Chapter 37

The Denver Aquarium is owned by a restaurant chain. The Carters had reserved the entire place for two parties, one held at lunch time and the other held at dinner time. The lunch time party was to allow employees of the Fusion Foundation, fellow students, and neighbors a chance to interact with the newlyweds. The dinner time party was for executives, business types, and elected officials. Perhaps it was because of the years spent living in the desert, but the entire family looked forward to spending the entire day at the aquarium.

William and Lucy entered the first area of tanks looking at the fish with wonder. Standing in front of an aquarium filled with brightly colored fish was incredibly relaxing. William slipped an arm around Lucy and said, "I'd like to have some fish like this at home."

"I know what you mean. Look at that blue one," Lucy said pointing to a blue tang.

His eyes followed the fish moving slowly among the coral. The slow motion and subtle movement was almost hypnotic. William said, "I never knew that an aquarium was like this."

"You've never been to an aquarium?"

"No. With Betsy around, it just wasn't safe," William answered. He paused for a moment, slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand, and shouted, "Where's Betsy?"

The sudden excitement startled Lucy. She jumped back and said, "I don't know."

"We've got to find her before it is too late!"

Lucy followed William down the hall. They ran into Dan Biggerstaff who was examining an aquarium with a transparent shrimp. William asked, "Where's Betsy?"

"I don't know."

"Find her and get her out of here!" William shouted as he raced past the tanks.

"What's the matter?" Lucy called after him.

"The sharks!"

A disturbance attracted William's attention. He raced in the direction of the raised voices and came to a halt when he spotted Betsy swimming naked in the shark tank. The sharks had completely surrounded her. William froze and stared at the sight. Kelly was beside herself. She was livid at her daughter for swimming in the aquarium tank while being concerned for her daughter's safety. The fact that she was naked only compounded the problems her actions would cause. Turning to William, she asked, "What is she doing?"

"She found her totem," William said in a flat factual voice.

Confused by the tone of voice when giving his answer, Kelly looked at William and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Look at the sharks. Sharks are continually moving. They never stop. Who do you know who is that way?"

"Betsy," Kelly said. Her eyes widened while she stared at the tank seeing what William meant. Betsy was swimming with the sharks, not around the sharks or amidst them. They were swimming with her as if she were a shark. In a weak voice, she said, "Oh my."

"Exactly. She's not coming out until she has to come out. Any attempt to force her out will result in an attack on the person trying to get her," William said as he watched Betsy swim past his position once again. Her eyes had that same flat dullness present in the eyes of the sharks with which she swam.

Lucy had finally caught up to William and stared at Betsy. She glanced at Kelly trying to assess her reaction to her daughter's actions. She knew that the one who would have the strongest reaction would be Ling. She sidled over to William and asked, "What's going to happen when Ling gets here?"

"She's going to decide that I'm her favorite child," William answered with a grin. Lucy giggled.

A low growl announced the approach of Ling. The closer she got, the louder it was and the quieter everyone else became. William looked back down the hallway and watched her approach. He watched Ling while she glared at Betsy swimming past with the sharks. Her face tightened and she started towards the tank.

Knowing what she was intending, William said, "Don't."

"Don't tell me don't," Ling growled.

"You'll kill her if you do that," William said.

Ling froze and stared at William before turning to stare at the tank. Just one blow would drain the tank. She looked back at William trying to decide if it was worth her time to argue with him. Frustrated she asked, "Why?"

"Think about what will happen inside there when you bust out the side," William said.

Ling growled and nodded her head. She said, "Get her out of there and into some clothes."

"Can't do that," William said.

A man, obviously management of the aquarium, came storming over to them and asked, "What is she doing in there? Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"She is swimming with the sharks and is in no danger," William answered. Pointing to a man getting prepared to enter the tank, he said, "That man, however, is in a great deal of danger."

"Why?"

"The sharks will tear him apart," William answered shaking his head disturbed by the mental image. He said, "For all intents and purposes, Betsy is a shark."

The man, who was about to get into the tank, suddenly backed away from the edge. After three minutes he joined the manager in front of the tank and said, "They just ate one of the other fish in the tank. The girl was right in there with them. This is not normal. They are in hunting mode and I'm not going in there."

"What about the girl?" the manager asked.

"She seems safe enough for now," answered the man. His eyes followed Betsy swimming past and a shiver went down his spine. He had never seen anything like that in his life.

Turning to Ling, the manager demanded, "This is a family place. We can't have a naked girl swimming in our tanks. Get her out of there."

