Page 69 of Stone Coast

"Thanks guys, it's been fun," I said in a sarcastic voice as I slipped out of the van.

"Call that number if you want to do some good in the world," Mr. X said.

The door rumbled shut, and the van pulled away, the exhaust buzzing.

I made a note of the plate number, but I assumed they had swapped the plates. Nobody would be stupid enough to do that kind of thing without taking some precautions.

It was almost 4 o'clock in the morning by this time. Needless to say, I kept my head on a swivel as I walked back to the boat. I boarded theIntrepid, unlocked the hatch to the cabin, and descended the companionway.

The first thing I did was grab another pistol from my stateroom. But one of my guns was missing.

Panic washed through me.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood tall. Had someone been in here?

I grabbed the last pistol I had, press-checked it, and searched the boat.

Nothing else appeared to be missing, but how would I really know?

After I cleared the area, I moved topside. I didn’t trust the boat. Even though we had swept it for listening devices, it didn't mean somebody hadn’t put more there while I was gone. Maybe at the same time, they took my pistol.

I stepped to the dock and strolled away from theIntrepid, keeping an eye on my surroundings. I bit my lip as I contemplated dialing the phone at this hour. But I did anyway.

It rang a few times, and Tyson answered in a sleepy voice. "You okay?”

"You said anytime, day or night, right?”

He laughed. "I guess I did.”

"You’re never going to believe what just happened to me.”

I told him the story.

“I’ll ask again, are you okay?”

"Yeah, I'm fine. A little rattled.” I paused. “Have you ever heard of Shadow Syndicate?”

"No. But I can look into it. Did you get any names?”

"No.” I paused. "They had Carter. I could have…”

"Why didn't you?” There was no judgment in his voice, just genuine curiosity.

"I don't know. I almost feel like it was a mistake.”

He laughed again. "I think you did the right thing.”

"Do you think these guys are legit?”

"A legit vigilante group?”

It was kind of an oxymoron.

"They obviously have resources. They seemed well-trained.”

"There are going to be a lot of people that want your expertise. Not all of them with good intentions.”

"If they wanted to hurt me, they could have.”