does that mean,passed by blood? We drink the serpent’s blood like vampires?”
“It means if we kill the merman, we become master of the serpent.”
Miller stopped so abruptly that Reeves ran into him.
The officer turned, heaving. “What?”
“We have to kill the merman.”
“And if we kill him—”
“We control the serpent.”
They stood panting, Miller more elevated on the narrow trail. Behind him, the tree line started, and Reeves could see mist reaching out from the dark woods in a way that reminded him of spirits.
“Jesus,” said Miller. “You sure?”
“It’s what the legend says.”
“What about the other legends? That Asgard snake or whatever.”
“None of them say anything about controlling it. Eriana legend is the only one that talks about transferring power.”
Officer Miller ran a hand over his bushy mustache, contemplating in silence. Reeves studied his face, wishing he would think aloud.
Come on,he thought.Don’t make a nuclear war out of this. We’re better than that.
“I mean, think of what this could …” Miller swore under his breath. “The tech we’ve got is one thing, but to have the power of the leviathan under the American flag?”
Reeves waited, hardly breathing.
Abruptly, Miller pushed past him and started jogging back the way they’d come.
“I’m calling the Secretary of State. See what we can do to locate the merman.”
Reeves stayed frozen. Was Miller agreeing to give it a shot? Would they actually try to target the merman instead?
He ran to catch up. “Where would you like me, sir?”
“Call UBC and get that document pulled. We don’t want knowledge of this getting out.”
Call UBC?What was he, an office assistant?
“I can, sir, but they’re under the Canadian government so we can’t really force them—”
“Ask anyway. Be polite about it. Say ‘please’ and ‘sorry’.”
“Don’t you think if we tell them to classify a document that’ll invite them to look at it more closely?”
Miller seemed to consider this for half a second. “Say you’re part of a preservation initiative for Eriana Kwai. Tell them you want to buy it from them. They can name a price. Anything.”
“I—yes, sir.”
