Up A Notch Read online

  Michael grabbed her arms. “Are you okay? Where is he? I’ll kill him!”

  “I think you need to chill, son. Go get him some water, honey. He looks deathly pale.” It was hard for Dr. Quimby not to explode into laughter over his son’s over-protective behavior.

  “Yes, Daddy,” Sam obeyed, quickly handing her brother a bottle. “Here you go, Michael. Wanna tell me what I’m too young to do?”

  “That guy you’re seeing… you can’t, you know…” he couldn’t finish.

  “What? You’re being so mysterious.” She looked innocent.

  “I felt you! He was all over you!”

  “Like how, Mike? I mean, I was right here when you were talking with Daddy. You need to be more specific.”

  “Samantha, sex is a very serious matter. You shouldn’t just jump into it with anybody. Especially someone we don’t even know!” Michael blurted out.

  Dr. Quimby frowned. “We? I think it would be more appropriate for me to have this discussion with her, don’t you think? What makes you believe she was having sex? She was right here at the same time you were freaking out.”

  “It’s that damn mind meld or whatever you call it! I can feel all her feelings, experiences, emotions, especially when she’s away from me. I can’t stop it.” Michael now looked close to tears. It was time to stop the prank. Dr. Quimby gave his daughter the ‘look’.

  “I’ll tell you what, Michael. Keep your band off for a few days and I’ll talk with the cetaceans about how to block, okay? This way you should be free of experiencing any of my, uh, enjoyment. Daddy, may I please be excused? I want to get this moving before the warden here has a heart attack.”

  “Go ahead. We will have that talk later, though.”

  “Daddy, I love you, but I have a Master’s degree in biology. I know about sex. In fact, I could tell you a few things you might not know!”

  “Really? I look forward to hearing about them.”

  “Dad!”

  “I’m old son, not dead. Drink your water. You still look pale.”

  Sam trotted to the docks and communicated to her co-conspirator to cease the prank. The little dolphin almost looked disappointed. He had been having fun, especially since he had discovered the amorous activities of his species. Sam relayed her agreement, but attempted to explain that the other land walker was not sharing in their humor and became ‘territorial’ and started to ‘breach’. She sighed, knowing that she would eventually have to tell him and face the consequences, but it was fun while it lasted, especially with the rare assistance of her dad.

  Sam raced to the lab to tell the men that the prank was over and to cover her when her brother asked about her whereabouts. She explained what had occurred and, after five full minutes of snorting, the four sobered up and promised to provide an alibi. Unfortunately, Scott walked in at the tail end of the conversation.

  “Ok, you five, into the office now,” he ordered sternly, pointing. Like children caught red-handed in a cookie jar, they obeyed. He closed the door behind them and drew the blinds. “I want to know what you are doing and I want to know this minute. Alibi for what and why? It sounds very suspicious,” he frowned, arms crossed. They were silent. “Is this really how you want it to go? Gentlemen, you know better. Is she getting you into anything illegal or against orders?"

  “No Sir.”

  Scott studied them. They couldn’t look him in the eye. “Is she trying to get you to cover for her because she did something wrong?” No answer. Scott nodded, shifting his weight and looking at his niece. “Your turn, young lady. Out with it now or there is going to be some serious penalties for all of you.”

  Sam sighed with frustration. She did not want anyone in trouble on her account, but she was uncertain regarding how Scott would react to her prank, particularly since it caused her brother so much distress. She had to risk it to protect her men and slowly confessed her crime, careful to include that her father was not only cognizant but also played an active role. She stared at the floor and held her breath, her heart pounding with trepidation.

  “I see. Samantha Anne Quimby, I don’t know what to say about this.” Scott’s voice was very low and firm. She slowly looked up to see his bright blue eyes twinkling merrily! She offered a cheesy smile which caused him to break into a loud, echoing laugh.

  “You’re not mad?”

  “This is, by far, the best joke you have ever pulled on your brother! Dolphin sex? Oh my God!”

