“So,” I said slowly, “you traded jewelry and precious coins… for a power tool?”
“It’s a Bust-All,” he insisted. “Besides, what else am I gonna blow my jack on out here? Race cats?”
He had a point. “Maybe you can help me get something I need.”
“Whatcha be needin’?” he asked.
“A gun.”
“Oooo, that’s gonna cost some,” he said. “Whatcha got on ya?”
“First, can you get me a gun?”
Chepito nodded. “You’re cautious. I like that. Well, I’m pretty sure I can get you a gun. Don’t know about bullets, though.”
“That’s OK. I don’t need bullets.”
Chepito gave me a sideways look. “Mebbe yer more in the market for a hammer.”
“I don’t want to sprout anyone,” I said, a little testy, “I just need to make a point.”
“You’d make yer point better with a few rounds.” He shrugged. “But… bullets are real hard to come by. If you don’t want ’em, I think we can make a quicker deal, but it still won’t be cheap.”
“Well,” I said, “you find that gun, I’ll take stock of what I’ve got, and we’ll talk again tomorrow.”
“Fine by me,” he said. “Chalk head,” I heard him add in a mutter as he walked away.
I kept on going back to the compound myself, but slowly, thinking in circles. I fell behind most of the other souls. I almost didn’t notice when a few split away from the rest. They looked furtive. I hurried to follow them. Anyone who had a reason for sneaking around, I figured, was someone I needed to keep tabs on. The group skirted around the main factory area and up over a ridge. I followed them down into a huge pit with crumbling walls, but with a lot of peculiar right angles. Probably an old quarry. Then it was up a steep, winding track over another ridge and down toward a beach on a remote corner of the island near the edge.
I paused at the top of the ridge, watching the small group as they ran down to the beach. Once they had gotten into the pit they stopped being so sneaky. Now they were just loping along and jabbering to each other. They obviously assumed there’d be no one to see them and this part of the island did look pretty empty. Except for some faint lights down on the beach, that is.
I followed after the souls, moving as quickly and as quietly as I could. When I got to the beach, what I had taken to be a large building from the ridge turned out to be a ship in a crudely-improvised dry dock. I tried to whistle through my teeth like Slisko, but only managed a ‘pfff’ like a tire going flat. I craned my neck when I got to the hulk, trying to see up on deck; but it was getting pretty dark by then, it was a big ship, and I couldn’t make out much except it was shaped like a tanker or maybe a container ship. I found a rope ladder dangling over the cliff-like side and slowly, quietly, climbed up.
There were a few chunks of coral scattered around the deck providing some light, enough for me to decide the ship was definitely a tanker. I found an open hatch and, after crouching beside it while listening for any movement inside, went inside. I moved softly through the corridors, finding no one. They had to be around somewhere, I thought. I got near to what I supposed must be the engine room when my foot caught on something and I went down in a loud clatter.
“Hey!” a voice shouted. “Who’s out there?”
I knew that voice!
Glottis poked his head out of the hatch in front of me.
“Manny!” he exclaimed.
“Glottis!!” I exclaimed back, more overjoyed than I’d ever been since coming to the Land of the Dead. “You’re OK!”
“Well,” he said, pulling me to my feet, “it hurt a little when I hit.”
“I gotta tell you, carnal,” I said, grasping one of his massive hands in a two-fisted shake, “I thought you were dead!”
“I’ve been havin’ a great time, Manny. C’mon!”
He led me into the engine room where there was gathered the little gang I had followed along with a few other souls. Quick introductions were gotten out of the way and I was able to ask the question that was making me feel like popping.
“How’d you survive, mano?”
“Oh, that’s easy,” Glottis answered. He gestured to the coral miners. “They’d lost a few people, working so close to the edge, so they strung up some chain-link fencing a while back. It managed to hold me while Albert here got a rope down to me.” He shrugged. “It was just simple hand-over-hand after that.”
“Well, you have no idea what a relief this is,” Glottis grinned broadly, “but what are you guys doing out here?”
“This ship got too close to the edge,” one of the souls, named Anton, answered. “The crew dropped anchor and it held… but they didn’t do it soon enough. The ship went over, hanging by the anchor over the edge like a Christmas tree ornament. A few of the crew that weren’t flung away into the void, or smashed to bits in the wreck, managed to crawl up the chain and get to the island. You can imagine what a ship like this could mean for us.”
“Easily,” I said, “but how’d you get the ship up here?”
“Hard work,” Anton said smugly. “Lots of cable, winches, pulleys… there’s a lot of industrial hardware on this island, most of which Domino Hurley doesn’t know anything about.”
“Not surprising,” I said, considering how sure of himself he was, “but why are you still here?”
“The accident wrecked the engines,” Anton answered. “We haven’t been able to repair them.”
“Yeah,” Glottis said, “but listen…” He turned to fiddle with the machinery and the hulking diesel engine roared briefly to life before spluttering into silence. “I ask you,” he said, all teeth, “is there an engine that can resist the love that’s in these hands?”
“Apparently not,” I answered in amazement. “I think this baby’s our ticket out of here!”
“Oh, yeah, good point,” Glottis said, voice full of sarcasm. “I was wrenchin’ ’er just for fun, but your idea’s good, too.”
“OK, OK,” I laughed, “so I’m stating the obvious. How long before you’ve got ’er working?”
Glottis shrugged. “Not sure. A few days. Weeks.” He shrugged again.
“I see.” Not great, but it would have to do. “Does anyone have a gun?” I asked.
I got a lot of bewildered looks. Glottis laughed. “Manny, what are you gonna do? Take hostages and sprout ’em one by one until the engines start workin’?”
“No,” I exclaimed, “I just need one for Meche. She thinks the DOD arms its agents—don’t ask me why—and she won’t trust me until I hand over my rod.”
Glottis shook his head. “What is it with you and the ladies?”
“Don’t start,” I warned.
“Sorry, Manny, but I don’t think anyone here has a gun.”
“Domino wouldn’t still be here if I had one,” one guy said.
“I wouldn’t mind sprouting him, myself,” I said, “but I think we need to go easy on any revenge ideas. Domino’s got Meche and those two angelitos under his thumb and he’s just given me a lesson about how on the ball he is. Anyone who makes a stupid play…” I didn’t have to finish.
“Maybe we’ll have to leave them behind,” someone said, “if we’re ever going to make a clean getaway.”
“Forget it,” I said firmly. “If Meche and the angelitos doesn’t get out, then no one does. Got me?”
“Hey, man,” another said, “who elected you dictator?”
I ignored the question and looked around. “Now, I know none of you like the situation you’re in. I sure as hell don’t, I’ll tell ya that twice.” Glottis’ ears twitched sharply and I realized I had just used one of Maximino’s favorite phrases. I didn’t let it throw me. “But what you may not know is that this isn’t the way things were supposed to be for any of you. What Domino and his boss are up to is hardly approved DOD procedure. I don’t know why the DOD is putting up with it, but the outfit Glottis and I belong to—the Lost Souls’ Alliance—is fighting them. Meche’s the only solid link we have to these bastards and I owe it to her personally to get her out of here. So if Glottis can get this ship working, it’s gonna carry everybody away from here. Including and especially Meche. No arguments. Clear?”