Page 16 of Walking the Bird

“It’s a shark, isn’t it?” Kennedy demanded, her heart sinking as she recalled the documentary she’d watched on the beautiful creatures. “Don’t show it to me if it is, just let him go back to his family.”

Zach tugged at the netting surrounding the fish hook, his mind praying his gut was wrong as to what Kennedy had landed.

Ryan tossed the net to the deck, bending over the side and gripping the netting surrounding the dozens of clusters inside. It’d been years since he’d seen anything like this, and he prayed it was damaged beyond use.

Alex’s breath caught in his throat, his legs springing into action as he moved around Eleni and joined his team in hoisting the netting over the side of the boat.

Aiden dropped to his knees, pulling out his knife and slicing through the netting, pulling out the first bundle he came to and handing it to Zach.

Matt joined Aiden, the pair sharing a look as they began searching the interior and counting the bundles inside.

Zach twisted the wrapped package, ignoring the demands from the women behind him to know what they’d found. Peeling away a layer of tape, he studied the black stamp on the plastic sheet surrounding what he suspected was cocaine. He wasn’t familiar with the branding, but the broken pitchfork which rested behind a skull over a banner, triggered a memory he’d long since forgot.

“Motherfuckers used a BCD to keep their shit hidden from the authorities.” Matt tossed as he stood holding what looked like a diver’s vest, the black material making a thud as he tossed it onto the deck.

“Is that?” Kennedy trailed off, pointing to the square in her husband’s hand.

Zach looked over his shoulder, “It's a not shark if you’re still worried.”

Sensing the harshness in Zach’s voice, Alex moved to gain a closer look at the package in his hand. “Something up, LT?”

---