"Rikki!" Zane slammed the front door so that she would hear his arrival. "Rikki, where are you?" Frantically he searched the house, checking even the kitchen, her least favorite spot. "Rikki!" Panic surged through his veins. They had gotten her too.

"Zane! What the hell? Why are you yelling?" Rikki yelled from the bathroom.

"Oh, thank God," Zane said as he barged into the room. There she was, in all her glory, yellow scales and fin hanging over the bathtub. The first time he had seen her tail flashed before his eyes. Inwardly he laughed at himself. Back then, he felt crazy just to believe in mermaids, let alone now be living with one. He knelt next to her and pressed her hand to his face.

Rikki pulled her hand away. "Zane, explain yourself."

He took a deep breath. "I'm just so glad you're safe. I, uh, maybe I should let you dry off."

"No," Rikki glared at him, "why wouldn't I be safe?"

He stared at her anxiously, knowing what this news would do to her. "I, uh, I was at work, and you know most of what I see is classified, but this . . ." Closing his eyes, he saw that beaten and bruised face, those blue eyes, pleading for help.

"Zane!" Rikki yelled.

"It was Melissa, Rikki. They, my work, they have her. They're running tests, experiments. Her body . . . her tail . . . They're torturing her."

Rikki stared at him in shock. He could see her eyebrows scrunch together and her nose wrinkle. She tried to speak multiple times, but no sound came out. He could almost read her mind: He was crazy, mistaken, he hadn't been getting enough sleep with all the traveling. But Zane knew what he saw. He was sure. Then, finally, she spoke, "we have to call the others."