Chapter 16

BARKLEY CHURNED FURIOUSLY THROUGH THE dark waters. The

homewaters of the Goblin Shiver, and more importantly, Slaggernacks

Cove, were now behind him. "Stupid wahoo and their stupid game!" he

muttered to himself. Barkley couldn't believe Gray had laughed with all the

others. Sure, Gray was better than he was at Tuna Roll, but that was no

reason to make fun of your best friend. I'll bet plenty sharks aren't good at

it, he thought. Although, even Snork had gotten closer than he had to

catching a wahoo. How could they be so fast? Oh, how Barkley would have

loved to have seen the surprised look on Wisko's face if he'd caught her!

"The honor is all mine," he'd tell her and then, crunch! Barkley shook his

head. Keep dreaming, doggie breath.

He was wandering aimlessly when the others found him. Gray wasn't

with them.

"Are you okay?" Mari asked, concerned.

"You kind of expect it from the wahoos; they're weird. But from your

own shiver? That's cold," added Shell as Striiker nodded in agreement

behind him.

Snork patted Barkley on the back with his fin. "Thanks for sticking up

for me."

Barkley was so grateful for his new friends that he felt as though he was

going to tear up. It was bad enough everyone saw him cry on his way out of

Slaggernack's. "You guys are the best," he croaked, trying to make sure his

voice didn't crack too much. "I wish we'd never been caught by Goblin.

And not just because of today." Barkley sniffled. "I think it was much better

when we were Rogue Shiver." Where was Gray? How could he not be

here?

"You and me both, Barkley," said Striiker. "So what are we going to do

about it?" He gave a pointed look at Mari.

"You're serious?" she asked. "Goblin will never let us leave."

"I'm not saying we should ask for permission," Striiker told the

thresher. "Do you all still accept me as your leader?" Barkley didn't quite

know what was going on. But if he was going to be led, he'd rather Striiker

do it than Goblin.

They all nodded, Mari hesitantly. "Why are you asking?"

"I'll challenge him."

"Are you crazy?!" Snork blurted out.

Shell agreed. "Why are you so anxious to swim the Sparkle Blue?"

Striiker stubbornly whipped his tail back and forth. "I can take him."

Barkley shook his head. "Look, no one wants to leave more than me,

but why fight at all? Why not just go?"

"Where?" Striiker asked. "The Sific? It's a long trip."

"And it could be worse than here," added Mari. "No, if we're going to

do anything, we should go back to our old place at the landshark wreck.

They don't know where it is."

"But," Shell said, "they'd find us." The group knew this was true. If

they left the shiver without permission and were caught again, it would be

certain death.

"Let's not do anything hasty," Barkley said. "No fighting. No leaving.

Who knows, maybe Goblin will go to the Sparkle Blue at the Tuna Run."

"Now that's a thought," Striiker mused, a faraway look in his eyes.

Mari got in Striiker's face. "Don't do anything stupid! Do. Not." She

stared at the great white until he nodded.

"Someone will have to stand up to Goblin one day," he told Mari.

"We're just putting it off."

Barkley didn't want to fight the great white or his shiver. That wasn't

the way to find his family, if they were still alive. It wasn't a way to remain

alive, either. "Look, we all know I didn't eat during the game, so I'm going

to take a swim and hunt," Barkley said. "Thanks for coming, all of you. I'll

meet you later. You're good friends."

"Unlike Gray," Striiker said under his breath. But everyone heard. The

four swam back to the Goblin Shiver homewaters.

A short time later Barkley spied a few fat mackerel feeding on sardines.

He zoomed in and caught one, picturing Wisko instead. "Oh, please,

Barkley, your teeth are so sharp!" he imagined the wahoo crying. That

would serve her right. He pursued another mackerel into the low greenie but

lost the fish.

Keep dreaming about catching a wahoo, dog breath, he told himslef.

You can't even catch a stupid mackerel.

It was then he heard voices. Barkley moved forward slowly, not

disturbing the sand or leaving a trail as he swam through the kelp bed. He

peered through the feathery strands of blue and red greenie while hovering

with the tide.

"You like how I piled on?" the voice asked. Barkley stalked forward to

get a better look but remained wellhidden. It was Thrash.

Then a female voice sighed, irritated, "Fine, it was funny. But we have

more important things to do."

"Like that little muck-sucker didn't deserve it!" Thrash huffed. "He's

always looking down on me, like he thinks I'm stupid or something."

