She kept her eyes on the ocean almost hoping she would see her father again but that wouldn"t happen. She told him to leave and that"s what she wanted, she wanted him and their family safe.

Her eyes broke from the water when the sh.o.r.eline came into view.

"What are we supposed to do with him?" Marty asked as the boat slowed down enough for them to speak to each other without shouting. Denise gently guided the boat to the dock before she answered him.

"I have an idea, but we need to get him to my lab." She said in a tone that Darya and Marty had never heard from her.

They tied the boat up and together they dragged Johnson out of the boat and onto the deck as well. Denise"s dune buggy was just over the sh.o.r.e waiting for them. It was just big enough to seat the four of them whether or not one of them was forced into the seat or not. Denise jumped into the driver"s seat and turned the key before the buggy lurched into motion and headed down the sh.o.r.e and to the designated road.

Night had fallen nearly an hour before they reached the lab giving them the cover they needed. The three of them lifted Johnson out of the buggy and carried him to the doors of the lab. Stopping so Denise could unlock the door with her badge she kept on her at all times.

The scurried over to the exam table Darya was on not too long ago getting her legs sc.r.a.pped and tested. Now it was his turn to be tested on.

"Darya, go over to that fridge and get a clean syringe, medium gauged needle." She asked her before they laid Johnson on the table and secured his arms and legs.

"How are we going to do this Denise? He knows too much, what"s this idea you have?" Marty started, almost sounding like Ramon, she could have sworn Ramon was standing behind her when he did.

"There"s something we"ve been tracking and attempting to splice, so to speak, with others of its kind. It"s a algae, and we"ve created a form of it that is poisonous. But in a small enough dose it can cause memory loss." She explained while walking over to the algae tank. She looked at the coral and other items that lived in the large examination tank.

"They budded not long after you left for the summer and we were lucky enough to catch it and take the buds to another tank. The combination we created is what I"m going to use now. I need that syringe." She asked Darya over her shoulder while looking at the one specific algae they needed.

"I took samples of it not too long ago and stored them in this much smaller tank. If I can extract a tiny amount with a saline solution then we can inject it and his short-term memory should be wiped. In theory." She ended on a not so good note, the kids were worried this wouldn"t work but they had to trust in Denise at the moment.

They watched Denise walk from one table to another without another word. Marty walked closer to Darya who just stared at Johnson laying on the table across from them.

"I"m sorry this is happening, sorry your trip was cut short and for the b.a.s.t.a.r.d that ratted you out." As if his words were magic, in walked Tyler looking like he caught them red handed.

"What are you guys doing in my step dad"s lab?" Tyler asked the room and when his eyes landed on Darya"s his widened in shock.

"You!" She shouted and stomped over to him in a fury the other two had never seen before.

"You"re the reason he went after my father and me, you"re the reason I had to send him away!" She screamed at him and ripped her shoulders away from Marty"s grip that had come over her in a matter of seconds after she stormed away from him when Tyler walked in.

"What are you talking about, Darya? How do you know my stepdad?" He asked in an innocent tone. She didn"t believe his tone but stood down for the time being.

"Wait, is that him on the table? What"s going on here?" Tyler asked in an accusing tone.

"Visiting your grandparents, huh? If you"re from around here why have I never seen you at school?" Darya asked pointedly while giving him a good glare.

"Because, before the summer I have been living with my father but he pa.s.sed recently so I took the summer to visit my grandparents, his parents, and prepared myself to move in with my mother and her husband. How is that any of your business, by the way? I want answers." His tone was changing and none of them liked it.

Denise, on the other hand, was busying herself sticking a needle in Johnson"s arm and injecting him with the poison.

"It"s done," Denise spoke up making the kids turn and look at her.

"What did you do to him?" Tyler asked. No one said a word to him and as the awkward silence blanketed the room.

A sudden wheeze echoed through the room making everyone jump in surprise.

"Where am I?" Johnson spoke out from the table. Denise walked around the table to face and test the experiment.

"Good evening Johson, how do you feel?" She tested the waters and watched how he reacted when he looked around the room and gazed over Darya all together giving them a hint that it may have worked.

"Groggy, like I"ve been asleep for the entire summer." He laughed out making the tension in the room relax a bit, except for Tyler. He stared at everyone in the room as the secret they were all trying to keep hung over them, about to break at any moment.

"Was I in an accident?" He asked Denise. This was her moment to make something up.

"What do you remember?" She asked hoping it was the answer they needed.

"You were in the lab late at night, looking at slides I think. You left in a hurry and I put the rocks and sh.e.l.ls I found up in my office. I went home and then that"s it. What day is it?" He asked and everyone in the room took a collective sigh of relief, aside from Tyler who still wanted to know what was going on.

"You were out looking for more coral for our tank and from the reports, it seems like you slipped and knocked yourself out. We can go to Ramon and get a CAT scan done to make sure there isn"t permanent damage. You"ve missed a few months." Denise lied through her teeth and held her breath until he believed it.

"Wow, yeah I should go get a scan done. Make sure the heads not gonna crack." He turned to the kids and looked at Tyler in shock.

"Ty, you aren"t supposed to be here, I guess I"ve missed more than I thought." He mumbled to himself making Denise chuckle under her breath. Everything worked, their secret was safe again. Now, the only loose string was Tyler.