Leo Quits Ch 9

Kris helped Shelly in the divewell, Dr. Chase resumed his downloading of Leo's research, and the rest of us headed back to the hotel through the shuttleway.  
Nobody seemed too anxious to converse about what had happened, and once atop the elevator shaft everyone each returned to our seperate rooms.  
Before heading back to my room, I made my way out to the beach where Shelly was laying face up and looking up at the stars.  She was using her dry blue jeans as a pillow, and she curled her tailfin slowly as she gazed comfortably.
"You look quite content," I said.
"It is so wonderful here... there's so much more to see on this side of the continent," Shelly replied.
"Is that so?" I asked.
"Look there... that's Aries, isn't it?"   She pointed to a spot towards the north.
"Sure is.  But we can see Aries from home," I replied.
"Yeah, but you can't see that," she said, pointing out a spot to the right.
"Which one is that?" I asked.
"Perseus... the greek hero who killed Medusa," Shelly replied.
I kneeled next to her, nodding.  "How did you know that?"
"I read it in the astrology book you gave me for Christmas.  I've always looked at the stars... they say that you can learn more about yourself looking at the stars than you can in any self help book," Shelly explained.
I chuckled.  "You read that in the foreword."
She smiled.  Her smile was really special, and only she could smile so playfully.
"Shall we?  I'm ready to head for bed," I replied.
"Do I have to?" she asked.
"It's a small island, Shelly... sometimes people like to come by on the beach," I replied.
"Yeah, and we're at a private beach, on a private resort..."
"Shelly?" I asked again.  This time it was definate.  
"Okay... but I’ll be back out here tomarrow.  And when we get back home, I'm buying a telescope."
"A telescope?  Why?" I asked.
She sat up.  "The only times I went to the surface as a child were at night.  Can you imagine seeing the sky for the first time, Gregory?  All I ever knew were infinate waters, endless coral reefs and currents... I went to the surface for the first time, felt the breeze on my face... and saw the moon high in the sky.  I've seen so much more magic since then, Gregory... but to me, a young mermaid teenager who had just left home... that was the most magical thing in the world."
I nodded as I started to dry out her scales.  "They are magical, Shelly.  Stars were the first thing to navigate by before maps and the global positioning system.  To early sailors, stars were all they had."  In the dim light, I could see her body becoming human.
Shelly dug her foot into the sand, doing so before she even realized that she was human again.  "Yeah... even my last name, Starsetter is magical... I still get to sail those stars, even if I have to do so from here.   But wow, those must've been amazing times."
I nodded.  "And dangerous ones at that.  Come on, let's head inside."
"Okay," she replied, getting up.
"I've got your clothes.  Come on, fishkins," I said.

We all took an extra long time to stir that morning.  A few of us made it to breakfast, but those that did didn't speak much nor attempt to make conversation.
The rest of the morning passed by quickly, again because nobody seemed to be willing to do much.  Bret was recovering with his injured arm, Michelle was still emotionally fragile, Carrie was taking care of Bret... and everyone else wasn't sure what to make of Deanna leaving with Leo.

