Meg: Hell's Aquarium (9 page)

“The clean-shaven dude over there is some kind of scientist, and the other egghead, Ibrahim something, runs a big aquarium in Abdullah’s hotel.”

“What about the man in the gray business suit?”

“Him, I’m not sure. He hasn’t said a word. Probably head of security.”

“Have they picked out their fish yet?”

“Not yet, but Bela put on quite a show earlier. Ashley swam a little too close to the titanium fence and the Dark Overlord started ramming the gate. Put the fear of Allah in a couple of those guards. One of them actually reached for his Glock. One other thing: Bin Rashidi wants to see the Manta Rays. He made it clear the submersibles have to be part of the package.”

“What do they need them for?”

“He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask. Come on, I’ll introduce you to our new friends. Just don’t ask me to repeat any of their names.”

Mac leads Jonas to the four businessmen in
dishdashi
, who are whispering, their eyes locked onto the aquarium. “Gentlemen, this is Dr. Jonas Taylor, the CEO of the Tanaka Institute and our resident Megalodon internist.”

Jonas shoots his friend a chastising look.

Fiesal bin Rashidi claps his hands, a broad smile on his face. “Incredible. Absolutely incredible. I’ve seen the footage on television, of course, but to stand in the presence of such magnificent creatures . . . incredible! The big one . . . Angel . . . when can we see her, please?”

“Maybe later, if we can coax her back into the lagoon. She tends to stay in the canal.”

One of the Arab businessmen steps forward to shake Jonas’s hand. “Dr. Taylor, my name is Ibrahim Al Hashemi. I am Executive Director of the Dubai Mall Aquarium. Please tell me, how do you trust these animals will not attempt to break through the glass?”

“Well, mister . . . uh, Ibrahim, the glass is actually layered acrylic designed with tiny micro-fibers that carry an electrical charge. While the charge isn’t powerful enough to shock the Megs, it creates an electrical field that upsets the creatures’ sensory organs located beneath their snouts, persuading them to steer clear of direct contact with the window. If you were interested in purchasing one of the pups for your mall aquarium, we’d have to refit your tank with—”

“That won’t be necessary, Dr. Taylor. The Dubai Mall is stocked to capacity.”

“Well . . . okay then. Perhaps—”

“—perhaps there is a more private place we can discuss our business?” Fiesal bin Rashidi interrupts.

Jonas and Mac sit across the conference table from the five Dubai businessmen, their security detail posted outside the private office, the videographer with them.

Fiesal bin Rashidi begins his presentation. “Dr. Taylor, I don’t know how many Arab countries you have visited or what your opinion of the Middle East might be, but I can assure you, Dubai is the exception to the rule. We are one of seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, possessing its largest population and second largest landmass. Under the leadership of the late Sheikh Zayed, the UAE’s oil revenues were reinvested in the people and the economy, and we have worked extremely hard to transform our country into a westernized trading hub. More ambitious is our plan to make Dubai a world-class resort. We have the world’s finest marina, the world’s only seven-star hotel, the finest entertainment facilities. We sponsor golf tournaments and attract business conventions; we host major events like the Dubai Land Cup and the Desert Classic; and yet most Westerners will never consider vacationing in our country because of the stigma associated with terrorism and the Middle East.”

Jonas smiles. “Well, at least it hasn’t stopped Halliburton from moving its headquarters there.”

Mac kicks him under the table.

Bin Rashidi’s smile remains frozen. “Thank you for demonstrating my point.”

“My apologies. And you’re right, there’d have to be something pretty special in Dubai to get me to fly halfway around the world to see it—I don’t care how tall your buildings are.”

“On that point we agree. We can also agree that very few people would ever travel to Dubai from North or South America to see a Megalodon when they could simply visit your facility here in California . . . even if they do risk being eaten.”

Mac winces. “Pick up your jock strap, Jonas, you’ve just been schooled.”

Jonas ignores his friend. “Point taken. So why the visit?”

Bin Rashidi nods to Ibrahim Al Hashemi. The Dubai Mall Aquarium director hands him several brochures. “You are correct, of course, in that we have traveled here to arrange the purchase of two of the Megalodon juveniles, but not for the Mall Aquarium.”

Bin Rashidi passes out copies of an elaborate, glossy-color brochure, featuring maps and lists of attractions on par with Disney World.

“Dubai Land: an innovative series of projects designed to make Dubai the tourism, leisure, and entertainment capital of the region. Phase I, completed several years ago, includes water parks and roller coaster rides, global villages, space and science worlds, petting zoos, safaris—virtually every entertainment venue that we could offer.

“Phase II has only recently begun, centered around a brand-new aquatic theme park featuring the largest viewing aquariums ever conceived, including twelve 80-million-gallon tanks that exceed the capacity of your own Meg Pen. Monorails running throughout the park will connect the facility with a dozen first-class hotels and restaurants, while two high-speed rails will transport visitors to and from Dubai’s new international airport. But the facility itself is not what will attract tourists the world-over; it is what we plan to stock the big tanks with that will make the resort the entertainment Mecca of not only the region . . . but the world.”

