Chapter Text
Chapter 17: Unintended Results
It had been two days but Martin had seen neither hide nor hair of his captor. Or at least, aside from that first night when Elias had sat by the poolside for nearly four hours explaining in detail how sorry he was for causing him distress and how much better his life will be under the right human’s care. The absence was starting to make him nervous and he was twitching at every sound, dreading the moment of his return.
At first Martin had wondered if Ghost’s sudden disappearance and reappearance would cause a disturbance in the Center. Instead on that first full day back, Tim and Sasha had returned and performed the usual duties like clockwork aside from a couple of lighthearted comments that he ‘looked good considering what happened.’ He hadn’t seen any change to the routine he’d enjoyed before.
Except, Jon was gone.
It wasn’t Jon’s fault. He’d been taken by the police. He’d done all he could to help Martin and it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t save him now. That’s what Martin told himself when his instinct was to snarl at the abandonment of the last man to hold his skin. He had done it because he had cared, and if Martin hadn’t been so stupid and just explained the situation from the start…
Should he have? Was there some sign of Jon’s trustworthiness that he had missed? Would a wiser selkie have known?
Regardless, Martin hadn’t. In spite of all the kindness and care Jon had shown him, Martin had doubted and Jon had paid the price. And unless something changed soon, Martin might as well.
At the first creek of the enclosure door Martin gasped and rolled into the pool with a splash. He got well across the length of it before peering up from the water and breathing a sigh of relief. It was only Sasha and Tim with a bucket that likely held his lunch.
“So who the fuck’s going to run the Center now?” Tim asked, his voice strained as he set the bucket on the floor. “Unless Bouchard’s planning to lead zoom meetings from his prison cell.”
“He’s only been arrested, he’s still got to have a trial before we find out if he’s going to prison,” Sasha said and then shook her head. “I still can’t believe it. Feels like a weird dream. Bouchard always seemed so straight-laced.”
“Well, to be fair, so did Jon,” Tim said as he leaned back against the guard rail. A part of Martin wanted him to shut up and toss the fish on the floor for him already but he held back the urge to bark in protest the moment he heard Jon’s name, instead watching Tim with rapt attention.
“Yeah but you heard Daisy. He’ll probably get released on bail and Basira’s gotten him a great lawyer since she found out what Bouchard was doing. The breaking and entering, property damage and theft charges will probably get knocked down since they aided in taking down a bigger fish,” Sasha shrugged. “He could well get off with a slap on the wrist and be back to work in a few weeks. Hell, even if he gets fined that’ll be practically nothing since I’m sure most of the staff will help him pay it.”
Tim snorted. “Bouchard won’t be that lucky though.”
“Oh no, pretty sure illegally trafficking wildlife puts you away for a while. Well, unless he buys his way out.”
“Urgh, yeah, rich people I swear…”
Martin’s eyes practically bugged out. Jon was okay? He could be back in a few weeks? And Elias was arrested too? He could feel his heart soaring. In a few weeks Jon could come back and help him! Everything would be okay!
“But that still begs the question of who’s going to be running the place now?” Tim pressed.
“Beats me. I’d assume if Bouchard loses custody stewardship might transfer to whoever holds the most shares. One of his big investors I guess, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be like Bouchard and want to run the place themselves,” Sasha hummed, “They might promote someone else to be acting Head and do the actual work. Gertrude, maybe?”
“Good luck!” Tim scoffed, “That old bird already hates her job and just uses it as an excuse to collect a paycheque while she fucks off with Mikaele on his recovery missions. I think I’ve seen her in the building once in the last six months.”
“She’s still had the most experience on staff but… you’re right she’d probably refuse it. Oh well, they might decide to run the place personally after all, we’ll have to wait and see.” Sasha picked up the bucket and Martin couldn’t stop himself salivating at the noise. “Though you know if any of our other basement friends get ‘mysteriously transferred’ I’ll be looking into it.”
“No more Michaels going missing,” Tim smirked as Sasha dumped the fish over the railing where Martin could reach them if he deigned to leave the safety of the water. “Speaking of, how’s…?”
“Oh, jelly Michael’s fine. Looked dead at first but as soon as we plopped it in a new tank it just changed colour and started swimming again. A bit less playful now but it might still be recovering from the trauma? Hard to say.” Then Sasha’s look soured. “I swear though if I ever figure out which one of those shitty cops killed Mike I’m gonna make them pay, mark my words.”
