Austin was pleased to see that he could get under Barker's cold skin. “I've heard the Kiolyan women smell like rancid whale blub- ber,” he said.

Zavala sensed the opening and joined in. “Actually, they smell worse,” he said. “That's why these goons prefer their own male com- pany.”

“Insult us all you want,” Barker said. “Your feeble repartee is the ranting of the doomed. My men are a brotherhood, like the warrior monks of the past.”

Austin's mind was racing madly. Barker was right. He and Joe could summon up every insult possible, but they were still two un- armed men against several well-armed guards. He would have to try to change the equation. It took some willpower to do so, but he yawned and said, “What about that tour you promised?”

“How rude of me to forget.”

Barker led the way onto a raised catwalk running down the mid- dle of the chamber. The sound of bubbling water came from both sides, but the source of the noise was hidden by darkness. Barker re- placed the sunglasses on his head and gave an order to one of his men. A second later, the chamber was flooded in a blue light that came from fish tanks on both sides and a couple of feet below the catwalk. The tanks were flush to the floor and were covered with sliding transparent plastic lids that allowed a view of the huge fish swim- ming inside.

“You look puzzled, Mr. Austin.”

“Another miscalculation on my part. I thought your fish were being held at your coastal operation where they would have access to salt water.”

“These are no ordinary fish,” Barker said with pride in his voice. “They are designed to survive in salt or fresh water. The seed fish are improvements on the models I developed with Dr. Throckmorton. They are slightly larger and more aggressive than ordinary fish. Per- fect breeding machines. The airship will fly within feet of the ocean's surface, and they will slide down special chutes built into the belly of the zeppelin.” He spread his arms the way he had done at his pep rally. “Behold my creations. Soon, these beautiful creatures will be swimming in the sea.”

“Where your monsters will create incredible havoc,” Austin said.

“Monsters? I think not. I've simply used my genetic-engineering skills to produce a better commercial product. There's nothing ille- gal about it.”

“Murder is illegal.” “Spare us your pitiful indignation. There were many casualties before you came onto the scene. There will be many more obstacles to be removed.” He crossed to the tanks on the other side of the fish hold. “These are my special pets. I wanted to see how large and hun- gry I could make an ordinary fish. They are too aggressive for breed- ing purposes. They are separated by sluice gates now so they don't at- tack each other.”