(Luke)

Luke was tired but he had a ritual before retiring, brushing his teeth, setting the alarm on his phone...

His phone? It was off. He’d turned it off before going to visit the Vampire lair. He turned it on. Messages began to beep at him. One in particular got his attention.

Tiger : Someone was sneaking around onboard our boat. I saw them but they jumped over the side before I could get a good look.?

A shiver went up the back of his neck. Had someone marked him and even now a timer was counting down to extinguish his life?

Luke wasn’t tired now. His blood was pumping with adrenaline as the thought of his boat blowing up around him flashed through his mind. He discarded his shirt and flip flops and emptied the pockets of his shorts and rushed out to the rail. He muttered an incantation then hurled himself into the dark water.

It was impossible for him to see. The water prevented any night time sky from penetrating. He surfaced, snapped his fingers and a burning light appeared. He made a gesture and the light went into the water. He swam around the hull looking for the bomb he figured was there. But there was nothing. He left the boat and searched the bottom of the bay. It wasn’t very deep here. Plenty of fish found his light equally confounding and interesting. There was nothing down here of interest.?

Curious. He got back on board and searched every nook and cranny but could find no sign of a bomb or any other foreign object. On his desk it did look like someone had gone through his papers and things. He could not tell if anything was missing. An idea occurred to him and he left the boat and walked back up the pier to the office.

Inside he checked the security camera. It changed focused every fifteen seconds between the parking lot and the pier. He sped the recording back in time to early in the day then progressed past the time he’d left the boat.

It didn’t take him long to find what he was looking for. He saw an image of Tiger walking down the pier. In the distance a shadowy figure could be seen on the “Divine Pleasure”.

He couldn’t make much out of the photo. The camera wasn’t that great and the distance was extreme. Yet in the next frame his jaw dropped. An image of the prowler could be seen diving over the side. In what had to be a lucky circumstance the frame of the shot was precisely when the stranger was entering the water.?

Those weren’t scuba fins, it looked like one solid caudal fin!?

Needless to say it took Luke a while to go to sleep. A fish had been on his boat looking through his stuff. A fish?!? Not a fish per se but a merman.?

Now he was really baffled. Why? He thought they lived much further away from the shore, especially one so developed as this area. He’d sleep on it and maybe figure it out later.

(Lira)

The sirens had been patrolling the waters around the harbor for a few hours before sun rise. Lira had been keeping an eye on the Divine Pleasure. She knew that the man was onboard.

She would wait, then when he would leave she would follow him by sea or on land. She wanted to learn more about him.

Tag: Luke?

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(Lira)

The sirens had been patrolling the waters around the harbor for a few hours before sun rise. Lira had been keeping an eye on the Divine Pleasure. She knew that the man was onboard.

She would wait, then when he would leave she would follow him by sea or on land. She wanted to learn more about him.

Tag: Luke

Luke woke from his dream. He twisted out of bed and stood swaying. What was it? He’d been under water and something had been chasing him. He’d dove very deep. The weight of the sea had pressed down so that he could barely breathe. In the dark depths he found a light in the foggy distance. With desperation he’d swam for the light but it kept moving away. Then something large loomed over him and he couldn’t breathe at all. Sea water rushed down his mouth and he limp.?

He shook off the dream and made a cold breakfast. He moved to get ready for the day. Another group was coming for a glorious day of fishing.

Outside the sun was still just a blur of orange soon to eclipse the world. He checked over the side. The gulf water was dark and suddenly mysterious. Someone had gotten on his boat and gone through his papers. It wasn’t what he would have expected from a cartel poised to strike. But if it wasn’t them who was it? Perhaps a local youth with too much time on his hands. Yet there was that fish like fin.?

“Skipper,” Tiger called. “Permission to come aboard?”

“Always,’ Luke said with a laugh.

As usual Tiger was stunning. Her dark skin glistened in the early morning sun. There was plenty of skin to see as she wore a pair of cutoff jeans and a tight cotton shirt with a bare midriff.?

“You know if there are any ladies today they will be mad as hell you are dressed like that.”

“They are all guys and besides, how do you expect me to dress out here in the hot sun?”

“I suppose.”

“Find out anything about our intruder?”

“Not really. There was a fuzzy image on the parking lot vid but it is poor quality.”

“Nothing is missing right?” Tiger’s voice was anxious.

“Not that I can tell. Maybe it is a local kid messing around.”

“Could be.”

The reservation group arrived and they started another day of work. Being out on the Gulf fishing really wasn’t much work for Luke.

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Lira and two others followed the boat out of the harbor and into the open ocean. It went for a while, but finally stopped in what was the siren's main hunting grounds. The anchor was dropped over board and suddenly there were lines with hooks and bait in the water. Lira signaled to the other two. Lira had noticed cameras on the bottom of the boat and before they were seen, she undid the wiring so that there cameras failed.

