Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Protecting Us (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Magan Vernon Page A

morning news show. This time they headlines read “Swimming’s Golden Boy isn’t so golden.” I stood and read some of the captions. Something about him partying in the Olympic village and photos of him underage at a club, hooking up with some Brazilian gymnasts who may or may not have been passing a bowl around.
    I shook my head before going toward the concierge desk. I guess the spotlight went to some people’s heads. Deep down he was probably a good kid. Swimmers didn’t get much of the spotlight. Maybe he’d get tarnished enough that he’d forget about the partying and just focus on swimming again.
    And maybe I could too.
    If I could figure out how to control my shifting, there wouldn’t be anything stopping me from getting back in shape and getting in the pool again. Maybe not the Olympic team, but at least something. The thought scared and exhilarated me at the same time.
    Thinking about my future in swimming, I browsed the rack for some snorkeling brochures, thinking how much I’d love to see Calder in the water. I’d never actually experimented too much with swimming with my tail but now that I had someone with me, maybe I could actually see how fast I could move.
    I practically ran out of the lobby, giddy to get back and show Calder the excursions I found.
    I wanted to get back to the villa as soon as possible and maybe even get a few laps in the tiny pool. Before I could get on the trail back to the villa, a short, balding man stopped me before I could get any further.
    “Excuse me, ma’am, do you speak English?” he said in a twang.
    I stopped running and slowed to halt in front of him. “Yeah. How can I help you?”
    He pulled out a map from his front pocket and held out it in front of me. “Can you tell me where this town is? I can’t make it out without my glasses.”
    I leaned over to see where he was pointing, but before I could read anything, a searing pain radiated from the back of my head and everything went dark.
     
    ***
     
    I dreamt I was drowning.
    When I woke up I was fully submerged in water. My body seethed in pain with my arms flush against the glass case I was enclosed in. I was barely able to lift my head up out of a small opening and gasped for air. Only my head could get out of the tiny opening.
    Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I looked around the room. It was a small space with four gray, dark walls and a cement floor with only a tiny window in the corner. I was in a tiny water tank, like a small shower or an actual fish tank that was standing vertical. It was barely as tall as I was and my tail curled up toward my shoulders, barely giving me any room to move.
    Automatically I reached for my necklace, but it was gone. I’d kept it on since the moment I got it, even when making love to Calder. Now I felt naked without it.
    I sucked in a deep breath and looked around, beating my tail wildly against the glass.
    Don’t panic. Don’t panic. There has to be a way out .
    “Looking for something, sweetheart?” A low voice said.
    I looked up to see the silhouette of a man and the glow of my necklace.
    It wasn’t until he stepped into the dim light of the single light bulb overhead that I recognized him as the guy from Ace’s. The one in the rugby shirt who acted like he was too good to be there.
    “What do you want with me? How did you find me? Why do you have my necklace?” I demanded.
    He laughed. “My, my, you have a lot of questions and you didn’t even answer mine.”
    He dangled the necklace in front of my face.
    “I was looking for my necklace,” I tried to keep my voice strong, but it came out in a stutter.
    He smirked. “You’re awfully cheeky for someone who I can drown just as easily as I did your father.”
    My breath caught in my throat and I stared at him open-mouthed.
    The man smirked, putting his hands behind his back. “I guess you weren’t told what happened to him? Hmmm? He wouldn’t tell me what he did with the map to your rook, so I got rid