“I’m not a sadistic man,” Stratton told them sadly. “Starving to death is a long and painful way to go.” He paused. “Don’t worry,” he said as he bent to try and get a grip on the box. It was unwieldy. “I’ll give you each two shots at the base of the skull. There won’t be any pain.”

“Thou shalt not kill,” Morgen said, his voice booming like an Old Testament prophet in the cave.

“Don’t!” Stratton ordered. His voice was ragged with the raw edges of hysteria. “I will not be the first to kill in defense of the faith.”

Seth got his fingers around the snap closure of the holster and gently pried it open. It made the barest of clicks. Stratton was occupied now with trying to maneuver the box into the empty pack. Seth slid the revolver from the holster. He felt the grip firm and cold in his hand.

Stratton had succeeded in getting the box in the pack. On top of the box he had thrown the flashlights. Now he was trying to refasten the straps. Seth nudged first Morgen and then Zoe with the muzzle of the gun. As they looked at him, he cast his eyes down at the revolver. There was no way to tell them, but he hoped they’d scatter in the darkness when the time came.

The time came very soon. Stratton finished with the straps, hoisted the pack, and slipped one arm through a strap. He would have to switch his gun to his left hand for just a moment in order to get his right arm through the second strap.

Seth watched, waited. Timing was all. Timing and whether or not the ammunition in the old pistol would fire. Stratton adjusted the left strap, shifted it to make the right one hang open. His hands started to come together. The left hand closed around the gun; for an instant, neither finger was on the trigger.

Now! Seth thought as he brought the revolver up. He nudged Zoe with his shoulder so that she sprawled on her side out of the light.

Stratton’s face changed from one of annoyance with the petty details of the pack to one of surprise as his hostages began to move. His eyes bulged with fear as he saw the revolver in Seth’s hand.

Stratton fired first with his left hand, but the aim was jerky and went wild. Morgen sprang to his feet and joined Zoe in the darkness. Together they ran toward yet another lump of bones on the floor, hoping to find another weapon.

Seth pulled back the hammer of the revolver, aimed for Stratton’s chest, and pulled the trigger. The dull thudding mechanical sound made by the hammer falling on a dud round fell like a mortal pain on Seth’s ears. He rolled out of the light xrf Stratton’s flashlight as the NSA man switched hands and fired again. The slug plowed a deep trench in the floor at Seth’s feet.