Chapter 6
Barry watched the boat leave the dock and disappear toward the west. He remembered Mac telling him the hotel was in opposite direction. At least she wasn’t trying to investigate the hotel owner and risk her team.
Barry had seen the bodyguards surrounding the man last night. If Mac got caught snooping around, it wouldn’t end well for her. As for himself, he needed to do some digging on the hotel owner and get his eyes on the land over there.
He headed to his hotel room for a quick shower and change of clothes. Once clean, he opened up his laptop and started doing some searches on Miles Banks. On the surface, there wasn’t a lot of information.
He was a wealthy businessman with his fingers in several pots from hotels, oil, and politics. Odd for someone to be connected to so many different industries. Not much else was known about him other than he was a ladies’ man.
Good thing that with his military clearance, Barry had access to far deeper information. The only problem was that Miles was careful and all of his information was protected by firewalls. Barry was good with computers, but even this was beyond him.
Either the man was that protective of his information, or he had something to protect he didn’t want anyone to know.
Barry didn’t want to call him a shark killer, but he could be dealing in illegal activity. If that was the case and Mac was investigating him, she was in danger.
He couldn’t tell her to leave it to him because she wouldn’t. Mac thought the sharks were hers to protect; she wouldn’t leave this to others.
Barry could offer to help her, but she hadn’t told him about the sharks missing. Without revealing his connection to her sister, he would just have to do things from the shadows.
He was about to leave when his phone rang. Barry checked the caller ID before answering. “Hi, Doc.”
“Hi, Barry, I’m sorry for bugging you,” Dr. Shane greeted, sounding apologetic.
“You’re fine. Everything okay?”
“I actually wanted to ask you that. I know you’re used to this mission stuff, but I’m so worried.”
Her voice was calm, but having seen her with his own eyes the other day, he knew she was anything but; she just wasn’t going to let her emotions show.
“Everything is fine so far, Doc,” he assured her.
“I’ve actually met Mac—enzie,” he quickly corrected.
He didn’t want the doc to know he was too familiar with her sister.
“Oh,” she replied, sounding shocked. “I thought you were only going to keep an eye on her. Did something happen?”
“No, I just figured it would look less suspicious if she met me and saw me posing as a tourist looking around instead of seeing me lurking.”
“That was probably wise. She can be a bit paranoid if she thinks her sharks are in danger. I swear that girl thinks they are her children.” Dr. Shane tsked.
Barry had seen firsthand how passionate Mac was about sharks and how quick to defend them. He personally didn’t understand it, but it was what she loved. If Miles was doing something to them, and Mac found out, she could be the one to disappear next.
“I have to head out, Doc. I’ll give you an update on my progress soon.”
“I appreciate and thank you again for doing this for me.”
“Of course.” After all she had done for him and his friends, this was the least he could do. So far it hadn’t been a hardship. It had been quite enjoyable actually.
Barry hung up and shifted his research from Miles himself to the hotel. The pictures made it look complete, but the tag on the bottom of the site said it would be completed in three months.
It was ten stories high with views of the ocean and jungle around it. It had access to amenities like a spa, three pools, and a shuttle service to take you to the local hotspots like ziplining, the waterfall, and into town.
Barry found a copy of the blueprints for the building and looked them over. If he was hoping there would be a clear sign where Miles’s office was, he was in for disappointment.
It was time to do some field work and check out this hotel site.
He took several pictures of the blueprints then looked at the address on the map.
It was a distance to walk, and with the already hot morning, he decided to take his rental car.
The boat could wait until tomorrow to check out the coastline.
If Mac was in the area, he didn’t want to get caught following her and have to explain his presence.
It was a scenic drive to the hotel. Thick palm trees as far as the eye could see. Small hill ranges with a hint of waterfalls could be seen through the breaks in the trees. He could see what the appeal was to this place. He had travelled all over the world, but nothing compared to this beauty.
He could see himself getting a small hut of a house near the shore, with a hammock on the front porch so he could take naps while listening to the waves. Living in Vegas, he was already used to the heat.
