The Swarm by Frank Schätzing

need me.’
    â€˜Look!’ Greywolf pointed in the direction of the beluga pool. ‘They need you. It makes me sick to see you here, getting cosy with a pair of captives . If you’re not keeping them locked up, you’re hounding them down. Every time you people take the tourists out in your boats you’re hastening their death.’
    â€˜Tell me, Jack, are you a vegetarian?’
    â€˜What?’ Greywolf squinted at him.
    â€˜I was wondering whom they’d skinned to make your jacket.’ He walked on.
    Greywolf hurried after him. ‘That’s different. Indians havealways lived in harmony with nature. They used the skins of the animals to—’
    â€˜Spare me the details.’
    â€˜But that’s how it is.’
    â€˜Do you know your problem, Jack? Actually, you’ve got two. In the first place you pretend to be a devoted environmentalist, when all you’re doing is fighting a war on behalf of the Indians who sorted out their problems years ago. And, second, you’re not an Indian.’
    Greywolf bristled. Anawak knew that Greywolf had been charged several times with assault, and wondered how far he could push him. One blow from the giant would finish the argument for once and for all.
    â€˜Why do you talk such shit, Leon?’
    â€˜You’re only half Indian,’ said Anawak. He paused by the sea otters’ pool to watch them dart through the water like torpedoes. Their fur glistened in the morning sun. ‘In fact, you’re not even that. You’re about as Indian as a Siberian polar bear. You don’t know where you belong, you never make a go of anything, and you use your environmental crap to piss all over other people. Now, let me out of here.’
    Greywolf squinted up at the sun. ‘I can’t hear you, Leon,’ he said. ‘It looks like you’re talking but I can’t hear the words. All I hear is a meaningless din, like gravel pouring on a roof.’
    â€˜Ouch!’
    â€˜Come on, it’s not like I want much from you, just a little support.’
    â€˜I can’t support you.’
    â€˜I’ve even gone to the trouble of coming here to tell you what we’re planning next. I didn’t have to.’
    Anawak stiffened. ‘What is it?’
    â€˜Tourist-watching.’ Greywolf burst out laughing. His white teeth glinted like ivory. ‘We’ll be joining you in our boats to photograph the tourists. We’ll stare at them, pull up alongside them, try to grab hold of them. Then they’ll know what it feels like to be gawped at and pawed.’
    â€˜I’ll have you stopped.’
    â€˜You can’t. This is a free country, and no one can tell us when and where to sail. We’ve laid our plans and we’re ready for action - although maybe if you were a bit more accommodating I’d think about calling it off.’
    Anawak stared at him. ‘There aren’t any whales around anyway,’ he said.
    â€˜Because you’ve driven them away.’
    â€˜It’s nothing to do with us.’
    â€˜Yeah, right. We’re never the ones at fault. It’s always the animals. They’re forever swimming into harpoons or posing for photos In any case, I heard humpbacks had been sighted.’
    â€˜A few.’
    â€˜I guess your business must be suffering. You don’t want us to dent your profits even more.’
    â€˜Get lost, Jack.’
    â€˜That was my final offer.’
    â€˜Thank God.’
    â€˜Leon, you could at least put in a good word for us. We need money. We rely on donations. It’s for a good cause. Can’t you see that? We’re both working for the same thing.’
    â€˜I don’t think so. Take care, Jack.’
    Anawak quickened his pace. The eco-warrior didn’t follow. Instead he shouted, ‘Stubborn bastard!’
    Anawak walked determinedly past the dolphinarium and headed for the exit.
    â€˜Leon, you know what