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By 2059, crime rates dipped to a global record low. This was due to a variety of factors but was also aided by the fact it was damn near impossible to bend the law without leaving some kind of traceable trail. It was an interconnected world with an ever-increasing ability to bring people to justice, aided by new technology and better infrastructure.
There were, of course, a few exceptions – the last wildernesses. Not even state-of-the-art satellites could have their eyes on every inch of the ocean at once. So, away from the prying eyes of state officials, low-lives looking to make quick money roamed on rickety vessels which would not have passed any health-and-safety checks, polluting and hauling precious marine life from the waves without even a hint of remorse.
Despite marine laws and fishing restrictions which had been in place for over three decades, there were still people who believed they were the exceptions to the rules. They thought they reigned the seas, that they were free agents without anybody to hold them accountable. It was impossible to eradicate crime completely simply due to humanity’s inherent greed. So long as people wanted to get richer, poachers would prevail. The GDF impounded over a dozen ships per year but there were still so many which went undiscovered and each one was capable of killing thousands in bycatch in a matter of mere months.
Gordon did not hate much in life. He had a list of things he disliked – bad parties, awkward silences, reptiles and so on – but actual, pure sure-fire hatred? Not so much. There were a few exceptions, however, and poachers? They were a classic example. And they were always so goddamn arrogant and smug, as if their hands weren’t drenched in the blood of innocent creatures – and, unofficially, a few humans too. They believed themselves immune to any repercussions and Gordon hated them. No one should profit from suffering. So, when he stumbled upon a poaching vessel, he couldn’t just turn his back on it.
He'd like to state for the record that he did not intentionally track the ship down. It just sort of happened. He was on his way back from a rescue – sufficiently close to home for him to make his own way there without requiring a lift from a certain green giant – when a mysterious object materialised on radar. It wasn’t showing up on Five’s scanners, proving it was using some sort of cloaking device, only appearing on close-range radar to prevent an actual collision. In other words, it was a glaring red flag which Gordon was too curious to leave without investigating.
It was fairly obvious to put the puzzle pieces together. This was a Marine Protected Area, but it was rarely patrolled. The trawler was using outdated – not to mention illegal – nets which were heavy and destroyed the ocean floor.
Initially, Gordon hung back to observe because these types of people tended to be violent. Also, he was in uniform, and so wasn’t supposed to get involved in anything which wasn’t official IR business. Then he glimpsed the blood spilling over the side of the boat and suspicion prickled under his skin, because he just knew. And there, sure enough: dolphins. Trussed up in nets, some beaten bloody as they thrashed to free themselves only to be set upon with knives and hatchets. The calves were separated from their mothers, presumably destined to become an exotic pet or exhibit in an illegal show, while the adults were killed outright.
The pod was panicking.
Gordon was about to rain hellfire on these assholes.
Just not by himself, because there had to be at least ten people on deck alone and he wasn’t a complete idiot. Those odds did not work out in his favour. He wanted to save the pod, not end up on the wrong side of one of those weapons himself. Thankfully, a certain adopted sister was just a call away and Kayo was always down for the chance to wreak havoc on criminals. Well, there was that, but there was also the fact that she wouldn’t let her brother walk into a potentially deadly situation without backup. So, ten minutes later, there they were, side-by-side, sneaking onto an illegal poaching vessel in the middle of the ocean to rescue a pod of dolphins.
“Technically,” Gordon whispered, clinging to the side of the ship with his gecko gloves, “Technically, we’re just doing our jobs.”
Kayo side-eyed him. “How’d you figure that one out?”
“International Rescue,” Gordon pointed out, flattening himself against the hull as another chunk of dolphin flesh plummeted off deck into the waves. “There’s no distinction there. Just Rescue. Not Rescue humans only. Dolphins totally count.”
Kayo looked vaguely amused for a moment – betrayed by the slight rise of her eyebrows and that twitch at the corners of her mouth as she tried to repress a smile – only for her expression to darken into something vengeful when she glanced back down. The sea was frothy with blood and each wave carried it further. In the darkness it looked like an oil slick. The stench of copper was overwhelming even through rebreathers.
Kayo narrowed her eyes and scaled the ship faster. Her voice echoed in Gordon’s helmet. “I just want to kick their asses.”
