"How are you feeling?"
"I feel good,” I said, leaving out the part that I’d taken a shot to the head.
"That's good to hear."
"Listen, I've got a crazy idea." I told him the plan.
"You want to do what!?"
"I know it sounds crazy."
"No. It doesn't sound crazy at all. It sounds absolutely batshit insane. Do you know what that would actually take?”
"I figure you're about to tell me.”
"I wish you would have gotten footage of that thing.”
"Me too."
"How big is it?”
I told him.
"Judging by the size of the tooth we found, that sounds about right.” Jay took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Well, you can't just shoot the damn thing with a tranquilizer dart like it's an elephant. You're going to need a harpoon to penetrate deep into the muscle and reach the bloodstream. A custom carbon fiber pole spear. A cocktail of midazolam, medetomidine, and ketamine ought to do the trick. 250cc might provide enough sedation. You could run a chum line and spear it around the dorsal fin when it comes to the surface." Then he added, "I don't think you want to get back in the water with that thing."
"No, not anytime soon.”
"You’re not getting back in the water for at least another day, if you value your health."
"What then?”
"Well, you’re going to need a few brave divers to get in the water with that thing and run a sling underneath, then use lift bags. You're going to need a heavy lift vessel to hoist that monster out of the water and load it onto the back of a semisubmersible transport barge. The barge deck runs a few meters under the surface, keeping movement flowing through the shark’s gills while you ship it back to the Oceanographic Institute. I’ve got a pen large enough to keep it, but it's going to be tight.” A little excitement seeped into Jay's voice. "Would be a fascinating creature to study."
"So, it's doable?”
"Possibly. I give it a 50-50 chance the shark survives. We’re talking about major shock and trauma to the system. If it survives capture and transport, it’s still likely to die in captivity. Great whites are notoriously hard to keep alive in a tank. It’s easier when they are young and feeding off fish, but as they transition to mammals, it gets exponentially more difficult. That’s probably why they released this thing. I’m sure there were other attempts, but they probably all died in captivity.”
I didn't exactly have warm and fuzzy feelings about the shark. But it was just living according to its nature.
"There's another problem,” Jay said.
"What's that?"
"Who's funding this operation? You're probably looking at a million-dollar rental fee on the heavy transport barge, plus the heavy-lift vessel, crew, insurance, etc. It's not going to be a cheap affair."
I knew the county didn't have the budget for that kind of thing.
"I'll talk to the sheriff and see what can be done. With as many lives as this thing has taken, perhaps we can get a company to donate the services in exchange for a little publicity. This will be the biggest story on the planet."
"You might be right about that.”
"Thank you. I'll be in touch."
"I'll be here," Jay said. "In the meantime, take care of yourself. Don't push it.”
I didn't have the heart to tell him.
When I ended the call, Ariel said, “Are you really thinking about capturing that thing?”