“I believe you, but you know Jon was the one who led them in there…”
“Because he was trying to stop Bouchard from selling them all to the highest bidder! Sorry Tim, I know you don’t like Jon much but he did a good thing here and I don’t blame him for a cop putting a bullet in Mike’s tank.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Tim looked out across the pool and made eye contact with Martin. “Hey Ghost, still feeling shy, huh?”
Martin didn’t answer and Tim sighed.
“Has anyone told you exactly what happened to him yet? I keep hearing new things and I don’t believe Bouchard’s ‘official’ explanation for a minute.”
“That Ghost was captured by eco-terrorists that had a change of heart and returned him? Yeah that’s bullshit,” Sasha picked up the empty bucket and headed for the door again. “Personally, I think he tried to sell him off. But the deal fell through and he thought he could just put him back in his cage without anyone asking questions.”
“Hm, maybe,” Tim said slowly, eyes still fixed on Ghost as Sasha opened the door. “Hey you know there was something weird Jon said when I saw him running with that guy and that seal skin I didn’t tell you about.”
“Tell me on the way, we’ve got six more mouths to feed before the staff meeting,” Sasha said, holding the door as Tim finally turned away and headed for it.
“Sure! Right so get this, he said Bouchard thought the skin was a selkie skin, what a load of bollocks…”
The door slammed shut leaving silence in its wake. Martin hiccoughed and began to swim for the shore and the fish lying beyond it. He had a lot to think about combating the swell of hope and joy in his chest knowing Bouchard was vanquished and Jon would soon be back, and he knew he’d need his strength for it.
*
As the rest of the day passed by Martin felt hope swell in his chest. He even waddled over to Tim and Sasha when they visited again for dinner, much to their delight as he accepted their petting and cooing with the same grace and pleasure he had before his escape.
Jon would come back and get him home to the sea like he promised. Martin could enjoy the attention all he wished, not caring a whit as Sasha mentioned he would likely be moved to the outdoor enclosure soon. Jon knew where that was as well as he knew this room. It didn’t matter where he was as long as Jon could reunite with him.
As Martin floated on the surface of his pool enjoying the last rays of evening sun through the high window, he began to imagine that fateful reunion. First the red light of the camera would go dark, and then Jon would appear. He would smile, and wave to him to come out of the water. He would say Melanie’s car was waiting, and hold one of Georgie’s dresses to clothe him as they ran from this place.
Martin would rise from the water, take off his skin and go to him, wrap him up in his arms, smother his face in kisses while Jon ran his hands through his hair… Martin would let him touch his skin and he would with reverence. Gentle but firm and then would insist Martin carry it himself.
They would go to the sea and Jon would watch him from the shore as he returned there, and would startle when Martin came back to shore as a seal. He’d be wet with foam and Jon would kneel beside and hold him, and Martin would pepper his face with more kisses to reassure him of his return before disappearing into the waves.
And then he would be back. Once they were sure Elias couldn’t get him again, Martin would come back to visit Jon. It would be like all his little daydreams from before but better, because Jon would know who he was already and Martin could trust him to bring him back to the sea. He could lie his skin out on the sofa and sleep in Jon’s bed. Just lie in safety with his husband, his love…
Martin jerked and his head slipped beneath the water where he shook himself violently. His love? Did he… did he love Jon?
He barely asked himself the question before certainty gripped him. He did. He loved Jon. He wanted to stay with him, to be with him. Perhaps it would be alright to give Jon his skin once they were safe, ask him to hide it so the sea wouldn’t call him back and he could just… stay with him. Jon would still give it back if Martin asked, he knew that now. Perhaps if Martin simply placed the skin in a box and gave it to Jon without him touching it, it could be hidden and they wouldn’t even have to worry about orders given by accident!
His mother would call him an idiot for thinking any of this, of course. She’d remind him that humans weren’t to be trusted, weren’t to be loved. She had given away her skin for love of a man and been abandoned by him. Left alone, saddled with a human baby and bills and mortgages and employment, and had to navigate the human world alone while the sea screamed for her to return. But she had to stay ashore, if only to ensure a final victory that the child might be raised to hate him and humanity as much as she did.
So much for that wish, but Martin could almost hear her dire words now.
“That’s the real evil of humans.”
They stood on the edge of a beach as she spoke. They watched as said humans laid out on blankets in the sand and ran happily in and out of the water as if they too were of both worlds.
“They will kidnap you, beat you, and manipulate you. They’ll do everything in their power to rip the love and loyalty out of your skin by force. But if you give yourself freely, they lose interest quickly. They only want love only if it’s a chase. Their love is not kindness and every promise they will make you will be broken the moment they find something new to hunt and control.”