“Kick ass, take names, get ‘em reported to the GDF?”
Kayo tossed him a determined grin. “And save some dolphins at the same time.”
“And save some dolphins,” Gordon confirmed. “I like this plan.”
Kayo paused, gesturing for silence. There was a brief flicker as the projections across her visor revealed the location of every soul on the ship. She slipped over the side and rose back to her feet in a neat roll. Gordon followed her slightly less gracefully. She grabbed his hands and hauled him upright before he could be spotted by a guy in a dark jacket with the distinctive glint of a gun at his hip.
Gordon grabbed Kayo’s wrist and squeezed once. One gun.
She caught his eye and nodded. Yeah, I’ve seen it.
There was a radio playing somewhere. As the wind shifted, it carried the wet squelch of dead flesh out to sea while music overwhelmed voices and dark laughter on deck. Kayo dropped into a crouch and stole a glance around the container they were hiding behind. She sidled backwards a pace and straightened up, leaning in close to whisper without being overheard.
“Three guards, two more working on the nets. There’s a sixth in the cabin and another two below deck.”
Gordon briefly entertained the notion that he might actually be jealous of Alan’s suit, because he sure as hell could with some armoured plating right around now. He could imagine it all so clearly – the flash of metal in dull moonlight, the brief smell of smoke, more crimson spilling across the deck, a body hitting the water – and oh god, he was not a fan of guns. Give him an earthquake or housefire any day of the week.
Kayo’s gaze was searching. “Are you ready for this?”
“Yup. Raring to go. Ready to kick ass. I am the king of bar fights.”
Kayo winced. “No. You’re really not. You start bar fights but never finish them.” Her voice softened from dry amusement to gentle encouragement. “All you need to do is watch my back. Let me handle the rest, okay?”
“Uh huh.”
“Gordon.”
“What?”
“Don’t do anything dumb. No heroics.”
“Aw, Kay.” He knocked their shoulders together teasingly. “Are you worried about me?”
“Obviously,” Kayo snapped, somehow managing to make a remarkably sweet comment sound like an insult. She batted his arm away with a sigh. “Focus.”
“Right, yeah.”
The deck consisted of three shipping containers, a winch to which the massive net was attached, a set of double doors which fed immediately into the belly of the vessel and, of course, the main cabin. A set of harsh searchlights illuminated the horrific scene. The deck was wet with blood and guts and the screams of dying dolphins. Gordon flinched before he could stop himself and Kayo shot him an openly concerned look. He gave her a thumbs-up. She remained unconvinced but they didn’t have time to wait around.
Truthfully, Gordon wasn’t sure how much use he was supposed to be as backup, because if they reached a point where Kayo needed his help then they were pretty much screwed anyway. He double-checked his suit was in stealth mode – aka switched off all illumination and questioned why he’d chosen bright yellow as his signature colour – and followed Kayo’s silent orders, sneaking around the rear of the containers to meet her on the opposite side of the cabin.
The fight was muffled. The radio was still blaring music so that beats drowned out the sound of scuffling as Kayo took down two of the three guards. Gordon slunk below the window of the cabin and crouched at the far corner so that he could survey the state of the nets. It was already bulging with fish and even at a distance he could count three protected species swept up as bycatch. These poachers were aiming for dolphins, but clearly weren’t going to say no to the profits available from regular fishing. He curled his hands into fists and forced himself to wait until Kayo had done her job, despite all instincts itching to run and destroy that net. He tipped his head back to glimpse the hook where it joined the winch. It wouldn’t take much to sever the net.
A deadened thud sounded from his left. He bolted upright and swung out a fist only to have Kayo slink out of the darkness, wiping traces of blood from her knuckles. She ducked instinctively. He lifted his hands in a silent apology.
Kayo’s stare was accusatory. “Really?” she mouthed.
“I didn’t know it was you,” Gordon hissed.
She rolled her eyes, dropping into a crouch beside him. “Three guards down. One is still in the cabin. If we can take her down, I can patch the GDF into the ship’s systems, maybe track down any other illegal vessels these poachers might be working with.”
“What about the two on the nets?”