  The four crewmen looked at each other and smiled with relief. Scott was wiping his eyes. “Mike will absolutely kill you when he finds out, and I will do nothing to protect you. But I’m forced to agree with you that it’s well worth it. Damn, girl, do you know how much mileage I will get out of teasing him once he finds out?”

  “I’m glad to see you enjoying the prospect of picking on him at my expense. You’re worse than me, Uncle Scott. I almost feel sorry for him between you and Daddy. Almost, but not quite.”

  “So Dad made you stop the gag, huh? That’s too bad. When are you going to fess up?”

  “Never, if I don’t have to, but I’m sure he’ll be worried about it and Daddy will make me tell him so he can get some peace from Michael’s whining. I’ll wait as long as I can.”

  “I’m saying nothing. This is between you and your brother. Best prank ever, though. As for all of you, gentlemen, a word of warning. If Mike finds out you were in on it, he can make your lives a living hell. You do remember the bilge tanks, right Nick?”

  “How could I forget? Two weeks’ worth,” Nick grimaced.

  Scott had a self-satisfied look on his face as he nodded. “And all because you felt the need to try and cover for her. Don’t do it this time. I would hate to see what task Mike will come up with as punishment. You boys know nothing, got it?”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  “Dismissed. You, youngster, come with me. We need to get to the seal unit today and look at the set up.”

  Scott kept chuckling to himself as he led the way to the docks. They took the hopper across the bay to where the seal unit was stationed on Shelter Island. The young dolphin followed them, still in play mode. He imaged the voyage to Michael along with some more sensations.

  “Dad, she said she would stop. Why won’t she get out of my head? This is unnerving.”

  “Where is she?”

  “Shelter Island at the seal unit with Scott.”

  Dr. Quimby frowned, dialing the phone. He asked the clerk to find the girl immediately and get her on the phone.

  “Lt. Quimby, here.”

  “Samantha, enough, this is out of hand.”

  “I’m not imaging anything. I swear.”

  “Your brother keeps getting images and sensations. What are you doing?”

  “I’m here with Scott. He knows everything now too. I promise I’m not doing anything. Do you think we really have a link now? That would be too freaky.”

  “You swear you aren’t making contact, even though the pod? On your honor?”

  “On my honor, Daddy, I don’t know what’s happening. I’m not getting anything on my side. Not even a sense he’s reacting in anyway.” She looked at her uncle with concern. “I’m telling you the honest truth. Please believe me.”

  “I’m going to take him home. We’ll talk later, okay?”

  “Ok. See you tonight. Love you.”

  “I love you too. Bye now,” her father said before hanging up the phone. He pulled his son to his feet. “Let’s get you home. Maybe you’ll feel better after you rest a bit. You still look shaken up.”

  “If she were in your head, you would be too. I need a Valium.”

  “I’ll do even better when we get home. I’ll pour you a brandy. It soothes the savage beast and helps you escape from bratty little sisters,” his father smiled gently, leading Michael out after informing the clerk to contact him if needed.

  Dr. Quimby found it most interesting that, according to his son, the imaging ceased once they drove away from the base. Was it limited
to distance between the siblings? It couldn’t be. They were even farther apart when Sam had confessed her prank during dinner the other evening. Something was definitely odd, for was Dr. Quimby completely convinced of his daughter’s innocence.

  ***

  “Sam, you’re pushing it. Stop tormenting your brother,” Scott ordered, holding her elbow tightly as he led her away.

  She stopped to look at him, pulling her arm from his grip to rub it. “That hurts. I swear, Uncle Scott, I really haven’t tried anything since I told Daddy I would stop. Do you think I’d be so stupid as to lie at this point? Come on! I really don’t know what’s going on.”

  “Look into my eyes,” he ordered, holding her chin up. This was an old childhood trick he used, first on her mother and now on her. Neither could look into those intense blue eyes and not break contact if they were lying. She met his gaze, unwavering. He was satisfied. “Ok, I believe you. Do you think Ton might be able to help?”

