Read Online 20,000 Nerds Under the Sea by Jeff Miller - Free Book Online

stop her and save the day. We’ve done it before!”
    â€œYou sure?” asked Sam. “Something goes wrong and we chomp down on a bunch of sharks. Plus we don’t have backup from Jones.”
    â€œWe’ll be careful. I know we will,” said Biggs. “And maybe when we’re on the radio, we can try and contact Jones or the White House.”
    â€œIf you say so, Biggs,” Neil replied softly. He felt another wave sweep under them.
    â€œThere’s a huge aquarium in Monterey, north up the coast,” said Biggs. “We can drop off the sharks we catch in a safe location and get the aquarium’s help.”
    Neil tried to think of a better option, but he was fresh out of ideas.
    â€œSounds like a plan.”
    â€œOK. ONE . . . TWO . . . THREE,” SAID NEIL.
    â€œJolly!” the three screamed through the crack of the hatch. A few seconds passed before they heard the sound of footsteps overhead. The door was ripped open by Pierre.
    â€œWe’ll do it,” Neil said.
    Jolly stepped between the two burly men and put her boot heel on the edge of the hatch. “I have your word?” the girl asked.
    â€œAll our words. Whichever ones you like best,” Neil replied. “Now get us out of here. It smells like rotten seaweed in this thing.”
    The three captives crawled up the metal ladder to the deck. It was getting windy.
    â€œI knew you’d eventually see things my way,” Jolly replied, putting a hand on Neil’s and Sam’s shoulders.
    As the boat wobbled, Jolly walked them into her cabin. Neil sat down on a leather couch that was so comfortable, he nearly forgot he’d just agreed to destroy all sharks.
    â€œDo you think we could try this famous ketchup of yours? Before we start? I wanted to see what’s so cool about it,” Neil said.
    Jolly’s eyebrows perked up. “Of course.” She snappedher fingers and Pierre returned with a small wooden crate. He cracked the top off.
    â€œCareful now,” said Jolly as a jar was hoisted from a nest of Bubble Wrap. “This is an expensive delicacy.”
    She held a red container with a metal lid. It was smaller than a two-liter bottle of soda. Something was written in Japanese on the side, just under a picture of a small sea creature. Neil had no clue what it was, but it looked like a tiny shrimp.
    â€œWhat kind of ketchup is this again?” asked Neil.
    â€œA secret Japanese ketchup recipe, but perfected by my family over generations,” Jolly said. “My great-grandmother discovered it during her pirate days. Her son, my grandfather, created and ran our first factory.”
    â€œFor ketchup?”
    â€œAbsolutely. Using recipes plundered by the first Jolly Rogers.”
    Neil waved his hand over the bottle, inhaling the peculiar smell. It reminded him of the seaweed candy his friend Tyler would eat during after-school robot building.
    â€œSo what’s in it?” Sam asked.
    â€œHow precious. I could never give that away,” Jolly said. “But I will let you in on our key ingredient: krill.”
    â€œKrill ketchup?” said Sam.
    â€œA bit unconventional, yes. But you can’t beat the results; it’s a famous delicacy in certain circles. A jar like this can go for ten thousand euros. And the Russians love it.”
    Jolly unscrewed the top of the ketchup jar. Its lid clicked open with a satisfying pop , and the aroma of bizarre ketchup filled the air.
    â€œCare for a taste?” the captain offered, plunging a finger into the dark-red sauce. She licked it and handed the jar to Biggs. “It’s right tasty.”
    Neil dipped a finger in and sucked it clean.
    Oh, not that bad really. More spicy than anything.
    â€œYou wouldn’t happen to know if these krill were free-range, would you?” Biggs asked, studying the Japanese print running along the side of the ketchup container.
    â€œJust taste the ketchup, string