Barkley's eyes popped open in surprise as he hadn't given Thrash credit for

being smart enough to know he thought that. Apparently he was mistaken

and had made a large tiger shark into an angry enemy.

"We have to get along for now," the female voice said. The tide pushed

Barkley ever so slightly. Instead of correcting, he let it ease him sideways.

This gave him a different angle which revealed—Velenka! The mako

continued, "You can annoy his friends, but don't hurt them."

So the whole thing was a setup? Were the wahoo in on it, too? No,

Barkley thought, he was just really bad at Tuna Roll. But what was the rest

about?

"I don't know why we're going through all this trouble just to get some

fat pup on our side," Thrash said. "I think we should just eat them instead."

"You're not supposed to think about anything; you do what I tell you to

do!"

Barkley got very worried. The fat pup was Gray! Not that he was fat, of

course—just big cartilaged. They were planning to use his friend in some

scheme! He strained to listen as the tide shifted, carrying their voices away.

Thrash looked confused. "You mean I should do what Goblin tells you

to tell me to do, right?"

The pretty mako became all sweetness and light. "Of course. And

you're doing a great job. You'll be first in the Line for sure. But for now

we've got to keep this a secret. So, did you pass the message to Kilo?"

"Yeah, I did. Streak would blow her top if she knew we were dealing

with the bulls," he said. "This deal is rotten."

Velenka looked as if she wanted to eat the tiger's liver. She kept her

temper under control, but her tail twitched with a lethal anger. "Don't talk

about the deal, Thrash. Ever."

The tiger shark edged away. Even he was smart enough to be wary.

"Sure, sure, Velenka. Whatever you say." The pair swam off in different

directions, Thrash toward the homewaters and Velenka away from them.

What was Goblin up to? Was Velenka playing her own game? How was

Gray involved? All of these questions and a dozen others rolled through

Barkley's mind as he slowly made his way back into what he now

considered an enemy camp.

"How did it go?" asked Goblin.

Velenka nodded, smiling as she swam over. "It's done."

They swam the open waters in silence for a while. The mako knew not

to speak just now. Goblin was irritated, and when he was irritated, he was

liable to lash out at anyone. "It feels like I'm betraying everything the

shiver stands for," he said quietly. "My mother would have never have

agreed to this. Neither would Hawley."

This needed to be handled gently. Ever since Hawley's death, it was

Velenka's duty to be Goblin's confidante. This was exactly the way she

wanted it. Velenka was glad Hawley swam the Sparkle Blue. What would

Goblin do if he ever found out that she had helped him get there?

A thrill ran down Velenka's spine at the thought of the thin current she

was swimming. Everything was in her reach. Everything! "Your mother

was a great shark," she began. "She led us well for years. And Hawley was

a great friend."

"You got that right," Goblin replied.

Velenka stroked his back with her tail. "But times are different. You

know that."

"Stupid landsharks and their giant nets," Goblin grumbled. "They

sweep the Big Blue clear, and we're left to fight for scraps."

"And that's why what you're doing is right. You're leading us to

victory." Velenka scraped against his flank the way he liked. "When the

bulls are under your control, think how many more territories you can

conquer!" Velenka saw that the thought appealed to him, but then his mood

darkened once more.

"I'd rather it be a stand-up fight," Goblin told her.

Not this again! "We don't have the strength."

The big white whirled. "Then Razor and I, one-on-one, like the old

days! There's honor in that!" Velenka was silent for a fin flick too long.

"You don't think I can beat him? Is that it?"

"Of course I do," she soothed. "But what if you were injured during

your noble fight? What if he gets lucky and takes a piece of your tail?"

"I wouldn't be able to lead. Ripper or someone else would come at me

for being weak," he agreed grudgingly.

"And your plans—who would see them through?" Velenka asked with

all the sincerity she could muster. Pfah! She hated playing fawning fish to

his "great leader." But for now, it had to be done.

"Many of them were your ideas, Velenka," he growled.

Did he suspect? No, this was a lucky strike. "I only agreed with what

was on your mind, Goblin," she told him with a smile. "Can anyone really

make you do something you don't want to?"

Now the great white laughed. "Not likely!"

The tension in her spine released with an almost audible whoosh in her

ears. She could always count on Goblin's opinion of himself being very

high. They swam onward, and she was forced to listen to him prattle on. For

now.