“That’s what my father was like?” Martin asked, a young selkie of twelve. Only a few more short years and his skin, too, would become embedded with the magic of selkie marriage and forge a lasting link to the humans who might hold it. Then he would be an adult and his mother would leave him to fate.
“Yes,” his mother said shortly, “Heed well, humans don’t know kindness. Neither your skin nor your heart must fall prey to their lies. That you do not have to live among them like so many children of stolen selkies have before, and that you live as a seal now is a miracle. Do not dare throw that away for foolish love.”
“I won’t,” Martin had said, and at that moment he believed it was the truth.
But now, oh, now that Jon had risked so much to save him, had promised his freedom… his mother had been wrong. Gloriously, wonderfully wrong! In his joy, Martin began turning spirals and loops under the water, doing laps of utter happiness.
Jon was more than Martin could have hoped for, and he was coming, and they would be together! He could return to the sea and have Jon waiting for him when he came back and he could show him more human things, and Martin could share knowledge of the sea with him, and everything would be-
Martin’s head breached the surface and his movement and thoughts stopped dead.
There was a man standing on the edge of the pool that Martin had never seen before. He wore a long black coat over a pale blue sweater, with what looked oddly like a ship captain’s hat perched on his head. His hair was white and his pale eyes were wide and empty as smile made his bushy beard twitch minutely.
“So, you must be the selkie I’ve heard so much about,” the man said, continuing to smile blandly.
Martin continued to stare at the man, hardly daring to move.
“The name’s Peter Lukas. Elias has asked that I look after his Center and investments while he’s away. Of course I’m sure he means to make sure you stay nice and locked up here since he also wanted me to terminate one Jonathan Sims’s employment and access to this facility.”
The man started to circle the edge of the pool and Martin watched him with his hackles slowly rising. Something was wrong with this man. Elias was scary, to be sure. But this man, in spite of his light and airy speech, moved like a predator and smelled dangerous.
“Of course, I don’t see the need for that. After all, this Sims boy only seems to be interested in protecting Elias’s investments himself, and if he’s trouble it’s probably better to keep him working somewhere easy to keep an eye on him. But that still presents a little tricky problem regarding you, doesn’t it?”
Martin swallowed hard and sank lower in the water. This man was muscular, broad shoulders and a scar on his cheek. If he tried to run he’d surely be caught and he couldn’t shake the feeling that if this man caught him he would eat him alive.
“But then of course I realized there’s an easy solution to that! The Lukas family’s been keeping our own private menagerie for generations. Plenty of room for one more!”
Martin’s heart began thudding faster in his chest and he let out a whine mirroring his growing distress.
“So that’s what we’ll be doing! I thought about trying to make you give up that skin of yours here, but that seems silly when I can just have you officially transferred to a ‘small private facility’ with all the above board documentation. Besides, not like I need your skin if I’ve got a cage, do I? Elias was always complicating simple things like this, I swear. Honestly you’re lucky I’m stealing you away from him. I’m sure I can find a better use for you than a silly little pet.”
No. No no no. This couldn’t be happening. Not now. Not when things were finally getting better.
“It was Martin, wasn’t it? I think I’ll leave that little Ghost moniker aside, no need to pretend we don’t know what’s going on here, hm? I figured I’d let you know what was happening in case you’d like to give up your skin now and save yourself a bit of humiliation.”
Martin continued to watch Peter, dumbstruck and terrified. The man tutted and pulled out his phone, pressing something on the screen.
“Well, it’ll be the hard way then,” Peter said with an undercurrent of glee.
Then the enclosure door screeched open for the last time. A number of people in dark clothes entered pushing a large trolley, not unlike the one Jon had once used to move him into this very room months before. They encircled the pool. One held a needle. Another had a net.
As the humans closed in, Martin's eyes grew big and wet. He splashed backward, trying to center himself in the pool and began to bark loudly, hoping against hope that Tim, Sasha, anyone would hear him and save him from this.
The net stretched out as he screeched and dove underwater, but not fast enough to avoid it. He was entangled and scraped roughly against the side of the pool as he was dragged up on shore, thrashing and spitting and biting until something familiar pinched the flesh at his neck.
As darkness edged across his vision, he held onto the memory of Jon’s face, just after he kissed him. That dazed, happy little smile as Martin turned back into a seal before his eyes.
Please, Jon, Martin thought desperately as many hands lifted him, moved him as they pleased. Please don’t let them take me.
But Jon wasn’t there. He was being taken, and no one could help him now.
To Be Continued