41. Nico

I'm drillinga hole in the back of Holter's neck with my stare. He fucking killed Jupiter. We're on our way to a science dome this time. Eros has Jupiter's gold in the lockbox in the back of the solo.

"We don't need the cloaking devices now." Eros takes the three pouches and locks them away too. This is a normal science building. We dock the solo at an outside dock and make our way to the airlock. On the wall outside of the airlock are thin tunics. Eros takes one, Holter too, so I follow suit.

Eros was right. I would have killed Jupiter before we got all the information out of him. Sure, Eros is steaming that Holter took the shot, but we got enough out of him. And now we have to talk to Fero Stourch, the son of Calvin Degree, the male Muster said no to. The one who Richeal was afraid of. He's a "good son"—that's what his surviving father said—not like Calvin. We'll see. My finger isn't going to not twitch until I have justice for all my parents.

There's a long hallway that comes to a T. A sign to the right says labs and to the left dorms. And I get a weird sensation, as if I have been here before.

"Dorms." Eros takes a left.

It's quiet. The curfew has long been lifted, but a lot of people aren't out and about yet. I duck my head into the first few rooms. They're sparse, containing a few personal items, not a lot. The next one has a lot more things. About every tenth room, it seems like someone actually lives in it rather than just stays in it when they are required to work overnight. But the place is a ghost town. We might not have turned on the cloaking devices, but we didn't leave the weapons in the solo either. And the way the three of us are moving down the hall, clearing in front of us as if we are on an op, no way will we be mistaken for scientists.

I push open the door to a room, and a young male jumps up off his bed. "I was just going back to work." He's hiding his block behind his back. "You're not my manager."

"No, I'm not. Who's your manager?"

"Normally it's Lucian Meichen. But he's home with his family after being stuck here during the lockdown, so now it's Fero. He's not really a manager, but he's always here, anyway, so they use him when they have to."

I lower my weapon. "Right. Just doing a security search."

"Do you think whoever took down the Maelstrom is here? Should I lock my door?"

"Yes, lock your door. Where will I find Fero?"

"Last hallway. He lives here, lives here. It's one of the bigger rooms at the end."

"Copy." I pull his door shut. Better the podlet doesn't see what's about to happen. Holter and Eros are up ahead. "I've got a location on Fero." I take point with Eros and Holter behind. We're mindful of our surroundings, but we've stopped opening closed doors. Better to let the employees stay put.

The dorm hallway takes a left. There are several doors on each side. "One of these." Eros moves forward.

"No, this one." Holter points to the door. There's a mural of animals painted on it, as well as Fero Stourch in orange and pink. Braesen colors. He turns the handle, but it's locked.

Eros moves to the door and, with a lock pick from his pocket, he has the door open in less than ten seconds.

This room is bigger, almost an apartment but not quite. There's a bed, table, and bathroom to the side, and at a desk is Fero watching a video monitor. He puts his hands in the air. "I knew this was coming. Can I stand?"

"Slowly. Don't turn around yet," Eros says.

"I'm not armed, but feel free to check."

"We'll definitely be checking," I say.

Eros pats him down. "Turn."

Fero turns slowly to face us. He's middle-aged, but the wrinkles on his face make him appear as old as Jupiter. "Nico and Holter Callis. Excuse me, Nico Portsmouth."

"We're all Portsmouth," Eros says, his trident pointed at Fero's torso.

Fero raises his eyebrow. "That's good."

"What do you mean ‘that's good?'" Holter has his weapon up too.

"Exactly what it sounds like. That this human is really a mermaid. And she treats viro and geminae the same. ‘That's good' means ‘that's good.'"

"Oh. Right." Holter glances at me. I see the confusion on his face too.

"Since you know I'm not armed, can I put my hands down? All the blood is running out of them. That, and I'm scared shitless."

"Yes," Eros says, not lowering his weapon.

"Thank you. I knew this day would come. That you would find me. You have every right to retribution for what my mother did. But I've been doing important things. Or at least, I think they're important. So before you kill me, I need to show you something. Because if I don't, innocent podlets will die. Then you can kill me."

Eros looks at me, clearly as confused as I am. "Sure, Fero. I was born a Herod. So can you do me a favor and explain what you're talking about, and I promise to keep them from killing you until you get to the podlet part?"