They made quick work of the bait. They gently and quickly removed the bait, dropping it into the depth below, then gave the lines a good tug to indicate they had something on them. As the fishermen on board started to reel in the lines, Lira and the others played a small game of tug and war, before finally letting the hooks go and the people on the boat pulled up empty lines. This happened every time a line was dropped into the water.

Tag: Luke, Tiger

Luke?

“What the hell man!” The blonde young man yelled to the others. He pulled his line out of the water and there was nothing but an empty hook.”

Tiger laughed, “That happens sometimes.”

In moments however all three of the charter passengers had reported the same thing. They all had a serious bite, a long pull session then nothing and no bait.

“Bait them up,” Luke called down to Tiger from his perch on the lookout platform.?

He climbed down the stairs and went to his bridge house. His sonar would show what fish activity there was currently. He turned it on and watched the screen light up with plenty of green flashes that indicated schools of fish. He flipped on his undersea cams. There were no images, just static.?

“骋谤别补迟.”?

Tiger popped her head into the wheel. “What’s the story boss?”

“I’m not sure but I’ve got my suspicions.”

Luke popped his head out and spoke to his passengers, “Going to visit another spot. These fish here are just too smart.”

He fired up the three outboards, “HOLD ON!”

He cut loose full throttle and headed north and closer inshore.

After about five miles he shut down the engines. “Let’s try here.”

As the fisherman worked to put out their lines Luke went to the back and leaned down over the engine well. He spoke to the water in a gentle tone that wasn’t english.

“What do you want,” came the reply in his head.?

“Please check and see if there are mermen down below?”?

In moments another voice projected into his head. “Yes, they swam up close underneath.”

“Ask them a question for me and bring me their answer.”

“What is the question?”

“Where can I go where they are not bothered by my presence.”

“Hah!” said the water elemental. “I can answer that for them. Get lost!”

“Very funny. Please go ask them.”

The elemental did as commanded.

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(Lira)

As the boat was put into full throttle, Lira signaled to the other two to remain. They simply all stayed in their hunting grounds and watched the boat speed away. They were heading back towards the harbor when Lira felt the shift in the water. She paused as the water elementals made contact. She didn't respond as this fool thought he was dealing with mermen and then continued on to the harbor.

The elemental by the Divine Pleasure waited for a response. It splashed the bottom of the boat. Once Luke's head was back in the water, "they seem to be gone now. Didn't give a response." The elemental was not going to tell Luke that he had asked about the wrong species, let the human have his suspicions. "Have a good day, and enjoy the fishing here."

Tag: Luke

_._,_._,_

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(Lira)

Lira had made her way on shore and when through the transformation from siren to human, found some clothes and was now walking along the docks.?? She made a deliberate course to the particular dock where the Divine Pleasure was.?? She strolled along and looked at the boat.?? She wondered what the Mr. Reardon was going to do next.?? She pondered what her next move was going to be as well.

Tag: Luke

_._,_._,_

Luke called Jones.

???Yah????

???We need to meet.???

???Okay, I???m busy right now can we make it an early breakfast at Mamma???s.???

???Okay,??? Luke conceded. He didn???t want to go into details on the phone.

???6:30 a.m.?????

???I???ll be there,??? Jones said, then hung up.

Luke fiddled with his drink then got up and rummaged in his refrigerator.?? Not much and nothing special. He decided to eat out. If the Vampire called him he???d been in town anyway.???

He jumped out of the boat and started up the pier. A young lady blocked his way.

???Hello, excuse me. Do you need directions????

She was so very young with perfect skin. She seemed ill at ease.

Tag Lira

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Lira was a little surprised to suddenly see Luke come onto the docks. She figured he was in for the night, then he asked if she needed directions. With a smile she said, "no, thank you," she had a slight accent that was hard to place. "Mr. Reardon?" She asked to verify that was who he was.

“Call me Luke,” he said. He considered his options. He could jump in the water if she were that beast from the Cartel. She wasn’t a Vampire that was certain the sun lay heavy to the west. The slowly sinking sun cast a yellow tint to her skin.

TAG Lira

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Lira watched as she saw many thoughts cross his mind as to who she might be, at least that was her guess as to what he was thinking. Then he asked her if someone needed help. She shook her head, "no, just seeing." She said with a slight smile. He didn't look like someone who would stand up to a fight in the water. He wasn't much of a water mage. Still young in his craft.

“Okay,” Luke said. “Well nice to see you.” He wasn’t going to ask her name again. He couldn’t blame people for not wanting to give out information in these times.