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His surveillance monitor on the outbuilding had just gone off.
Someone was there.
He drove toward the outbuildings and then parked behind a stand of evergreen bushes, making sure his truck was out of sight. He was going to make the rest of the way to the building on foot. The noise of the waves crashing against the burly Maine substrata followed him with each footfall.
He kept his exposure over open ground to a minimum, just like the Army had trained him. And then he’d gotten a PhD in that same subject out in the field of combat, where mistakes didn’t mean a failing grade but rather a burial plot and white grave marker at Arlington National.
He surveyed all compass points in front of him. It didn’t take long to reach the vicinity of the building. Devine took up position behind a bulky overgrown hedge. Peering around it he observed a Toyota pickup parked in front of the building, its lights and motor on. The door to the building was open and a light was on inside. This gave Devine a clear sight line into the space, which he enhanced using his optics.
A man was standing just inside the doorway with his back to Devine. Over his shoulder Devine could see large green plastic tubs set on tables, and he heard once more the hum of machinery, this time more distinctly with the door open.
He crouched down when he heard another vehicle approaching. He recognized the throaty purr of the Harley before he saw it. Dak pulled up next to the truck, and climbed off his bike after shutting it down.
Devine turned on the video recording feature on his phone and started filming.
Dak said, “Hey, Hal.”
The man turned around, and Devine could see he was in his thirties with a trim beard and glasses. He had on jean overalls and a ski cap pulled down over his ears. Their comingled breaths rose above them in the frigid air.
“I thought you’d be here ahead of me,” said Hal.
“I got tied up.”
“Really? What gal did the tying?”
They both laughed at this comment, and Dak slapped the man on the shoulder.
“How’s it looking in there?” Dak said, inclining his head toward the tubs.
“All systems go. I swear these critters could survive an atom bomb falling on them.”
“Let’s hope one doesn’t hit, don’t thinkwecould survive it,” said Dak with a chuckle.
“How long you reckon?” asked Hal.
“Two days they’ll be here. But we got the shipment to pick up tonight. And the more they grow, the more they weigh. And...” Dak rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
They locked up the building, climbed into the pickup, and set off.
Devine ran back to his truck and followed.
CHAPTER
66
AS SOON AS THEY WEREon the main road, Devine knew where they were going. The same spot along the shore. He was driving with his lights off, which wasn’t a problem even with the poor visibility. He just followed the taillights ahead of him to see the contours of the road.
The truck pulled off and Devine did the same, albeit a couple of hundred yards short and behind a stand of trees growing near the road.
He flitted along until he reached a good surveillance point in time to watch through his optics as Hal carried large plastic containers toward the water. Dak was hefting some other apparatus that Devine could not really make out.
Devine headed forward and then cut toward the beach. He looked out to the water and, though it was foggy and gloomy, he could see a solitary boat’s running lights slicing through the darkness out on the Gulf of Maine.
Devine crouched along a ledge of rocky shore, took out his optics, and surveyed the field in front of him. Once more, a smaller boat was lowered from the larger boat. It then traveled swiftly toward shore, breached the breakers, and came to a stop bow up in the sand. He could now see that the vessel was actually an RIB, or rigid inflatable boat, much like the kind he had used in the Army. There were two men on board. They jumped off the bow onto the sand, and greeted Dak and Hal with handshakes and backslaps. Then the four of them proceeded to unload the cargo; it was placed in the containers Hal had brought to the beach. Dak bent down and inserted the devices he had brought with him into each container.
Dak handed one of the men an envelope, and they parted ways. Dak and Hal hefted the first container. It must have been heavy, since both men struggled with the weight of it. They reached the truck, loaded it in the back, and then went back twice more to get the other containers. They drove off as the RIB was swiftly making its way back to the larger boat.
Devine had already gotten into his vehicle and was waiting. As they passed him Devine pulled out behind them. They drove straight back to Jocelyn Point, and to the same outbuilding.
