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“All right, then.   I think we’re done here.”
    I smiled.   “Great.   So, why don’t you just hand over the gun and I’ll be on my way.”
    Frank gestured toward the ocean.   “Not this time.   Start walking.”
    I glanced at the sea.   “You know, most experts don’t recommend swimming at night.   Kind of risky and all.”
    Hagar and Frank fell into step behind me.   I felt the sand squish underneath my feet.   The smell of salt hung heavy on the air and I felt the spray of the ocean as waves crashed toward me.
    “We’ve had a lot of seals in the area this year,” said Frank.   “What do you think about that?”
    I shrugged.   “Climate change is a bitch?”
    “It tends to cause other changes in the ecological system.   The presence of seals means that certain fish species are more likely to dwindle.   Those seals, they’re adept hunters.”
    I kept walking.   I had a vague idea where this was going and it didn’t do much to inspire me.
    “Fortunately for the fish, Mother Nature always has a system of checks and balances.   In this case, she’s also made sure that because of the seal migration, we’ve had increased visits from another ocean visitor this year.”
    I spotted the chain running down the sand and out into the water.   I glanced back and saw that it was staked high up into the rocky bluff overlooking the beach.   It would take a lot to yank it free.   Waves lapped at my shoes.
    “Stop.”
    I paused and Frank removed something from his pocket that looked like a remote control.   He hit the button and smiled at me.   “Now we wait.”
    I looked out at the ocean.   High tide was coming in and the waves crashed harder now.   “My shoes are getting wet.”
    Frank nodded.   “Go ahead and kick them off.”
    The sand felt cool beneath my feet.   More waves crashed in.   I caught a whiff of something on the air, something out of place, but familiar to me nonetheless.   “What’s bleeding?”
    “You like that?”   Frank chuckled.   “It’s quite the mixture of gunk.   Chum lines always are such nasty things, but then again, when you want to be certain that you attract the right clientele you have to serve the proper food.”
    I heard a splash out of time with the waves.   “Great whites.”
    “Amazing creatures, these sharks.   Did you know the can detect a drop of blood over a mile away?   And since they’re around looking for seals anyway, they’re that much easier to pull in.”
    I looked at him.   “You’re deliberately chumming for great whites.   And what – you expect me to swim out there and get eaten?”
    “That’s the plan.”
    “What have you got out there?”
    “A container filled with tuna heads, beef, and blood - lots of human blood.”
    I frowned.   “Human blood.”
    “From the last kidnapping victim we picked up.   You didn’t think this was about something as stupid as ransom, did you?   What good does money do us?”   He gestured with the pistol.   “Time you were on your way Fixer.”
    “I don’t report in, they’re going to send more after you.”
    Hagar glanced at Frank.   “Is that true?”
    I grinned.   “I’m not the only one, boys.   And my Control knows where I was going and who I was following.”   I pointed at Hagar.   “That’s you, buddy boy.”
    Frank pointed the gun at me.   “If I don’t kill you, you’ll do the same to us.”
    I shrugged.   “My job.   No one told you guys to break the law.   And you’ve violated several of them apparently.   You know the punishment for exposing our race to discovery.”
    Hagar seemed unsure of himself and shifted from foot to foot, the sand making him sway just a bit.   “Maybe we can just leave him and disappear.”
    Frank turned and shot Hagar in the chest then.   Hagar’s eyes widened in shock; he sank to his knees, hands clutching at his chest.   Blood dribbled out of his mouth and I saw his teeth extend to their hunting length.   He