Jack was on the verge of quitting his job. He had come in that afternoon and immediately had to grapple with John Olsen, who had somehow made it past the guards at the entrance and was trying to find the mermaids. Jack had found the large man at the water's edge, throwing jewelry into the water. Mr. Olsen had fought back when Jack had tried to take him away from the beach, and now Jack had a large bruise on his jaw. Then he had ventured over to that inlet by the cliffs to see if he could find Cora, and he found her. She was having some kind of picnic and getting all cozy with that Mason Harper guy. Jack had only watched them for a few seconds before he couldn't stand it anymore. He had stomped off to the jungle and yelled at some little girls for jumping too high on the trampoline moss. They had run away in tears and he felt bad for scolding them so harshly, but when he tried to go apologize, he couldn't find them anywhere.
He sat down on a tree stump and held his head in his hands. Why did I ever take this job? He thought. He knew why. It was because of Cora. But what kind of person chooses employment just so they can be close to a girl they hardly know like some kind of creep? No wonder she preferred that other guy.
"Hey Jack."
Jack started as Tink's voice crackled through his earpiece. "What?" He yelled.
"Whoa, somebody's having a bad day."
Jack blew out a breath. "I'm sorry, Tink. You just startled me, and I haven't gotten a lot of sleep..."
"Oh, I see why you're upset," Tink interrupted. "That dark-haired boy just can't stay away. Tough break."
Jack rolled his eyes. Of course Tink knew. She could see everything.
"For what it's worth, I think that guy is... lame," Tink said with a little chuckle.
Jack groaned. "Let's just not talk about it. What do you need me to do?"
"There are a couple young men testing the perimeter at the jungle-forest border."
"Alright, I'll check it out," Jack said as he stood up. He was suddenly grateful for something to do. He needed a distraction from his thoughts.
Jack found the two guys Tink had described as they were trying to climb a tree to get over the fence.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Jack called out as he approached.
The young men hopped down from the tree and faced Jack. They didn't look very sheepish about trying to break the rules. Rather, they looked defiant.
"We're looking for someone," the larger of the two said, coming closer to Jack than he thought was necessary.
"Well, there's no one back there," Jack replied, gesturing at the fence, "just animals and trees."
"Does Lily Thaman work here?"
Jack frowned at the sudden change of question and the gleam of malice in the young man's eyes.
The other boy piped up. "Short girl, long brown hair, moves like a tiger."
Jack nodded. He remembered Slightly saying something about her. "Yeah. She's in the medic's tent by the arena."
The boys shared a sly look and then headed off in the opposite direction.
Jack shook his head at the odd exchange. Maybe he'd tell Tink to keep an eye on those boys. Something about them made him nervous.