Pitt moved slowly around the front of the truck, using the hood and fenders as a barrier between him and Darius. He climbed behind the steering wheel, wincing slightly as the sun splashed seat burned his naked thighs and back, and started the engine. Giordino followed him into the cab, never taking his eyes off the men beside the Mercedes, the gun very level in his hand. Then calmly, without any sign of desperate speed, Pitt smoothly shifted gears and aimed the truck toward Brady Field and the First Attempt's whaleboat dock. He glanced in the rearview mirror, then to the road and back to the mirror again several times until the three figures in the road disappeared when the truck rounded a curve through an ancient grove of olive trees.

"Nothing like a gun to even the odds," Giordino sighed, leaning back comfortably against the seat.

"Let's see that popgun."

Giordino passed it butt first. "You'll have to admit, it came in damn handy."

Pitt studied the lilliputian gun, looking up from time to time to dodge potholes in the road. He recognized it as a vest pocket Mauser, twenty-five caliber, the type European women favored for protection; it could easily be concealed in a purse or garter. It was only good for close-in work; past ten feet the accuracy, even in the hands of an expert, was hopeless.

"We must consider ourselves extremely lucky."

"Lucky, hell." Giordino grunted flatly. "That little baby evened the odds. Why do you think the old-time gangsters called a gun an equalizer?"

"Would you have pulled the trigger if Zac and his boys had decided not to cooperate?" Pitt asked.

"Without hesitation," Giordino replied confidently. "I'd have only winged them in the arms or legs. No sense in killing someone who keeps you supplied with Metaxa brandy."

"I can see you have a lot to learn about German automatics."

Giordino's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by that?"

Pitt slowed to pass a small boy who was leading a heavily laden donkey. "Two things. First, a twenty-five-caliber gun is hardly a man stopper. You could have emptied the clip into Darius, but without a killing shot to the heart or head you'd never have even slowed him down. And second, the expression on your face when you squeezed off the first shot would have been a sight to behold." Pitt casually tossed the gun onto Giordino's lap. "The safety catch is still on."

Pitt glanced briefly across the truck cab at Giordino. Giordino's eyes fell blankly to the gun in his lap. He made no attempt to pick it up. His face was expressionless, but Pitt knew him well enough to recognize an acute case of bafflement.

Giordino shrugged and gave Pitt a thin smile. "Kind of looks like Giordino the Kid just won the idiot award of the year. I just plumb forgot about the safety."

"You've never owned a Mauser. Where did you get it?"