  “Maybe, but I doubt he would. He’s got me pegged as a penguin right now, one stupid enough to get caught in a net. He’s very opinionated for a whale. Do you think that maybe…” she trailed off for a moment but shook her head. “No, couldn’t be.”

  “What?”

  “You don’t think that little dolphin is doing this on his own, do you? They do love games and will keep going until something else catches their interest. He might think we are still playing and is imaging to Mike without my knowledge. He’s a smart one.”

  “Do you think he’d agree to study with us? It would be good to have such an interactive animal on your team.”

  “He really enjoys Michael’s company. He’s a bit of a loner for a pod animal, and way too curious. He also annoys Ton. If we can get Ton to promise not to try to eat him, perhaps we can bring him in to work with us. Let me see if I can get him over here. I don’t know how far away he is.”

  The girl sat on the edge of the dock with feet dangling over the side. She faced the bay as she cleared her mind and started to send out imaging for that one dolphin. She was greeted by two others of his pod who imaged him in the kelp beds. She shook her head and accepted Scott’s assistance to her feet. “No luck. He’s probably feeding. I’ll try again on the way home, okay?”

  “Sure. Let’s get some real work done. I wanted to show you the refurbished lab,” Scott said, grabbing her ponytail and using it to lead her back inside.

  The prime laboratory was fitted out with state of the art equipment and several smaller tanks to hold both salt and fresh water specimens. Next to a secured conference room, there were two enclosed unfurnished offices. The smaller one was complete with a changing room and the second was large enough to hold an extremely large desk. Sam eyed Scott suspiciously, knowing his propensity for over large furniture. He was grinning.

  “Oh, no you don’t,” she insisted.

  “Oh, come on, we can be roomies!”

  “Scott, I love you. I really do. I love to spend time with you but there is no way in hell I can function with you in the same lab with me. Please tell me this second office is for Michael.”

  “Nope. Yours truly is moving in. I get the big room. You and Mike will share the office space and see? Surprise! It’s completely soundproof.” He pounded on the glass. “It also has an adjoining doorway. We can keep the door open and it’ll be like sharing the same room all day long!”

  She rolled her eyes. “This is going to be a disaster.”

  “It will be fun, like when we were on ship. We were so close then,” Scott teased.

  She plopped into a chair, shaking her head. “Too close. I was always in trouble because I had you breathing down my neck. You worry too much and I can't work. How about if Michael stays in this lab with you and I get the old one? You won’t have to worry about us fighting then.”

  “Believe me, honey buns, that once you see this new equipment, you will be fighting with him to be the one to stay here.” Scott said as he opened the wide door into another section of the lab. Before them was an enormous tank the size of a public pool with plexi-walls went clear to the ceiling with enclosed ramps to prevent overspill. The multi- level deck lined the full circumference, complete with monitors, information panels, climate controls and sling lifts.

  Sam stared wordlessly. She finally coughed out, “This is unbelievable. Yeah, I’m staying! Screw the engineering lab. Michael can have it.”

  “Both of you are. We are moving the full research team here. Look at their workstations. We even put in a break room. And an observation deck inside and outside. Check out the Recon room too.”

  “How did you get budget approval for this? It must have cost millions,” she asked as she ran her hand longingly over the large microscope attached to a high definition monitor. No more squinty eyes!

  “We have Master-Sergeant Higgins to thank. He got this approved and pushed through for us.”

  “You say what?” It was her turn to be shocked.

  “It was his way of apologizing for being such an asshole to us. I told you that the senior enlisted had pull that even I don’t have.”

  “Dang, I am going to have to personally thank him when we take our trip up north. He’d be okay with that, won’t he?”

  “He’s going to be part of the Recon project. I’ve been in close contact with him and he is actually looking forward to working with you. Quite a change, huh, baby girl?”

  “Unbelievable,” she said again. Scott escorted her through the rest of the facility and informed her that they should be ready for transfer after returning from their assignment. “Uncle Scott? I know you might think this is a girly thing, but could we maybe spruce it up a bit in here? It’s too stark.”

  “It’s the military, dear.”