Finally, lunch came around.  After each of us made had made several trips to the salad bar and soup counter, a tall man in a buisness suit entered the restaurant.
He walked over to Dr. Chase, and the rest of us stopped eating as we attempted to listen in.  Eventually, the man in the suit stood up to address us.
"Well... I had hoped I wouldn't interupt your meals... I guess I should hurry up and get to the point.  My name is Lewis Hammersmith, I co-own this resort with Dr. Vincent Leo.  Well, I own over 50% of the complex... Vincent has had many diversions- I am aware of his criminal record, but I also am quite understanding of his scientific explorations.  Let's just say that he has always kept up his monetary obligations, and I have had no reason to doubt his intentions regarding the future of the Sunset Wings Resort."
"Even though he was a kidnapper..." Michelle began.  Dr. Chase gave her a refusing stare.
Hammersmith cleared his throat.  "Anyways, I have a few things to report.  I recieved a message from Dr. Leo this morning- I don't understand the means of his transmission, but he gave a few specific instructions.  First, he mentioned an incident regarding a Miss Peyton and a few swimming instructors?"
Michelle raised her hand.  "I'm Miss Peyton."
Mr. Hammersmith nodded, coming over to her and shaking her hand.  "You may know that those involved in that incident have since been repremanded and fired.  Deanna was behind everything, Leo heard it from her directly."
Michelle nodded, satisfied.  
Hamersmith returned to face the entire group.  "Second, I understand a number of furniture pieces, property and equipment were damaged during your stay here?  Well, I'm not one to ask how these things happened... I trust Leo in his convictions... therefore, none of you will be charged for these accidents."
Dr. Chase sighed.  He would not have looked forward to paying for cafeteria tables, drywall replacement, and a brand new queen size bed.
"I am honoring Dr. Leo's terms, and indeed you are all welcome to stay here for the rest of your reservation, which lasts through the end of the week.  It is good experience for the staff, and since I now find myself having to replace several members, the training will do them well," Hammersmith continued.
"Nothing wrong with additional training," Dr. Chase replied.
"Lastly, there is the matter of an underwater suite accessible through the kitchen?  I knew Dr. Leo was building something of interest out there, but a whole underwater apartment?  That explains the expensive contracts, I suppose," Hammersmith said.
Dr. Chase rose to his feet.  "Mr. Hammersmith, perhaps after lunch is over I can take you there personally.  I assure you that there has been nothing illegal occuring in that space."
Hammersmith nodded.  "I would welcome that assurance.  Does anyone have any questions?"
Michelle raised her hand, as did Bret.
"If I were to want to use the steam room, would it be possible to turn it to cold air instead of warm?" she asked.
I shook my head, disgusted.  "Come on, Michelle."
She laughed, as did several of the rest of us.  Dr. Chase sighed.  Hammersmith, meanwhile, was confused.
"Should I ask?" he asked Dr. Chase.
"I wouldn't," Dr. Chase replied.
Hammersmith nodded to Bret.
"Have you got a first aid station?  Maybe something with an X-ray?" Bret asked.
"Ah, yes, the man with the broken arm.  I'll provide you with transportation to the hospital.  They can give you an X-ray and mend your arm there," Hammersmith replied.
Dr. Chase turned to Hammersmith.  "I think you've covered our questions, sir.  I will show you to the underwater chamber at one o'clock."
Hammersmith nodded.  "I look forward to it.  In the meantime, do not hesitate to use this resort to its fullest.  My staff will be happy to provide anything you need."
He then left.  Once the staff was also cleared out, Dr. Chase called us all to a larger table.
"Now then... Kris and I collected all the research formulas," Dr. Chase said.
"It took some doing, but we got them all," Kris added.
"What about Leo and Deanna?  Do we have any way to track them?" Pattie asked.
"I downloaded the software from the submarine dock, but I won't be able to use it until I get back to the lab.  Since there is no direct communication link between the two, we may have to hope there is a GPS tracking code in the software.  Finding it will take time," Dr. Chase replied.
"What about Bret's arm?" I asked.
Bret shrugged.  "I'm feeling well enough... hopefully we'll make it to the hospital and they'll set it right."
"And hopefully he'll remain human during that time," Carrie said.
"You'd better, lil' bro.  I don't want to hear you moaning about the pain, either," Kris said.
"I won't," Bret replied.
"Did you learn anything about all of Leo's serums?" Michelle asked.
"Or about that research he did?  Those specimens?" Shelly asked.
Dr. Chase shook his head.  "Deanna destroyed most of the specimens... as for the formulas, they were sorted rather randomly.  I won't be able to determine all of the formulas until the lab can identify them.  At best, we'll have them cleaned up in a month."
Michelle turned to Kris.  “When did you get the freeze beam installed?”
Dr. Chase raised a finger.  “I failed to tell you all, about a month ago Kris came by.  We’ve been talking about it for awhile, and it seems that Tracker’s computer was able to handle a smaller laser module.”
Kris nodded.  “It’s really only good for one or two shots.  Anymore than that and it might overload my computer.  But it worked like it should last night.”
“Sure did,” Pattie said.
“Could you improve the laser?” Carrie asked.
Dr. Chase shook his head a second time.  “Not without reinstalling Tracker’s computer.  And since most of it was installed by Dark Rider, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to dig around too much.”
Kris agreed.
"Well.. then for now, we should enjoy the resort?" I asked.
Dr. Chase nodded.  "Until we can find a way to track Leo, we'll just have to keep an eye out for them.  When we return to the mainland, I'll contact my associates and we'll put out a private search for Deanna.  She is becoming quite dangerous... we may have to perform a seperation on her if she gets too out of hand."
"But doc, you said you could perform a decombination, but that it was very risky and complicated?" Michelle asked.
"I did, and that is why none of you wished to have it done.  But I sense Deanna does not realize it is possible, and removing her from the automotive component may be the first step to her enjoying a normal life again," Dr. Chase explained.
Bret scofffed.  "A normal life... this is normal enough for me, thank you very much."
Carrie smiled, hugging him.  "Agreed."
I turned to Michelle.  "Agreed?"
She nodded.  "What do you think, Shelly?"
"Being normal?  How boring," she replied.
Dr. Chase nodded.  "You said it.  Well, I'm eyeing that dessert tray I think."
Pattie rose.  "Not unless I get there first!"

