Valery Mironov sat forward, his face growing serious. “But I don’t think we alone were drawn from that primordial world. I have been following events along the west coast. I think we have a problem, and that’s why I called for you.”

Jack nodded. “Yes, we believe one of the Megalodon sharks was released into our seas. It’s made its way down to the coast of California, guided by some sort of genetically stored memory, and is now hunting… us. So far, over a dozen boats have been lost, with men, women, and children taken. We need to do something about it.”

Mironov sat stone still, watching them. Sonya looked briefly at an expensive gold watch on her wrist. “And you would like Valery to donate some money to assist in catching this big fish?”

“Catch it?” Cate’s mind took her back to a presentation she gave her students; it felt, a lifetime ago. She remembered telling them that there were some creatures that don’t deserve to exist – they’re aliens, deadly invaders, she had told them. And if they can’t be moved on, then eradication was the only solution. “No, not catch it…” Cate’s eyes welled up as she saw Greg Jamison’s face as he swam for his life, just before he was eaten alive. “I want it dead.”

Mironov looked towards his huge fish tank. “It is a species unlike any other.”

Cate launched herself forward. “It’s a fucking monster.”

Sonya stepped in front of Valery Mironov, her eyes suddenly going flint hard.

Jack pulled Cate back onto the couch. She grimaced, and continued to lean towards Mironov, who still watched the dinosaur eels snake around the blue tank.

“Valery, when I first met you, right here in this room, you said something that now rings true more than ever. You said sometimes evolution tries things out. Sometimes they don’t work out, and then even God himself realizes he has made a mistake.”

Valery turned to her then, and Cate went on. “And you said, when a mistake is realized, then these things get cancelled out. Well, this Megalodon monster was cancelled out over one and a half million years ago, for a damned good reason. It’s a killer, and it will either keep on killing until they day it dies, or we retreat from the waterways.”

Valery’s eyes were unblinking, and Cate wondered whether he was even listening now. After another moment, he sighed. “In the submersible, Dmitry and I were attacked. We only just survived. But in that few minutes, I looked into the maw of the devil himself.” He began to nod slowly. “I agree, this creature was cancelled to make way for others. It has no right to be here now.”