Kayo hesitated. “They’ll notice something’s up within the next ten minutes. We’ve gotta make this quick. One of them has a gun. I don’t know if the pair below deck have weapons, so we have to assume they do.”
The duo by the nets were slapping one another on the back. Their celebratory shouts were audible even over the din on the radio. Gordon rocked forwards on his heels, struggling to glimpse what was writhing in the secondary net. His IR tech enhanced the footage and displayed it across his visor.
Kayo’s inhale was sharp. “Shit.”
“They’ve got another calf.” Gordon planted a hand on the deck to balance against a larger swell. There was bad weather coming. He could practically taste rain in the air. “But they’re not… If they lift her at that angle, they might cause permanent damage to her dorsal fin.”
Kayo gritted her teeth. “You don’t have to say it.” She rose cautiously to her feet, stealing a glance through the cabin window. The woman inside seemed entirely engrossed in some miscellaneous game on her phone. “Let’s release a dolphin.”
Gordon sent her a breathless grin. “Hey, Kay, have I told you lately that you’re freaking awesome?”
“You don’t tell me that enough,” Kayo shot back, “But save it for later.”
Gordon would never admit it to Kayo’s face, but her skills were impressive. Kinda scary, too. She’d have made a great trapeze artist in another life. She moved like a cat, blending seamlessly with the shadows as if she were metaphysical, disappearing behind the thick line of rope only to materialise at the top of the winch seconds later.
“Holy shit,” Gordon whispered to himself, because he had not expected Kayo to go straight for the main target. He’d thought she would take out the guards. He broke into a sprint across the deck and dropped to his knees to roll into the shadows underneath the rising arc of net. His heart was pounding as if he’d run a marathon. He was so close to the poachers that he could see the glowing eye of a cigarette, the scraggy hairs of a moustache, a yellow construction hat and a network of fine scars across the hand that cradled a gun.
Kayo balanced delicately on the rising arm of the winch. She either had a knife or some other trick up her sleeve. Gordon rose onto his elbows as far as he dared without risking being spotted and glimpsed tiny sparks as she struck the hook. They were practically a neon sign amid the night – bright lights in an otherwise indiscernible mess of sea and sky.
The first man – the one with the moustache – froze. He rubbed a calloused palm across his eyes and blinked. “Did you see that?”
It took a moment for the translator in Gordon’s helmet to catch up. He scrambled on his stomach in a very undignified manner to the far end of the net where an abandoned hatchet lay. He wasn’t entirely sure what he planned to do with it, but it eased his nerves to have a weapon in his hands.
“See what?” Hat-guy queried, finally dragging his gaze away from the trapped dolphin. “Is there someone up there?”
“No way.”
“There’s gotta be.”
“Where’s the boss? Shouldn’t he know about this?”
The first man discarded his cigarette in the pool of salt water and blood and ground it to ashes under his heel.
“Hang on.” He made a mad lurch for the searchlight and swung it around to face the winch.
Gordon swore his actual soul literally left his body for a second. He flung himself to his feet, slammed the hatchet into one of the main cords hauling the trapped dolphin up the side of the ship, and tackled the guy with the gun to the deck. He could feel the barrel somewhere below his knee and fumbled for it. A heavy fist slammed into his ribs, but he rolled with the momentum and somehow ended up back on his feet. He tossed the gun into the ocean with a loud whoop.
“Hey, Kayo! Did you see that? How awesome am I?”
The winch gave way with a high-pitched screech, immediately followed by the explosion as a heavy net collapsed back into the water. Thousands of fish and marine life created an artificial current. It was strangely beautiful in the moonlight. Gordon probably would have appreciated it more had he not been held at knifepoint.
“Ah, man.” He backtracked until he hit the side of the ship. “I would drop the knife if I were you. This isn’t a smart move on your part. My sister is a little bit overprotective sometimes. No? Still want to threaten me with the knife? Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Kayo, as predicted, was furious. Gordon was tempted to just enjoy the show by making sarcastic comments every now and then, only he still had a job to do – that dolphin calf was trussed up in rope, caught halfway up the side of the ship. He flung himself over the edge and prayed that his gecko gloves would activate in time.