Al Hashemi hands bin Rashidi a large manila envelope. From it he removes a dozen sketches, laying each rendering out on the table-top, one by one:
“Kronosaurus.
A carnivore I believe you crossed paths with several decades ago in the Mariana Trench.
Thalassomedon
, a plesiosaur with a twenty-foot-long neck.
Shonisaurus sikanniensis
, a species of
Ichthyosaurus
that measured seventy-five feet from its dolphin-like nose to the tip of its tail.
Dunkleosteus
, a heavily armored, prehistoric fish possessing two long, bony blades that could crush titanium.
Mosasaurus
, a fifty-foot, crocodile-like brute that dominated the Cretaceous seas. And finally the king—
Liopleurodon ferox
—the largest and most vicious animal to inhabit the planet, save, perhaps, for
Megalodon
. Although,
Liopleurodon
was bigger and faster. There are more nightmares of nature on our wish list, but these are the predators that will draw the biggest crowds.”

Mac smiles broadly. “Well, hell, since it’s a wish list, how about King Kong or the Loch Ness Monster? Unless this is one of those special effects deals—”

Jonas stares at the free-hand drawings, the blood rushing from his face. He knows the artist responsible—an ichthyologist whose brilliance led him to a break-through discovery, a rival who considered Jonas a disgrace to the paleo-community, a man whose unbridled ego ultimately led to his own self-destruction: Dr. Michael Maren. The scientist had died five years ago when a deadly plan he had conceived for Jonas and Mac back-fired the last time their paths had crossed.

Jonas recalls his last conversation with Maren five years ago aboard the biologist’s yacht, just before Jonas had been tossed into the Philippine Sea as bait for the male Megalodon known as Scarface.

“The Mariana Trench is nothing, Taylor. The real ancient marine sanctuary is located along the Philippine Sea Plate. The area is a paleobiologist’s goldmine. At least four major submarine canyons feed nutrients into this valley, creating a habitat that has sustained primitive life since the very first marine reptiles returned to the sea over a hundred million years ago.

“I’ve discovered species long believed extinct and evidence of creatures we never knew existed, all endowed by Nature to adapt to the pressures of the deep: prehistoric sponges with immune systems that could
potentially cure cancer; jawless fish with bony armor plating; undiscovered ray-finned life forms; ichthyosaurs and pliosaurs possessing gills, giant sea turtles with teeth that could tear open a small truck. This labyrinth of the deep is a lost world just waiting to be explored, and the ruler of these primal waters is
Carcharodon megalodon.”

“Congratulations, Maren, you’ve made an incredible discovery. But why lure a Meg to the surface?”

“The male? I came across him about five years ago. He was in pretty bad shape. In fact, he was close to death, having recently lost a territorial dispute with another Megalodon. We weighted down sea lion carcasses loaded with medicines and fed him in nineteen thousand feet of water. Took us seven months of gradually raising the lures to get Scarface to finally surface.”

“Scarface?”

“My assistant, Allison, named him. His face was raked by tooth marks. Over the years we’ve managed to tag him with several homing devices. As you can see, he’s doing quite well now. I estimate he’s gained at least ten tons since our first encounter.”

“And me? Why am I here?”

“Because I despise you. You’re not a scientist, Taylor. You never were. Yet for years, you pretended to be one, giving ridiculous lectures about these magnificent predators, how they avoided extinction, how they might be alive in the Mariana Trench. Tell me,
‘
Professor
’
Taylor, when you became an overnight sensation, did your new-found celebrity serve anyone but that ego of yours? And those sold-out shows at the Tanaka Lagoon . . . did any percentage of the gate ever find its way back to the science you so flaunted all those years?

“It takes money to explore the abyss, and the abyss needs exploring; for there are life forms down there that may harbor cures for diseases . . . discoveries just waiting to happen. You had the means, you had the world’s attention, you could have spearheaded the movement. Instead, you destroyed it. Angel’s escape and eventual return to the abyss chased away dozens of potential investors . . . major universities, pharmaceutical companies . . . scientists, like myself, who could have opened the realm to real exploration.”

“So you dared the devil up from his purgatory just to raise money?”

“Scarface is far from the devil. In fact, it turns out
Megalodon
isn’t even the meanest fish on the block. Many years ago, my first drone crossed paths with a real monster of the deep, a creature that was at least one hundred twenty feet long and weighed seventy-five to one hundred tons. The beast had jaws that could snatch a fully grown Megalodon. It destroyed my drone and has been eluding me for eight years. But it’s down there, perhaps the last of its kind, and with the proper funding and equipment, I’ll find it.”

“I assure you, Mr. Mackreides, these are not animatronic creations nor some digitally created, celluloid beasts. The creatures we’ve targeted for our aquarium are extant. They still exist.”