Love Bites

Jack: Five

"What do you think?", Santos asked as they watched the carcass from the deck.

Jack took the time to watch the scene, following with his gaze the few shark fins circling it. "Feeding frenzy, big mess.", he commented dryly before the radio went on.

He brought it to his mouth and smiled. "We're ready. I need you to keep your eyes on me because we both know you want to. And make sure the camera men don't get too frisky. I want no one on the platform outside my team for now.", he answered before letting go on the radio.

"Billy, how does it look?", he asked, knowing the guy probably had a camera of his own in the water. Jolene was already prepping the material they would use to collect blood and DNA samples. The tracker was probably already ready to go.

This wasn't their first time but it was /a/ first time on this boat. They were all a bit superstitious. if the first catch went well, then it would be a good omen.

"I see a dozen, 8 small, 4 big ones. The smaller ones keep their distance for now.", Billy informed him. It was making sense. The big ones got to feed first. Nature and its discipline.

"Three long lines. They'll want to play or they'll ignore us completely. Let's find out which one it's gonna be.", he told Santos who nodded and got to work.

"Hey, rookies?", Jack shouted as he jumped on the lift and landed surprisingly gracefully for a guy his size.

"Stay where you are and watch how it's done. You're getting the chance to find out if you're really serious about joining my team.", he told them before making sure everything he needed was where he expected it to be.

There were many eyes on him today and he was glad he wasn't the type getting nervous easily. Instead, he was excited about the whole thing.

As always.

Long minutes went by as the entire crew of the boat waited for a shark to bite. No one was talking, eyes focused on the carcass floating on the surface, sharks tugging on it. Jack had insisted the team used tunas as bait because the smell was irresistible for sharks. Of course, it was hard to miss when the water was full of the sharp and heavy smell of decay and death.

"Come on.", he whispered, waiting for Billy to give him some feedback.

Finally, the young man held a hand up. And raised three fingers.

"We have three! Geez, we got a freaking big one and he doesn't look too happy. What do you wanna do, Boss?", he shouted in his direction. Jack crossed his arms over his chest and looked back at Santos and Jolene. Jolene stared at him for five seconds before grabbing more material and working fast to be ready on time. Santos looked up at the rookies then back at Jack.

"Show time.", he said.

That was the only answer Jack needed.

"We're bringing all three in. Starting with the big one.", he ordered Billy. He didn't need to check to see if Santos was already in place, above him, ready to lower the lift and bring it up at Jack's command. Billy was in charge of coordinating the ones working on the lines and what was happening on the deck. Later on, when they'd all learn to work with the other teams on board, more people would be involved but right now, it was more a question of testing the equipment and getting into the groove.

Jack noticed a cameraman hanging above the rail above him and he growled.

"Jae? If that one falls in the water, he's fair game for the sharks.", he warned before something in the water ahead of him distracted him.

"Incoming! Santos, down!". As soon as he said the word, he felt the lift move down under him.

He only gave the signal for Santos to stop it once the water reached his hips.

"What the hell.....He's gonna be in the water with that shark?", a voice gasped somewhere above him.

He didn't look up, too focused on the beauty pulled his way by the team. The shark was pulling and struggling and he kicked back even more when he felt the lift under him.

Jack moved aside, ducking to avoid getting caught in the line and placed himself between the shark and the open sea as soon as possible.

Then he walked forward, the shark swimming right in front of him.

"Billy, keep the line short, he's gonna go for it!", he said, strangely calmed.

The shark seemed to hear him and jumped forward, opening his mouth to try and catch Jack. Jack placed a hand on top of him and jumped over him before pushing with his knees against the side of the shark, his hand holding onto his dorsal fin firmly. The shark kept fighting, desperate to get back into deeper water.

"Could someone push that fucking button and get them out the water before he gets killed?", a voice yelled into the radio.

Santos smirked and answered: ''That baby weighs a massive 5000lb. Once out of the water, there will be no moving him. So we need him into place before I push the button, people. Now shut up and let me do my work.".

Jack wasn't listening to the bickering happening above him. Instead, he was entirely focused on the shark. The beast was around 21 feet long and based on the scars on his skin, he got too close from fishing boats in the past. Probably why he wasn't okay with any of this.

"Shhh....It's okay, handsome. We just need 15 minutes of your time. Easy... ", he said, speaking quietly. Using his knees to push the shark to where he needed him, his hand still holding onto the fin and the other pushing the shark down, he finally nodded once.

All Santos needed to do was press the button.

As soon as the water reached his ankles, Jack threw the thick and heavy blanket over the shark's eyes then worked on putting the hose into place to keep water circulating through the big fish.

"Time starts now!", he called in. When he said so, Billy, Jolene and Santos jumped on the deck to get to work.

Keeping his palm flat against the shark's head to feel any change in how tense the animal was, Jack supervised. Once it was his turn to proceed, he leaned with his side against the shark and put the tracker into place, letting Jolene close the cut as he focused on the DNA samples. Strictly following Michele's protocol, one he'd been practicing on ever since he received the e-mails about it, his fingers moved fast.

"12 minutes, 40 seconds.', Billy announced.

Jack smiled and handed the vials to Jolene before getting up.

"Clear the deck!", he told them before wrapping his long arm around the shark's head. Santos lowered the lift slowly and Jack unplugged the hose as soon as there was enough water around the shark and him for the animal to breathe.

"Thanks for not killing me.", he told the shark before stroking the top of his head and pushing him slowly toward the end of the deck. As he did, he ran his hands over the majestic predator. He always loved the contact of their skin, rough and soft all at once. It was such a privilege to get to lay your hands on a great white shark and even if he did so a thousand times, he was still amazed every time. At the last minute, he pulled on the blanket and didn't look away from the beast. In the past, he learned some of them felt rancorous enough to turn back and try to get a bite of him before they went their merry way.

"One down, two to go!", he announced with a thumb up. The ones on the deck stared at him for a moment before cheering, relieved and excited.

Jack looked up at Jae and winked at him before motioning Santos he was ready for the next round.