Chapter 19 #3
“Don’t try to threaten me,” Miles spoke over the other person. “Bigger men than you have tried, and they are swimming with the fishes as you will be if you try to fuck with me like this again.”
Barry turned to face the side of the boat and peeked over the edge, hoping to finally get a glimpse of the person Miles was speaking to. They were wearing a black baseball cap and a hooded jacket pulled over the cap that concealed their face.
The jacket they wore was baggy, not giving any clue as to the size and build of the person. Barry brought his camera up to take several photos anyway when there was the sound of boards creaking.
“Someone’s here,” one of the guards announced, pulling their pistol from their waistband and looking all around for the source of the noise.
The person meeting Miles pushed past him and took off for the far end of the dock. Both guards took up positions at the front and back of Miles as they ran back toward the town, probably headed for the car.
Barry hopped down from the boat onto the side dock and took off in the direction of the person Miles had been meeting, hoping to get a glimpse of them. He heard the rev of an engine and a boat speeding away.
Barry made it to the end of the dock in time to see the person on the side of the boat that someone else was driving, but it was too far away and too dark to see them clearly.
Damn. The person was smart. They’d had an exit strategy already in place with a getaway driver. Barry wanted to stomp his foot in frustration. He had been so close to getting a picture of the person.
Barry made his way back to where he had left Mac. Hopefully, she had stayed where he’d left her and out of sight. Or could she have followed him?
Barry’s steps picked up speed, a feeling of dread sinking into the pit of his stomach.
“Barry,” came a soft whisper near where he had gotten on the boat.
He came to a halt and turned in the direction of the voice and saw a dark shadow hunched near the boat at the stern. “Mac?” She was on the dock instead of where he’d left her. He remembered this was where the dock had creaked under his feet. “The noise on the dock, that was you?”
She was the reason they’d all scattered like cockroaches when a light was turned on. She had blown his chance to capture who Miles was working with.
Mac stood up and came toward him slowly.
“I’m sorry. You were taking a while, and I got antsy.
I thought I could get close enough to hear them.
” Mac looked crestfallen that she had ruined their chance to find out who Miles was working with.
Barry wanted to be angry and chastise her, but he knew it wouldn’t change anything.
Besides, it wasn’t completely her fault.
He had taken a rookie on a stake-out and hadn’t explained any of the ground rules first. Barry balled up his fists and took several deep breaths. “We should go.”
Barry headed toward the car, not looking back to see if Mac was following, just assuming she was. He got into the car and waited for her to climb in the other side. She was just as silent as he headed back to his hotel.
There were a million things he wanted to say to Mac right now, but he knew they would be said in anger, so he remained silent. It wasn’t like the mission was completely blown. He’d had setbacks in other missions too. He just needed some time to cool down and think about his next steps.
First thing he had to do was get Mac out of the situation. She was a danger to herself and the mission. She didn’t know the first thing about spying and staying silent. It wasn’t like she needed those skills to tag sharks.
She also didn’t know how to protect herself. It was only now that he realized that if she had been caught while he was on the dock, she could have been kidnapped or hurt, and there was nothing she could have done about it.
He couldn’t always be there to protect her. Mac also had an expressive face. If questioned, she would reveal what she was up to. Jacques and Burt already knew she was digging into Miles. It wouldn’t be hard for others to notice as well.
For her own safety and that of the mission, Barry needed to get Mac away. She wasn’t going to like it, but he wasn’t giving her a choice.
Barry pulled into a parking spot at his hotel and turned off the engine.
“I really am sorry, Barry,” Mac said, her voice still soft and hesitant as if she expected him to vent and rage at her.
“I know you are.” And he did, but it didn’t change his decision.
“Then why are you giving me the silent treatment?”
“There just wasn’t anything to say, at least nothing at the moment that I wouldn’t say in anger and couldn’t take back.” He turned to face her. “I’ve decided you should stay with me for a while and not go out on the water.”
That way he could keep an eye on her and ensure she stayed away from Miles.
Mac mirrored his actions, fire licking in her eyes and obviously not liking his decision. “You’ve decided?” She sneered. “That’s my job, Barry. I can’t just not do it. I can’t research sharks without being in the water.”
Barry strove for patience. He understood the importance of sharks to her, but this was her life they were talking about.
“But you have a team that can. This person is going to great lengths to conceal themself. You also saw Miles’s men with guns.
” He had to bite his tongue before he snapped at her about what if she’d gotten caught on that dock, but she hadn’t, so there wasn’t a point.
“None of them saw us. I’ll be perfectly fine,” Mac argued as if it were inconsequential.
To him it was. “Miles isn’t going to do anything to my team.
