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Sid had been looking forward to meeting the star mermaid. While researching the park, he had found himself listening to the songs from the Sirens of Atlantis show on repeat. Swim With Me was his favorite, and the way Jayna sang it was even more enchanting than the official cast recording.
Her entire performance had captivated him, and not just her brilliant red hair, her beautiful singing voice, or her ability to send water three rows into the splash zone.
But meeting Jayna would have to wait.
“Hazel’s concerns about questionable chemicals are a higher priority than thanking Mermaid Aurora for giving us the opportunity to wear these amazing park uniforms.”
Emmaline folded her arms. “Her mersona is Mermaid Aaramere, and I do think it’s important that you meet her. Jayna Cooper is an essential part of this park, and I’m quite certain that she’s going to play a significant role in whatever success you have here.”
“Fine. I’ll meet her when I get back.” Without waiting for an objection, Sid turned and walked purposefully out of the reception area.
He quietly approached the rear entrance to the aquatic theater and opened it with the master key Hazel had given him. He hoped lax maintenance was the issue. That would be easy to fix. Dealing with illegal chemicals would involve a lot of unwanted headaches.
Dim maintenance lighting illuminated the passage inside the theater. He walked quietly through a hallway to the back of the cast area, where a small pool of water shimmered. From the earlier facilities tour, he knew this was the backstage area for the mermaids and mermen in the show, and that the pool connected to tunnels leading to the show and rehearsal pools.
He stopped and listened but didn’t hear anything. Satisfied, he quietly crossed to the maintenance room that held the substance in question.
That door was also locked, but he could just make out a questionable aroma. He had taken over several chemical and cybernetic companies that had been shut down due to illegal activity, so he had a good idea what he was looking for. He glanced around again to make sure he was alone and then used his key card to unlock the door.
Immediately the offending smell grew stronger. He quickly put his limited chemical knowledge to work, examining the tanks and storage containers that lined the edge of the room.
He located some rubber gloves and an emergency respirator hanging on the wall. After putting them on, he searched for a bottle of hydrogen peroxide among the cleaning supplies. He then used a plastic bucket to collect a sample from one of the tanks and set it in the middle of the polished concrete floor.
Sid’s heart raced as he filled a disposable cup with hydrogen peroxide, poured it into the bucket, and jumped back.
The contents of the bucket erupted over the edge in a foaming mess, covering the floor.
That was good.
Sid slowly removed the mask and sniffed. The smell was bad, but it was a good kind of bad—the oppressive boiled cabbage aroma that meant the tanks contained poorly maintained organic solutions and not illegal chemicals.
He sighed in relief, hung the respirator back on the wall, and left to retrieve a mop from the custodial closet on the opposite side of the hallway.
Chapter 4
When Jayna emerged in the changing pool inside the cast staging area, the lights were off, the mertender’s nook was empty, and she was alone. The stagehands must have already gone to the reception.
Unfortunately, her functional and decorative merbreather top fastened in the back and was much easier to remove with help.
The process would certainly be easier if she could stand up. Jayna sat on the edge of the pool and gently pulled at her shimmering turquoise mermaid tail where it met her waist. With a bit of effort, she slowly eased the tail down over the synthetic exomuscle that wrapped her legs and feet. Once free of the heavy silicone prosthetic, she carefully broke the connection between the powerful exomuscle and her mershorts and pulled her legs free.
The sensation of having two legs that moved independently of one another always felt strange and new after spending hours in a mermaid tail. She climbed from the pool and attached the parts of her tail to one of the waiting hoists.
Jayna looked around, hoping to find someone who could help with her merbreather, but she was still alone. She had hoped someone from the backstage crew would still be around, but apparently the prospect of free food had been enough to tempt even the most die-hard stagehand.
Jayna’s merbreather was a bikini top with a pair of turquoise scallop shells, a thick gold necklace, and a broad turquoise collar decorated with the same scale pattern as her tail. Beneath the collar was a thin carbon scrubber, and each oversized seashell held a reserve air sac.
There was debate among mermaids as to whether the sac placement had been designed by a man or a woman. Some claimed only a man would have thought to take something as utilitarian as an air sac and turn it into a bust enhancer. Others were certain a woman had designed the essential air-filled push-up cup as a clever way to ensure performing mermaids wouldn’t have to swim topless.
Although Jayna didn’t need the underwater breathing functionality for a show like The Sirens of Atlantis, she found the secure fit of the merbreather made it much less likely to come off during her trip through the mer-cannon.
But while the top was ideal for avoiding wardrobe malfunctions, it was extremely difficult to get into and out of without assistance.
She glanced around again, but the changing area was still empty. Maybe the stagehands had been chased off by the boiled cabbage smell, which was even stronger than usual.
Whatever the reason, Jayna was alone. She’d just have to get out of the merbreather on her own. She could do it; she’d done it before. But it wouldn’t be easy.
After releasing the air from the reserve sacs, Jayna stretched, twisted, and swore until she managed to get the top and bottom clasps undone, but the two in the middle remained stubbornly connected.