"Right, sorry. My father was in love with Richeal Callis. Never stopped, really. And my mother was jealous. She wanted all of Calvin, and when she couldn't have it, she killed Richeal. Or rather, paid to have someone else do it. That's the part I don't know everything about."

My heart is slamming into my chest. Fero looks at each of us like he's waiting for the blast, even though Eros promised him he could have his say.

"I'm sorry to tell you. I've lived with the guilt of it for a long time. My mother told me on her deathbed. I know the rest of my family believes it was the old governor. My mother was sorry. But not sorry enough to ruin her life."

"The podlets?" Eros asks.

"That is something I'm happy is going to come out. And I'm even happier you're here because you can stop them from destroying the evidence." He nods and glances at the side of his desk. "It's time it all comes out. I would have done it earlier if I thought I could, but I have a duty to the podlets."

Eros nods. "Yes, Fero, but we still don't know what you're talking about."

"Right. I'll have to show you. We'll need to go to Braesen. Oh my, you probably think I'm trying to trap you. I'm not. You'll need more evidence. Take that tablet there. It's my personal one. Not linked to any other type of device. Code to unlock it is ‘podlets.'" Sweat beads on Fero's forehead.

Holter takes it from the table and unlocks it. "There are detailed records of everything Haden's done. Experimenting on Kraken. Developing his own science division, trying to make?—"

"Geminae mermaids," says Fero. "Can we go? I want to take you to the lab."

My eyes travel the length of him. Old Nico would have shot him and taken the evidence to Atlas. But there's something about Fero. He's not hiding anything.

"I'll come with you," I say. "They'll follow in our solo behind you."

"Okay, the second coming of Poseidon in my solo. I'd be excited if I wasn't so flubber fish scared."

Holter laughs.

Fero pilots with the same fear he had back in the dorms.

"Watch out for the swordfish."

"Shoot. I hit one last month. It left a big dent."

"Right, well, keep your eyes on the water." It's the longest thirty minutes of my life. He pulls into the Braesen dorm dock. Holter and Eros are next to us.

"This way," Fero says.

"Don't make any sudden moves," I say.

"I won't. I fully expect you're going to kill me, but I want someone to take care of these podlets. They're due to be born in the next month, but the tests... well, I'll show you." He pushes the button for the elevator, and three purple butterflies land on his shoulder. "I bring people to help me sometimes. Act natural. Hello fellas, it's nice to see you too. You be good." He's talking to the damn butterflies. They take off, fluttering to the ceiling.

Inside the lift, he swipes a device over the buttons, and all the subfloors illuminate. He holds three buttons down at the same time, and the lift rockets down. "You got that, right? You saw what I did?"

"We did," answers Holter.

"Good, good. I need someone to?—"

"We understand," I say.

"Right, keep your heads down so no one recognizes you." He points at Holter and me. When the door slides open, this isn't like what Eros and Holter described before. This lab is in use. Clean with bright lights.

"They're with me," Fero says. And the guard behind the front desk waves us through. Fero takes us deep into a room full of equipment and rows of benches where people are working. Deep in the back of the room, his face is scanned.

"You're a scientist here?" Eros asks.

"No. Here, I'm nothing. But I'm everything to them." The door opens, and there are three rows deep of geminae pods. All of them glow, with podlets growing inside.

Holter steps near one that looks about ready to be born. "They're mermaids."

"No, they are female. We've never actually gotten one to be a true mermaid. And when I say ‘we,' I don't really mean me but Braesen."

"What do you do here, if you're not a scientist?" Holter turns from the pod.

"I'm the one who is supposed to kill the little females when they turn out to not be perfectly formed."

"Supposed to?" I say.

"Yes. I don't. I could never. My father, Calvin, he helped start all of this, his legacy. But I can't kill a butterfly. No, I found a Kraken with a fast transport. I pay him, and he helps me take them to land. They are essentially human anyway."

"How long? How long has this been going on?" I'm staring at the pods. The whooshing keeping the little podlets alive.

"I've been taking them to land for thirty years. But . . ."

"Fero?" I growl, and the male shakes.

"Right, but there was a geminae before me. He taught me all of his tricks. Showed me how to get in touch with the sea witches, gave me contacts with the Kraken. And he learned it from another. A hundred years, but I don't think they were making as many podlets back then. But some."