He came to a halt roughly a metre below the dolphin. For a moment, he tipped his head against the metal hull and reminded himself to breathe. He probed his ribs with one hand and winced at the heat emanating from forming bruises. Yay. At least Kayo was teaching those assholes a lesson. From the sounds of things, she wasn’t holding back either. Good. Looking at the poor dolphin, Gordon sort of wanted to climb back up there and pitch in a few hits too. He curled a hand into a fist, exhaled, then imagined the anger draining into the ocean. He had to focus on the dolphin. Emotions clouded judgement. That was when mistakes were made. He worked his way back up to the creature in a clearer headspace, pushing all thoughts of vengeance to the back of his mind.
A muted scream came to a sudden halt.
“Uh, Kayo?” Gordon tapped his radio as he hooked his feet in the tangled ropes. “You’re not actually murdering them, are you?”
There was a pause.
“They shouldn’t have hurt you.”
“I’ve literally taken worse hits from Alan when you made us practice self-defence.”
“That was an accident. This was intentional. No one fucks with my family and gets away with it.” Kayo’s voice lightened for a brief moment. “How’s it going with the dolphin?”
Gordon grimaced. “It’s uh…” He laid a calming hand on the dolphin’s snout. “It’s going.”
“Oh, boy. That bad? Should I break this asshole’s nose?”
“Is that illegal?”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Gordon severed the first of the ropes and pinpointed the exact second the dolphin realised he was here to help, not to harm her any further. His breath caught in his throat. There was an undeniable level of pure emotion in the animal’s eyes that nearly brought him to tears.
He attacked the remaining ropes with renewed vigour. “I changed my mind. Break their noses.”
“With pleasure.”
He ran his hands over the dorsal fin to double check for damage. There would be some minor swelling but nothing too serious. He lowered the dolphin into the water, then deactivated his gecko gloves to dive into the waves after her. She didn’t thrash or protest. He could hear her distressed cries, but they had changed from frantic into a gentler pitch. She trusted him, allowing him close to remove the final two ropes. He clutched them to his chest to keep them from entangling any other innocent creatures.
The dolphin fled to join the rest of her pod. Gordon watched until he could no longer pick her out amid the dark water, then scrambled back up the ship to meet Kayo.
Kayo had a foot planted on the chest of the guard from the cabin. A progress bar projected above the controls proved that she was busy uploading the data to a GDF server. She greeted him with a proud smile.
“How’s the dolphin?”
“Free.”
Kayo smirked. “That’s more than can be said for these idiots.” She examined the guard under her heel. “That’s right, you won’t be seeing the outside of a cell for a very long time, so make the most of your last five minutes before the GDF arrive.”
Gordon set his helmet on the side and ran a hand through his hair. “You called the GDF?”
“As soon as you called me, yeah. They should be here any minute.” Kayo surveyed him for any obvious injuries. “Are you okay?”
“Other than a few bruises? Sure. You?”
Kayo glowered at the pinned guard. “This bitch tried to scratch me, like some kind of animal. Honestly, you can be a criminal and still have standards.”
Gordon tried to repress a laugh, but it sort of bubbled up anyway. He leant against the control panel, struck by a sudden wave of fondness for his sister.
“Thanks,” he said simply.
Kayo shrugged. “Anytime.” She lifted her hand for a high-five. “This was fun. We should take down criminals together again. It can be our bonding time for the month.”
“Do you really trust me around guys with guns?”
Kayo tilted her head, fondly bemused. “Gordon, do you really think I would put you in a situation where I wasn’t completely confident I could keep you safe?”
“Wait, really?” He stepped over the vaguely unconscious guard to loop an arm around Kayo’s shoulders. “That’s kinda sweet, Kay. Are you a secret softie?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Liar.”
“I will put spiders in your bed. I am evil. Fear me.”
“Oh no, I definitely do fear you. But I’ve also seen you nearly cry over that stupidly fluffy baby alpaca, so, like...”
“Shut up.”
“Thanks for saving the dolphins with me.”
“Whatever.” Kayo allowed him to hug her for a couple more seconds. “Alright, dumbass, that’s enough. Get off me. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
Gordon widened his eyes at her. “But I know the truth.”
“You’re annoying.”
“You love me. I’m your favourite brother.”
“I’ll deny it until my deathbed.”
“You’ll admit I’m your favourite on your deathbed?”
“I’ll consider it.”