Giving the man a cold look, William said, "It is a private party. Allow us to worry about the reactions of our guests."

A group of sharks broke off and started swarming along a section of glass. Noticing the sudden activity, William looked over in that direction to see what was going on. It was clear that the sharks were agitated. It took him a moment to notice a man who was standing in front of the tank staring at Betsy. William didn't recognize him, but recognized the manner in which he was staring at Betsy. He walked over to the man ignoring the manager's protests at his exit.

Grabbing the man and putting him in an arm lock, he marched the man away from the aquarium. When they were out of sight of the tank, William said, "If I ever catch you looking at a young woman like that again, I will personally rip your throat out."

The man stared at William without recognizing with whom he was speaking. He said, "I'll tell the host that you're making threats."

William raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Within seconds, Ed Biggers, Ling, and Claire came over to him. Without looking over at his father, William said, "This man is a pedophile. Would you find out who he is, who he has molested, and make sure that the proper authorities get that information?"

Looking over at the man, a shudder of revulsion went through Ed's body. Voice tight, he said, "Consider it done."

The man turned to see who was speaking. He may not have recognized William, but he recognized Ed Biggers. He licked his lips and looked around wildly in a last ditch hope of escaping. That hope was short lived when Ling said, "You might get one step away, but I assure you that your odds drop to zero for the second step."

He looked at Claire thinking he could get past her. She showed her pistol and said, "Try it."

Without taking her eyes off the man, Ling said, "William, why don't you take care of your sister? We'll take care of the trash."

William looked over at the shark tank. He said, "Grandfather is over there now. He'll take care of watching over my sister. Betsy will come out in a couple of hours. If you don't mind, I'll get Lucy and meet our guests."

"Go ahead."

William returned to Lucy. She was talking with Reverend Leroy Jones. William was in time to hear the older man say, "The news about the mystery man who is to bring peace to the Middle East is out. The Rabbi announced it earlier today and the press caught up with me on the way in here."

Looking over at William, Lucy asked, "So what happens next?"

"The press decides that I'm the one," William answered shrugging his shoulders. He looked over in the direction of the bodyguards and said, "We're going to need them more than ever now."

Putting his hand on his grandson's shoulder, he said, "I'm sorry William. I knew it was coming. We've been spreading the word among the other religious leaders, but the message hasn't been getting out to the people who need to know. He jumped the gun a little, but it needed to be done."

"I know," William said, "and I don't blame him. If you remember, I did predict it would happen now."

"Yes, you did. I still think it is a shame that you have to have your honeymoon in Oklahoma because of it."

Frowning at the comment about Oklahoma, Lucy asked, "Everyone keeps saying that they are surprised by our choice. What's wrong with Oklahoma? I can't wait to get there and go camping."

"William, you chose the right woman to share your life. I wish your grandmother could be here to meet her."

"Tell grandma that I love her," William said at the reminder. The woman had lost enough calcium in her bones as a result of her osteoporosis that she was unable to travel. Even simple turbulence in an airplane could break her bones.

"She knows, William. She knows. Now go visit your guests. This is supposed to be a wedding party. Even Jesus enjoyed a good wedding party."

Putting an arm around Lucy, William said, "We have been lousy hosts so far."

"It's your fault," she replied in a very factual voice.

Surprised by the charge, William asked, "Why?"

"You're the husband. It's always your fault," Lucy answered trying hard to keep a straight face. She managed for about two seconds and then burst out laughing.

William led her to the restaurant to make a circuit around the room. They greeted people from the various offices of the Fusion Foundation. He had met most of them in the past, but there were just too many people to keep track of all their names. He was about to give up when Happy Harry came over. Somehow, the old man knew everyone there. He provided names for William and Lucy without being too obvious about it. Between guests, Harry told jokes and funny stories.

It seemed to Lucy that every woman in the building had stolen his heart at one time or another. At least that is what he told each woman when talking to her. Despite having spent a lot of time around Harry, Lucy couldn't believe how easily he teased and flirted with all the women. They ate up his corny lines that were fresh only because they hadn't been used in fifty years.

It was almost three hours later when an excited Betsy came bouncing up to William and Lucy. Her hair was wet. Her clothes clung to her wet body. There was a wild look in her eyes. So excited that she was almost vibrating, she asked, "Why didn't you take me to an aquarium before now? Did you see those beautiful sharks? Aren't they great? Where can I get some for the swimming pool at home? Do you think the moms and dads will let me have a couple of them?"