The goon squad tied up at the stern, and four of them boarded the boat. One stayed behind to pilot the craft. It looked to me like they intended to make a fast getaway.
The leader of the squad said, "Do you have the drive?"
"I do,” Silas replied. “Once the funds have been transferred into my account, I will hand the drive over to you."
"I need to verify the integrity of the drive."
Silas shifted uncomfortably, and his eyes darted between the squad and us. They kept their rifles in a patrol-ready position.
Technically, no crime was in progress. They weren’t brandishing weapons or making threatening gestures.
It was infuriating.
But at this point, we were just along for the ride until something happened. And we were possibly out of our jurisdiction anyway. A little farther from shore than I had anticipated.
“Certainly,” Silas said. “My guests were just leaving. Once they’re gone, you can verify the data.”
“Guests?”
“Just some old friends,” Silas muttered aside. “You probably don’t want them to see what’s on that drive.”
“Are you the only one who’s seen the contents of the drive?”
“Yup,” Silas said with a grin.
“Nobody leaves until I say so.”
Silas looked stunned. “You don’t really want them around while we transact our business, do you?”
“Like I said, nobody leaves until I give the okay. Are we clear?”
Silas shifted with unease and swallowed hard. A nervous chuckle escaped his mouth. "We're all friends here, aren't we?”
"Let's verify the drive.”
Silas nodded, then escorted the squad into the salon. Tensions rose as the leader stepped into the compartment and saw us.
One goon stayed out on the deck, while two followed into the salon.
"Who the fuck are they?" the leader said, his eyes darting between JD and me.
"Those are my friends. They were just leaving. But since you want everybody to stay aboard, I guess they're joining the party.”
We were all armed, and all of us were on edge. It was too many people with too many guns in a small compartment. That was a bad combination.
Silas moved forward and took a seat at the settee. He flipped open a laptop, inserted the thumb drive that had been in his pocket, and cleared the security screen. With a few clicks, he opened the drive, then slipped out of the bench seat and offered it to the squad leader. “It's all there. See for yourself.”
The squad leader shared a quick glance with his team, then took a seat and proceeded to survey the contents of the drive.
From my position, I couldn’t see the screen.
It sounded like he replayed a video clip. A whimpering voice filtered out.
"You might want to turn the sound down, if you know what I mean,” Silas said. He tapped a key and brought the audio down to zero.
The squad leader watched a few clips and seemed satisfied.
I still had no probable cause to arrest any of these scumbags. Neither did I have the jurisdiction at this point.
