Free Hungry Darkness: A Deep Sea Thriller by Gabino Iglesias

tell me who’s behind this. Tell me who hired you. I won’t tell a soul.”
    “Why do you care so much about that?”
    “Well, I think for some weird reason I’d feel better knowing who wants this thing dead and why.”
    Emanuel’s explanation was not the best one, but it was fair enough.
    “And you’ll keep your mouth shut about it?”
    “Sure, man, I want to know for myself. I won’t be telling anyone else.”
    “I’m not giving you a name, but I’ll tell you that our wonderful government is behind it.”
    “Figures.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well,” said Emanuel, “I’m sure any government who basically fills its pockets with the money coming from tourism doesn’t want a monster in its waters, especially one with a taste for humans. I can only imagine the international press jumping on it the second an American or European tourist gets devoured.”
    “Exactly.”
    “I’ll go with you because I’m curious, but I know you won’t be cutting me in on whatever they gave you, so I’ll make you deal.”
    Gabe didn’t like the sound of that. The deal was already on the table, and he’d been the one to offer it. He looked at Emanuel.
    “What kind of deal?”
    “A fair one. If I help you out, I don’t have to pay you whenever you bring me a weird fish, and if we pull this off and a chunk of this beast floats by us or lands on the boat, it’s mine. I know I can’t publish a paper on it or anything, but studying it would be enough. Man, it would be more than enough for me.”
    It was indeed a fair deal. Instead of replying, Gabe stuck out his right hand. The two men shook.
    “I’ll give you a call as soon as I get the guns and figure out who else is going with us,” said Gabe.
    “Sounds good, man. And don’t worry about finding someone else. I have the perfect guy in mind. I’ll bring him along. Who knows? Maybe your stupid idea works and we can bring that thing to shore and open up a sushi joint—call it Shotgun Sushi.”
    The joke wasn’t all that funny, but Emanuel had one of those goofy, contagious smiles that carried bad jokes into a place where they actually made people smile. This time round, the scientist’s grin made Gabe smile in spite of himself.

 
    Chapter Eleven
     
    Making a living as a fisherman in Belize was almost impossible. That’s why Gabe had decided to get all the necessary permits and become a fishing/diving tour guide and start his own business. Sadly, there were times when that business was slow and bills piled up, which is why he knew Tito, a small-time drug dealer from Belize City.
    Gabe had been loading some supplies onto his boat on a slow weekday with no clients when a small man approached him. He’d had on an incredibly colorful shirt and sported a gold necklace so thick it could’ve been used to tie an anchor. He’d said something about the boat that immediately told Gabe the short man knew absolutely nothing about boats. The man went on and said something about the weather. Gabe more or less ignored him. Then he’d felt a hand on his shoulders. “I see you hate small talk as much as me, so let’s get to the point,” the man had said. “My name is Tito. I work with Los Zetas, the Mexican drug cartel. We own the coast between Belize and Texas. From time to time, we need to run merchandise up the coast. The trips are short and pay well. It’s a low-risk kinda thing. If you’d like to give it a try some time, write down my phone number. If you think this isn’t for you, just say so. I’ll let you get back to work and be on my way. Of course, this conversation never happened. You know, for your own good.”
    Gabe had only called Tito twice.
    The first time, a storm had done some damage to his boat, and he needed cash fast to fix it and keep working. Tito told him to go to meet another boat on Caye Chapel. He went there and shady-looking characters loaded a few packages into his boat. He was told to go all the way to Calderas and wait for a green