Calum, Tara, Gecko, Natalie and Rhino were all in Calum’s apartment. Most of them were sitting on his sofa or easy chairs, but Natalie was over at his nine-screen computer system. She had headphones on. Instead of listening to music she was talking in a low voice into the attached microphone.
‘Were the DNA samples viable?’ Rhino asked, pulling Calum’s attention away from Natalie. Rhino’s hand was bandaged, and he kept rubbing it on the arm of his chair. ‘Could you actually get anything usable?’
‘Well,’ Calum said carefully, ‘yours was pretty crispy, and the one Gecko and Natalie brought back was hammered fairly flat, but between the two of them I think we can put together a good sample. I still haven’t decided where to send them though. Same with the Almasti DNA. I’ve got to make the right choice, and I’ve got to be very careful that Nemor Incorporated don’t somehow own or control whatever laboratory I decide on.’ He hunched his shoulders, feeling a chill. ‘I’d assumed they would leave us alone after the Almasti adventure, but that’s not the case. They’re watching us carefully, and we need to take precautions.’
He glanced sideways to where Natalie was sitting at his computer system. He hadn’t mentioned the involvement of her mother yet. He wasn’t sure he ever would.
‘What is she doing?’ Tara asked, following his gaze.
Gecko frowned. ‘I believe she is talking with this United Nations biologist that she first spoke to in Hong Kong – the one who joined in the raid on Xi Lang’s warehouse. His name is Evan Chan. Apparently he is very impressed with her dedication to endangered wildlife, and she is very impressed with his clean-cut good looks and his ponytail.’
Calum felt a little knot of jealousy coil in his stomach, and tried to quash it. Natalie could talk to whomever she wanted. Obviously she could.
‘Typical,’ Tara sniffed, which pretty much summed up Calum’s real thoughts.
‘You can talk,’ Rhino pointed out reasonably. ‘How many texts have you and this Tom Karavla exchanged today?’
‘I don’t know,’ Tara said primly, but she was blushing. ‘I haven’t been counting.’
Gecko was shifting in his seat, and the expression on his face made him look as if he was feeling the same way that Calum was. Before he could say anything Rhino asked, ‘So what happens to the giant centipedes now? Not that I wish them well or anything, but I know you have strong feelings about not letting things like these be exposed to the world or abused by anyone like Nemor Incorporated.’
‘We know the location in Hainan Island,’ Calum pointed out, ‘because it was on Xi Lang’s removable hard drive. Assuming that he’s now either in custody or on the run, we’re the only people who know the spot, and I want to keep it that way. Hainan Island is covered in tropical rainforest. It’s unlikely that anyone will just stumble across the centipedes, so they should be OK, living their lives, eating monkeys or whatever it is that they do.’
There was silence for a few moments. Tara broke it by saying, ‘So what next? Are we working our way through a list, or what?’
Calum thought. It was a good question. The website hadn’t come up with anything recently, but there were always the standard legends to investigate – the Loch Ness Monster, the Sasquatch, the Chupacabra. It was unlikely there was any basis in fact there, but it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.
Although . . .
‘Have any of you ever heard of the mokèlémbembe . . . ?’ he asked.