Free Hungry Darkness: A Deep Sea Thriller by Gabino Iglesias Page B

trips. Let’s call it eight hundred. Cash. You won’t find a deal like that anywhere else. Feel free to ask around.”
    “No need. Sounds good to me.”
    “Okay. You still live in that parrot place?”
    Gabe couldn’t remember ever telling Tito where he lived, but he wasn’t entirely surprised the small man knew that, and probably much more, about him.
    “Yeah, I’m still here.”
    “I’ll send someone over tomorrow. Have the cash ready. They’ll call you at this number when they get there. Put the money in an envelope or a small paper bag or something. Just don’t come down with a shitload of cash in your hand for everyone to see. Also, remember you’re getting dirty guns. If you get caught with them, the police will probably want to talk to you about things you know nothing about. I suggest doing whatever it is you’re going to do and then giving them a burial at sea.”
    “I’ll do that,” Gabe said, suddenly scared of something he hadn’t even considered before.
    The phone clicked in Gabe’s ear. Tito had hung up without another word.
     

 
    Chapter Twelve
     
    Mariana was far from being the only girl her age living in her neighborhood and hanging out with boys, but she was the only one who could do everything better than all of them. Her superiority in everything was something her young male friends didn’t know how to handle. On one hand, they were angry that a girl could beat them at running, swimming, throwing, and everything else they did. On the other, they were in awe of her; completely amazed at how she quickly mastered anything new they threw her way.
    Mariana, Sebastian, Roberto, Susana, Maikel, and Joselito were the regulars. They were a tight crew despite their differences. All of them were 12 years old and came from the same neighborhood, so they had more in common than kids who just meet at school. Their modus operandi was always the same: get together and hit the streets or the beach to see what kind of trouble they could get into.
    This afternoon, Maikel had told them his dad was sick at home, hugging the toilet and grunting after apparently having consumed some shrimp salad that had been left out in the heat a tad too long. That meant he wouldn’t be fishing. That meant they could use his boat. No one would mind.
    An hour after meeting at the beach, the six friends were all piled on a small boat and were halfway out to the reef. The tide was low, and they could try to catch whatever had been left trapped in the big puddles on top of one particular stretch of reef.
    Mariana and Maikel were in charge of rowing, and they had gotten into a nice rhythm that put them at the reef in no time. There was a tiny motor in the back of the boat, but if they used up all of its gas they’d be in a world of trouble, so they opted for the oars.
    They all knew they weren’t supposed to be out there by themselves. They were children of fishermen and tour guides, and their parents had told them time and again about the plethora of dangers that could be found in the ocean. From poisonous fish and the incredibly painful sting of stingrays and sea urchins to nasty cuts on the jagged rocks and cramps that could come at any time and put even the best of swimmers in danger in a matter of seconds, the group of friends understood that what they were doing was dangerous. The fact that they were doing something they weren’t supposed to do augmented the pleasure they received from walking around the top of the reef and taking the occasional dip on the far side of the reef, the place where their parents told them the ocean became a thing with no bottom. 
    They were swimming around, unenthusiastically discussing the fact that the sun would soon start going down and they should start the trip back home. Then Sebastian heard Maikel gasp. He turned to his left, where Maikel had been a second ago and saw nothing. Sebastian waited for his friend’s head to pop up, but that didn’t happen. A few seconds later, the