course he could do no less, considering he was my business partner of several years.' She zipped her jacket closed. 'However, I wish he would have warned me how much it would hurt, even with the special apparel.'
'Fallows likes surprises,' Eric said.
'It was hard to understand what he liked. He made me swear not to kill you, though that was my first desire. But one discovers quickly that it is best never to go against Dirk's wishes. He could be most ruthless.' She smirked lewdly. 'Especially in bed. Much more selfish than you in that area, Eric. Tu te souviens de moi?' Do you remember?
'Seulement dans mes cauchemars.' Only in my nightmares.
She raised the knife in a stabbing stance, but the captain grabbed her wrist with surprising agility for someone of his considerable bulk.
'Not yet, Angel. We still haven't discussed the map with your friend.'
She tried to twist free, but his grip was iron. The blood drained from her hand. 'He knows nothing about the map. I know him. He would have nothing to do with Alabaster or his map.'
'Perhaps. But we can't be certain that this isn't just a stall while Alabaster makes a deal with someone else.' He released her wrist, his finger imprints still glowing on her skin. 'After all, Mr. Ravensmith has a reputation, even out here on the wide open sea. You know what they call you, Mr. Ravensmith?'
Eric shook his head.
'The Warlord. Quaint, eh?'
'Surprising.'
'Not at all. You were the Warlord of a group a few months ago. And of course what you and your friends did to Savvytown is the stuff legends are made of. And the primitive souls still alive in California need legends, my friend. They need heroes and villains.'
'I guess we know which role you've chosen?' Tracy said.
'Indeed,' the captain nodded. 'The one that pays better.'
'But not without cost.' She stared at his twisted features.
'This little ol' thing?' he asked, pointing at his face. 'A misunderstanding. Told my barber a little around the edges. His hand slipped.' He roared with laughter. Griffin chuckled next to him.
'The Long Beach Halo,' Angel explained.
The captain looked up, no longer smiling. His moist black eye glared from under the cliff of gnarled flesh. 'A slight miscalculation. Back when it all started, after the quakes, some business associates and I stole a ship and tried to go through that damned Halo, get back to civilization. Most aboard were killed by the Halo, others were killed by the navy gunboats waiting outside, warning us to turn back. We made a run for it, but they forced us back with gunfire. Three of us survived, myself, the captain, and his son. Until the water and food ran low. I waited until they were asleep, then…' He made a slashing gesture across his neck. 'And then there was one.'
'A new captain.'
'The wheel keeps spinning, my friend. Besides, they looked even worse than I did.' Suddenly he became animated, excited. 'My crew even has a nickname for me. This is great, you'll love it. Guess what they call me? Guess.'
No one spoke.
'Rhino.' He beamed with pride. 'Classic, right? Captain Rhino. Like something Robert Louis Stevenson would write. Christ, I love it.'
'Children,' Angel muttered disgustedly.
The thunder of running feet sounded outside the stateroom. A woman's gaunt face leaned through the doorway. She had a ring through one nostril and a ring through one ear lobe. A thin silver chain connected them. Teeth dangled from the chain, some of them human. 'Captain!'
'Yes, Crow?'
'Spotted another ship ahead.'
Rhino's interest perked up. 'What kind?'
'Looks like a Valiant 47.'
'Come on, woman. Give me the stats.'
'Well, she can't hold a candle to The Centurion here, but she's a beauty. One-piece fiberglass hull with high- density foam floors and stringers. Got a stainless steel tie-rod which anchors the cabin roof to the external lead keel. Teak and ash woodwork.'
'Status?'
'Dead in the water. Half a dozen men and a couple women on deck waving at us for help. Looks like the mast split or something.'
Rhino smiled, half of his mouth curling up, the other half frozen in a swamp of scar tissue. 'Well, then, let's get on with what we do best, eh.'
'And the passengers?' Crow asked, nodding her head. It made the teeth on her chain clack like dice.
He waved a bored hand. 'The usual. Save the women. Kill the men on sight.' He started out of the cabin, shoving Crow ahead of him. 'Battle stations, everyone.'
'What about them?' Angel asked, pointing at Eric and Tracy.
Rhino hesitated, considering. He plucked at the rubber band around his wrist, stretched it out, and let it snap against his skin. 'I tend to think you're right. They don't know anything about Alabaster or any fucking map. And we didn't find anything in the canoe. Still, first things first. We take care of the little darling waiting up ahead, then you can kill your old chum. But the girl we sell with the others we're about to pick up. Griffin, post someone outside the cabin. Anything pokes out of the door, kill it.' He marched off, cheerfully alive with the demands of command.
Angel slammed the door shut behind them. The lock clicked into place.
Tracy ran to the porthole, pressing her face against the glass as they raced toward the disabled ship. She could see the people aboard waving for help, looking happy now that someone was coming.
'Christ, Eric, they'll slaughter them.'
'Probably.'
'What can we do?'
Eric shook his head. 'Watch.'
They stared out the porthole. The people on the ship waved and cheered as they sped closer.
8.
Rhino smiled, showing large dark teeth behind his scarred lips. 'Everyone armed?'
'Armed and stationed, Cap,' Griffin said.
'Then let's party.' He rubbed his hands together energetically. 'And keep the more gaudy members of the crew toward the stern. We don't want to scare our new friends. Just yet.'
'Already done. Devon and Rilke are stashed behind the dinghies. And after seeing what that Ravensmith guy and his chick did to their cousins last night, the Peterson brothers have scrubbed that makeup shit off their faces. Fresh as choirboys, Cap, 'cept for their natural ugly, which they can't much help.'
Rhino nodded, looked around the deck. 'Where's Crow?'
'Guarding the prisoners. She's pissed about it though. Wants in on the real action.'
'She what?' Rhino asked, stretching his rubber band.
Griffin instantly realized he'd said something wrong. His voice went quiet. 'Said she wanted in on the action.'
'The action, huh? Well, shit, tell her maybe later we'll vote her fucking Prom Queen.'
Griffin didn't say anything.
Rhino spun angrily, his lumpy face glowering six inches above Griffin's. 'Tell her she'll do what the fuck she's told, just like everybody else on this pissbucket.' He stopped, panting the minty scent of toothpaste into Griffin's face. Suddenly he snapped the rubber band on his wrist. When he spoke again, his voice was calmer, though it practically vibrated with pressure. He exaggerated each whispered syllable. 'Are the weapons out of sight?'
'Y-Yes, Captain.' Griffin's foot nudged the crossbow he'd commandeered from Eric's salvaged canoe. One of