We all enjoyed our lunches, and found ourselves enjoying the resort.  Shelly and Carrie went swimming, Michelle, Bret and I watched a movie in the private thearter, and Dr. Chase and Pattie played several games of cribbage in their room.  A one – on – one game became two – on – two after the movie ended.  Michelle and I might’ve won two games out of three.
For the next two days, it was a regular vacation.  The resort was, as Leo had suggested, even more comfortable and relaxing than we had expected.  
On Saturday morning, we packed up and returned to the airport, flying a private jet back to Miami before going our seperate ways from there.

Michelle was back at the airport not two days after we made it home.  It was the end of the quarter for school, and she wanted to check on Bret and unwind in California for awhile.  After the trama that she had gone through, I guess I didn't blame her too much.
The next thing I knew, Shelly and I were at a local sports shop looking for telescopes.
"Amazing, Shelly... I didn't think you were serious the other day," I said.
She looked up from the eyepiece of a Galileo telescope.  "What do you mean?  How many times have you found me outside watching the stars?"
"I meant serious about astronomy.  Interchangable lenses, laser-point accuracy... this is a serious piece of equipment," I said.  As I looked over the telescope, I noticed the price tag with three digits, all of them on the left side of the decimal point.
"You keep saying I should be working for something.  I enjoy working at the fish store, but it seems like I have nothing to show for my efforts there.  And you keep insisting that I don't owe rent, even though Michelle pays rent," Shelly explained.
I shrugged.  "Well, it is nice to have motivation... I told you how I paid for my stereo in about eight months on the job."
Shelly looked through the eyepiece again.  "The only problem with this one is that there are no stars to see in the store."
"Well, no, but I guess they don't make a telescope with a galaxy included in the box.  I mean, the box itself would be a bit heavy..."
She eyed me with a silly glare.
"Mr. Sales Rep!  I think we're ready here," I said.

As she held the box in her lap on the way home, I began to wonder why I hadn't yet discussed getting a check card or credit card for Shelly.  She was already set up with direct deposit and a checking account... maybe I was just getting carried away.
"Gregory?"
Hmm... maybe we should stop for milk on the way home...?
"Gregory?" she asked again.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for helping me pick it out.  This means a lot to me," she replied.
I patted her hip.  "You're welcome, fishkins.  Don't mention it."

I tried not to think about the situation for awhile.  I certainly didn't need to worry about Deanna coming after me... but for the next few days, we'd be keeping a close watch on things.  What worried me most is that she not only had Leo - which means he can't stew in jail for all the crimes he's already committed- but she also has his formulas, which he may have committed to memory.  
Leo, a captive?  I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.  For now, I tried to get back to the usual routine.  Shelly was able to- she had a new telescope to play with.  Bret would be in good hands with Michelle and Kris looking after him, and Dr. Chase had several new formulas to experiment with.
At least I had pictures to look through.  Now I just need to teach Shelly the concept of framing shots.

THE END