  “Yes, I know. For me, please? We don’t need an interior designer, but it would help even if the walls were pale green and we had some large framed artwork of sea life, and a plant or two. We spend a lot of time in here and it would make it more inviting. You spent all this money to make it a scientific showplace, but I need a little extra touch. Please?” She rested her chin on his chest, looking up at him with wide eyes.

  “You are such a girl. Very well, we could do something, I’m sure. How about if I—”

  “Daddy has excellent taste. Let’s involve him. He’d like being part of this,” she said quickly. Scott’s tastes were somewhat erratic and not always tasteful.

  He scrunched his face, catching the hint. “Very well. I’ll speak with him, you little con artist.”

  ***

  “How are you doing, son?” Dr. Quimby asked as they pulled into the driveway.

  “I feel nothing now. Like everything’s been completely cut off. I swear, Dad, it’s the strangest thing. I can’t really explain it.”

  “Is this the first time you’ve actually experienced sensation? I recall you telling us about the emotional aspect, especially when the feelings are pronounced.”

  “I’ve always had that with her. This is completely different and way too much for me to handle. You really need to have a talk with her about her personal activities.”

  “I hate to remind you, Mike, but besides the fact that she is a legal adult, she was right there when you were reporting those, uh, activities. I can’t see any possible way that she was involved. It’s got to be something else,” his father said carefully, glancing at him.

  Michael opened the car door, shaking his head. “I know what I felt. But, now that I think about it, there was something strange. It felt almost ethereal, like floating or having sex under water,” the young man said, trying to contemplate his experience rather than react to the situation.

  “Go change into trunks and meet me on the deck. We’ll talk some more.”

  They were still in the Jacuzzi, sipping Brandy, when Scott and Sam came up the sea stairs from the dock. With a grin—and lacking any modesty—she stripped and slid in to join them.

  Dr. Quimby rolled his eyes. “Honey, you are too old to keep doing that.”

  �
��Too curvy, you mean,” Michael grumbled, moving away from her as she tried to lean against him. “Go put a suit on, please.”

  “Since when do you even notice? You walk in on me all the time without knocking and you still try to dress me. What’s the big deal?”

  “The big deal is that I could feel what you did today and it made me very uncomfortable. You’re my baby sister. I don’t like what I felt. It made me want to completely avoid you,” Michael said, unable to face her. Dr. Quimby kicked her gently, his face clear regarding his instructions.

  Sam was quiet for a moment. “Michael, I promise you. I did not have sex of any kind. I’ve never even kissed a guy on the lips. Scott believes me, don’t you?” she asked as her uncle joined them.

  Scott ran his hand over the girl’s neck before tugging her hair. “I believe you. Are you still feeling stuff, Mike?”

  “Not right now. I’m sorry, you guys, but I can’t be around her right now,” Michael said, starting to get out.

  Sam grabbed his hand with genuine concern written across her face. This was hurting him too much. “Wait. I need to tell you something.”

  Wow! Michael had both Scott’s facial twitch and their father’s popping neck vein as rage surged through him. The girl backed away and slowly sank under the hot water. Interesting, she had to hold her breath. That was a new discovery! She popped up quickly and made the announcement, trying to change the subject.

  Michael just glared at her and stood, grabbing a towel. “I am so fucking pissed right now that I actually want to hurt you. You little bitch!”

  “I’m sorry, Michael. I didn’t know how far Splasher would take it. That’s the truth.”

  “You owe me. And you two knew?” His glare was pure ice.

  “In my defense, I just found out,” Scott said quickly. Dr. Quimby just nodded.

  “Fucking jerks!” Michael swore, stomping away. The three looked at each other, biting their lips.

  “Guess he’s a little peeved, huh?” Scott asked.

  “And really embarrassed. I can’t blame him. I’d be too, for a little while,” Dr. Quimby answered.

  “I’m so dead,” Sam sighed, seeing the other two nodding. She thought about it before breaking into a grin. “It was still so worth it. You have to admit, it was my best one.”