Aaron Elkins: Twenty blue devils

"Your coffee's already stowed,” one of the men told Nelson. He shrugged his chin at the string of big plastic sacks of ice cubes that was being hefted along the line. “For the captain's drinks,” he said, laughing.

"I don't doubt it,” Nelson said primly.

They found Rudy on the enclosed bridge with Captain Thorwald, a big-boned, middle-aged Dane whose whites were by no means dingy, but who otherwise made a satisfactory old sea dog, what with his graying Captain Ahab beard and hard, bronzed, windburnt face. The captain bent over a drafting table to scrawl his signature across the bottom of a form, gave Nelson a brusque hello, and went off to speak to the harbormaster, leaving them to the modest comforts of the bridge.

John and Nelson stood just inside the door. “Hello, Rudy,” John said.

Rudy seemed to sense something in the air. He looked from one to the other, waiting for them to say something more.

"Rudy,” John began, “we've been-"

Nelson cut in, shrill and excited. “Where did all that money go, Rudy? What was it for?"

John almost laughed aloud. Good old Nelson and his delicate touch.

But it brought results. Although Rudy at first swelled himself up to protest, he changed his mind and decided to give it up before the first word was out. He looked stolidly, almost wistfully, at them for a moment- how could you ever hope to understand? he seemed to be thinking-then turned sadly away from them and walked to an open window, leaning on a built-in cupboard and staring out across the harbor toward the two sleek, gray missile cruisers tied up at the French naval base at Fare Ute.

"It's a long story,” he said.

Here it comes, John thought. He's cooking it up right now. I can practically see the gears turning. It was all Brian's fault, he's going to say. It was all Tari's fault. Anybody who was dead and couldn't speak for himself.

But John wasn't even close. When Rudy turned back to face them he spoke only two words and they had nothing to do with Brian or Tari.

"Don't move,” he said.

He was standing about eight feet from them, no longer even remotely wistful, and in his right hand was an object shaped something like a snub-nosed revolver, like a. 38-caliber Police Special, in fact, but made of gaudy orange-and-black plastic. John would have taken it for a clumsy Halloween toy except for the strip of black plastic that jutted down from the base of the grip and held a row of three red cylinders that looked convincingly like twelve-gauge shotgun shells. From where he stood John was uncomfortably able to look straight up the stubby barrel and see that a fourth shell was already chambered. With his thumb Rudy slowly cocked the hammer.

"Now what the hell is that supposed to be?” John said.

"It's a flare pistol,” Rudy said. “At least I think it is."

"You can't hurt anybody with a flare pistol,” John said, wishing he believed it. “They have to meet safety specs."

"Do they? Well, we can find out easily enough. Who wants to be the guinea pig?"

"You killed Tari, didn't you?” Nelson demanded. “He found out what you were doing."

John looked at him with something like pride. Nelson had more than his share of faults, but lack of gumption wasn't one of them.

Rudy moved the pistol slightly, so that it was directed more at Nelson than at John. That gave Nelson his chance to look up the barrel and now he quailed visibly, for which John couldn't blame him.

Scared or not, Nelson didn't back down. “You…you wouldn't kill us,” he said, not quite bringing off the intended sneer.

"Wouldn't I now?” Rudy said. “Let me assure you, Nelson, that underneath this feeble exterior lies a tremendous absence of moral character."

It was the sort of wry crack he might have tossed off at a cupping session, and delivered in much the same tone of voice. He's not panicky, John thought. He's in control, he knows what he wants.

"What do you want, Rudy?” he said.

"I want out,” Rudy said. “Nelson, come here."

"No!” said Nelson, white and trembling.

The gun swung around to him again. Rudy extended his arm, took dead aim at his nose. “Nelson, come here!" Nelson moved a reluctant step forward and stopped. “Why?"

"Because you and I are leaving. And John will just stay there like a good little fellow and not say peep while we climb into the van and get on our way. Otherwise…well."

Nelson licked his lips but stood his place. “How do I know you won't kill me anyway?” He was barely able to get it out.

The question, a pretty sensible one from John's point of view, seemed to irritate Rudy. “Oh, for God's sake, Nelson-"

"Rudy, what's the point?” John said. “You know you can't get off the island."

"Of course I can get off the island."

And of course he could. There were a thousand places along the shore from which boats could leave and find their way to just about anywhere in the Pacific.

"John,” Rudy said, “you'd better tell him to come here. You know I mean business."

"Go ahead, Nelson,” John said.

"Backward,” said Rudy.

Nelson shuffled backward toward him. His frightened glance met John's once, then dropped miserably to the floor. Rudy put a hand on his shoulder to halt him and moved up closer behind him and a little to the side, the pistol digging into Nelson's hip.

"Now, John,” Rudy said, “we'll be leaving. Move away from the door. Sideways. Lie down over by the wheel, on your face. And stay there, John. I warn you."

"No, I don't think so, Rudy."

Rudy's face twitched. So did the hand with the gun. That shook him up, John thought. Great, now both of us are shook up.

"John-"

"Forget it, Rudy. I'm not moving, you're not leaving,” he said in his calmest, most resolute voice, hoping Rudy couldn't hear the whomping in his chest. He didn't want Rudy panicking; he just wanted him to decide that he had no chance, that his only recourse was to give up. “Now put that damn thing down and we can talk this over."

"I'll kill him, John,” Rudy said and dug the flare pistol into Nelson's side. Nelson stiffened.

"And then what?” John said. “Where does it get you?” His lips were dry but he kept himself from licking them. “You kill him and what do you do about me? There's only one cartridge in that chamber. I'll be on you before you can load another."

"You know, you're absolutely right,” Rudy said. “Maybe I'd be better off killing you instead.” He was getting very edgy now. His glance kept darting through the windows at the activity going on on the deck below. Who knew when someone might decide to come up to the bridge?

"Same problem,” John said. “If you kill me, what do you do about Nelson?"

Rudy was still able to dredge up a dry laugh. “Nelson I think I can cope with.” He moved the gun a little away from Nelson's hip so it was leveled at John's belt. “I'm really sorry, John.” His eyelids squeezed together twice, a queer, nervous tic. Nelson stood frozen, staring straight at John. His eyes looked like bull's-eye saucers.

Christ, John thought, I played him wrong, he's actually going to do it… “Rudy,” he said quickly, “think for a minute, will you? If you shoot that thing off you'll have everybody on the ship up here in two seconds. What good is that going to do you? I'm telling you, you don't have any way out. Don't make it any worse for yourself than it already is…"

But Rudy wasn't listening and John knew it; he was steeling himself to pull the trigger. The barrel came up a little higher to point at John's throat. John's mind was buzzing. He saw only one thing he could do, one thing he could try, and it didn't have much going for it: duck unexpectedly and spring for Rudy's legs. Rudy would have only one chance, and if the shot went over his head or merely winged him, maybe he could…