” Barry was determined; she may not like it, but she would abide by his decision.
“You can’t ask me to stop doing my job any more than I could ask you to forget about me and leave the island. ”
“I’m not.”
“You just said stay off the water,” Mac fired back. “When in fact, that’s the safest place I can be.”
“But you can still do your job on land, at my hotel.”
“And you don’t think these people could track me there?” Mac rose a challenging eyebrow. “Small island, remember?”
It was, but he could be careful. No one knew of his investigating. He could hide Mac. But she wasn’t making it easy on him. Investigating and concealing her were going to be full-time jobs.
“Look, I know you’re trying to protect me, and I messed up tonight. I can own up to that mistake, but hiding me isn’t going to fix anything.”
“How do you figure that?”
“No one saw us. If anything, it will raise more suspicion if I just suddenly disappear. My team runs off donations; if I’m not there to spearhead it, the funding can go away, and all of my team would be out of a job.
If you want me to stay out of the investigating, then I will, but don’t expect me to hide in a hotel room until I get the all clear.
Please,” she added the last word with pitiful eyes.
Normally Barry wasn’t influenced by such emotion and teary eyes, but he already felt himself being swayed by Mac. She was right in many ways. Hiding her would only make things worse instead of better.
“Fine, do your research and all that, but—” he added before her smile crossed her whole face. “You will take this with you at all times.” He pulled his pocket knife out of his back pocket and handed it to her. “It’s for your protection. If Miles’s men corner you, you stick the sharp end into them.”
“I know how a knife works,” Mac said with humor in her eyes that he felt the need to explain how to use a knife.
“Good, also, I don’t want you going anywhere alone. No more solo dives.”
“I can agree to that.”
“Good.”
“Can you really track who Miles was talking to by that audio?”
“Not track them, but I can pick up on their voice traits and see if anyone in town matches it.”
“How’s that?”
“Listening to people talk.”
Mac looked at him dubiously. “It’s a small island, but not that small.”
“We already know it’s someone on the north side with access to a boat.”
“Still have the population.”
“Speed boat.”
“Not as many, but still quite a few.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to hang out at the bar and see if anyone stands out.”
“Are you seriously going to go to the bar with the recording and ask around if people have heard this man?”
“No, I’m good at memorizing things. I’ll listen to people talk and pinpoint the person talking.”
“I already told you, no one will speak around you. You’re a tourist. They’ll kick you out before offering you a beer. Even I’m not accepted there.” Mac looked away before smiling. “But I have an idea.”
“No.”
Mac’s eyebrows puckered together in confusion. “But I didn’t say anything yet.”
“You were going to suggest Jacques or Burt go and spy.” They were both fisherman and known on the island.
“Actually, I wasn’t,” she responded, looking smug that he’d gotten it wrong.
“Really?” He had been sure that’s what she was going to suggest.
“No, Jacques would charge me, and Burt would ask too many questions.”
It was true, at least about Jacques. He didn’t know much about Burt. “What’s your idea then?”
“I know some of the fishermen who go to the bar; we can put one of your bug thingies in there and listen. If the audio matches, we’ll know he’s there.”
It wasn’t a bad idea. “An audio and visual,” he said out loud. “But what if this guy doesn’t go to that bar. We could be wasting our time and resources.”
“Do you have a better plan?” she asked, raising a challenging eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest as if daring him to come up with someone better, but Barry didn’t know anyone on the island enough to ask—and she knew it.
“Annabelle is still our best option.”
Mac’s face fell at the mention of that woman. He knew Mac didn’t like her, but she was a wealth of information.
“She’ll probably have the information about our fisherman friend.”
“You want to chase Annabelle for answers, be my guest,” Mac remarked, her tone icy as the arctic before she opened her car door.
“Where are you going?” Barry caught her wrist before she could fully get out of the car.
Mac looked over her shoulder at the hand holding her wrist then pulled it free. “To bed. I have work in the morning.”
“I’ll take you home,” he offered.
“No, thank you. I prefer to walk.” Barry had ruffled her feathers with the mention of his impending date.
“Mac, don’t be mad at me. I don’t want to do this any more than you do.”
“Do what you want, Barry. You’re an adult.” There was no wining by the sound of her tone. Anything he said would just bounce off of the shield she had erected.
“I’ll call you tomorrow night when I get the information.”
Mac didn’t respond, just got out of the car and closed the door shut behind her. He watched her out of the rearview mirror as she walked out of the parking lot and turned the corner to head home.
Tomorrow after his date, he would make it up to her. He didn’t know how yet, but he would. The thought of Mac staying mad at him caused an ache in his chest.