Barry knew he had never planned on staying there forever, but he hadn’t given much thought to the future yet. He was only thirty-seven. There was no rush in settling down. He was too old, in his opinion, to start having a family. His siblings had kids, so he could get his fix through them.
Barry passed the sign for the hotel, signaling to turn to head up the drive, and parked a half a mile from it along the side of the road. There were other cars parked there, so he didn’t look out of place.
People probably parked here to follow trails. He could use that as his guise to get close to the hotel. Barry stashed his foldable knife in his pocket and slid his backpack that carried his equipment over his shoulders before heading up into the thick brush in the direction of the hotel.
It was a steep incline, but it wasn’t anything Barry hadn’t walked before. At least he didn’t have his usual gear with him to add a hundred pounds to his brisk walk through the jungle.
Barry stopped at the edge of the tree line and looked around. People were bustling around the work site. Most of the hotel looked finished. The frame and windows were in, as was the roof. Not all of the siding was on yet.
People were in the jungle, busy cutting down trees. Miles wanted guests to see the jungle but not feel as if they were in the jungle. By the progress of things, it was already looking like a grand hotel. He just needed to get inside and not stick out.
A worker called out to another for help. The man set down his small red toolbox and left to help his friend. That was Barry’s ticket to getting inside.
Barry set down his bag and stashed some of his trackers and listening bugs into his pockets, then slid out of the brush and walked onto the site with his head held high as if he had every right to be there.
He bent down and scooped up a hat that was resting on a tree truck, sliding it on his head and pulling it low over his face.
The headband was sweaty, but it would serve him for a few minutes to get inside the hotel.
Barry didn’t slow his stride as he grabbed the toolbox and walked inside. It was just as hot inside as it was outside. Obviously, the air conditioning hadn’t been installed yet. The building was dark, but he could see enough to make him gawk at the luxury of just the lobby.
A giant chandelier hung over the entrance.
When it was turned on, he bet it lit up the entire room.
Lush furniture was scattered around as were plants that were identical to the ones outside.
The floor was covered in tile that looked imported.
Not that Barry knew much about materials and design. It looked expensive though.
The check-in counter was along the left wall, and a security booth on the right had two guards in it. Barry saw the sign for the elevators at the back. He kept his head down and headed straight for it.
“Hey, wait!” one of the security guys called out as Barry started to pass him.
Barry stopped, stooping over so he didn’t appear a threat.
“Yes, sir?” he asked gently. The guy was only about five-seven.
Barry could easily knock him and his partner out, but Barry didn’t know how many guards were on the property, and if they raised an alert, he wouldn’t be able to snoop around as much.
“Who are you?” the man demanded, planting his fists on his hips above his gun belt and sticking out his chest, trying to appear superior to Barry.
“I’m the electrician.”
“You’re the electrician?” the man asked, sounding shocked as he looked down at Barry’s arm.
“Freak accident with a live wire.” Barry whistled. “Won’t be making that mistake again.”
The guy still appeared shocked before he shook his head.
“Right, okay, head down to the basement where the panels are. The electricity has been spotty since yesterday. Only half of the building has electricity.” The man swiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Unfortunately, the A/C was a casualty.”
“I’ll get right on it. Is the elevator working?”
“Yeah.”
“Thanks.” Barry nodded at him and headed to the elevator. Instead of going down to the basement, he hit the top floor. A man was king of his castle; maybe Miles’s office was up there.
It only took a few minutes to reach the top. The elevator pinged and the doors slid open. Barry stuck his head out, giving a cautionary look around before stepping out when the coast was clear.
The hallway was dim with the only light source coming from the floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the hall. The drywall was up with holes carved into the walls with wires sticking out of them with caps on the ends. That would explain why it was so dark.
The building was wired for lights, but not everywhere had lighting installed yet. Barry checked doors as he passed them. They all looked like hotel rooms and not Miles’s office. He really didn’t want to have to check every floor for it, but he didn’t see much other choice.