Love Bites

Jae: Four

Those eyes. Those god damn eyes got him every time. They were as blue as the sea, like he'd been born with it in his blood. They were gray blue, like the slick skin of a blue shark, and just as deadly. Bo looked like a pup in Petsmart waiting for his answer, and Jae swore he was more than just a dog.

"Fine." Jae stood, arms crossed as he leaned against the door frame. "Ignore her. There's no movie night, and you've got that crappy tone again. There's nothing before doctor and it's my /last/ name, not first."

Jae watched Bo trot off with Jack, and he mumbled under his breath, "Traitor..."

His eyes instantly went to Michele. "You too, bitch. What was that?"

Her jaw dropped in mock shock, then she shrugged. "I told you. He's hot. And I didn't tell him anything he didn't already know. Don't be a baby."

Jae stared at her, walking off to the front of the line, the chef handing Jae his meal. Full of pork dumplings, kimchi and some bibimbap, all foods Jae had stocked for himself in the kitchen. He even got them to add some fish from tonight's dinner onto his plate and picked up a few beers on his way out.

Michele followed but turned her nose up at the clear plastic container. "That stuff smells like a freaking compost pile. I don't see how you eat that, or how he used to kiss you after you did. Who the freak puts eggs on rice?"

Jae gave her back her signature shrug, heading out to the top deck to enjoy his dinner. Alone. When she realized where he was going, she smirked.

"Just keep lying to yourself, Jae. Denial. It's not just a river in Egypt."

And with that, she headed back to Jae's room, likely to steal his Netflix and watch more television.

Looking at Michele, you'd think she was simply a bimbo without a brain. She was gorgeous. Brown hair, soulful brown eyes, perfect body sculpted from swimming and a complexion to die for made her irresistible. Jae had seen her rebuff so many guys, by now he tried to warn them off. If they caught her in a mood, she was downright vicious. What they didn't know was that Michele was an accomplished and sought after marine geneticist, and she was a linchpin to Jae's team. Once they found the sharks, Michele would peel back the genetics and begin to prove his theory. She would be the one to verify a lineage from Megalodon. She was the one who'd isolated the first DNA sample from the fossilized tooth of a Megalodon. She was going to change the way the oceanographic community looked at sharks.

Jae took his seat in the nest, dangling his legs off the side and opened his dinner. He rubbed his chopsticks together to get the splinters off then began to eat, groaning at the comfort foot as he popped a top on the beer. This was what he needed.

Below, Jae could see Jack and his prospects, mostly groupies, and watched them run drills. He snorted a laugh as a few of them slipped at the water Santos was spraying all over the deck, simulating the splashing of a great white, and one actually fell on where the shark's mouth would be attached to the tube. Jolene yelled dead in his face, and the kid looked like he was going to cry. It was likely the funniest thing Jae had seen in awhile. He got great pleasure every time Jack started the drill over, and he had to admit the big asshole had a hell of a sense of humor. Jae ate and enjoyed the show, the view, and kept an eye on Bo. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jack would never let anything happen to him, but...things had accidently happened before. Jack always seemed to come out unscathed, mostly, but others weren't so lucky,

Just as Jay was finishing the last of his second beer, someone hollered up at him from the bottom of the ladder.

"Sir! We've got reports of a sperm whale carcass up ahead, and the Coast Guard is reporting a few large sharks circling. Ah...more than a few."

Jae jumped up, rustled up his empties and trash in one hand, sliding down the ladder with the other, and hollered out knowing Jack would hear him.

"Get your team ready for extraction! First tag! Ten minutes out!"

Jae got on the radio at his hip, calling for his own team. "Take your stations. We've got a unique opportunity to tag some great whites. You know what to do."

The boat bustled and the radio crackled as the team began to prepare. Tags had to be activated, tracking beginning, Jack's team needed to get ready to lower the lift, and Michele was ready to preserve the DNA samples.

She showed up at Jae's side, blasé as if nothing out of the ordinary was about to happen, but he knew her too well. She was excited. He could tell by the way she flitted on the balls of her feet and looked around. Mostly, she ignored people. Some would say mild Asperger's or something like that, given her higher than average IQ, but the fact was she didn't like people. Neither did Jae. So it worked.

"We'll have to see what his process of collecting samples is, and if he's not getting me a good sample, now's the time to know, though, before we get to the first sight. This was a good thing."

Jae nodded, walking up to the helm and looking out over the bow. He could already see the birds gathering and the bloated body of the whale protruding from the water. As he was watching, a large shark breached, diving at the carcass, and grabbing on, whipping his head back and forth before pulling off a large chunk and sinking back down into the murky water.

He grabbed the radio. "Did you get that on video! Did anybody get that?"

"10-4, boss. We got it. Digital still and video with the Phantom."

Jae stood proudly as they approached the site, dreading the next call.

"Jack, come in. Is your team in place? Do you need anything?"