Jack shook his head. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, buddy. Even if you managed to locate the Megalodon, you still had the odds stacked against you. It might never have surfaced, or when it did, it might have been a hundred miles away.”

Vince groaned. “So, now what?”

Jack looked to Cate. “We still need to go after it. This thing is only just staking out its territory. Once it does, sea travel in anything under a hundred feet will be at an end.”

“I agree; but I’ve seen the size of the thing, Jack. If you go out in The Heceta, I’ll be scooping up its kindling in a week.” Vincent voice lowered. “What you’ll need is some sort of submarine, right?”

“No goddamn way.” Cate was on her feet. “I agree we need to go after the thing, but there is no way I, and for that matter you, Mr Jack Monroe, are ever going below the surface while that thing is down there.”

Jack exhaled. “We need help.” He frowned and then sat forward, to start tapping keys on his computer tablet.

“That’s it, Jack; I’m out of ideas. The Coast Guard has dropped this one onto the pubic servants, and not for a New York second is there a chance the Navy is going to pick up any slack.”

Cate sat forward. “Vincent, what does Fish and Wildlife have?”

“Hardware?” Vincent snorted. “A few small cruisers, open topped boats, plenty of dinghies, and a truckload of goodwill to man and beast. Just enough to get themselves all killed. Bottom line; we won’t find it, until it decides it wants to find us.”

“Good grief.” Cate sat back. “We’ve got nothing.”

“No,” Jack said, finishing his typing. “We’ve got more than we could ever hope to have.” He grinned, as he let the silence stretch. Cate frowned but her lips began to curve into a smile.

“Well?” She tilted her head.

“C’mon buddy, we need some good news,” Vincent said. “Don’t leave me hanging.”

“I think I’ve got some – the report from Jackson Biggs, the marine biologist. He said the Megalodon came out of very deep water just off Guadalupe Island and took Big Betty whole.” Jack still grinned.

“That’s right.” Vincent’s voice exuded impatience. “So it proves the old maxim – what do big predators fear? Even bigger predators. How is that good news?”

“But that’s a good thing, you see, because Big Betty was tagged. Its tracking frequency was available online for you to follow her movements via the Sharkwatch App. No one has thought to check whether it was still active.”

“Oh my god.” Cate’s mouth dropped open. “But you did, didn’t you?”