Reyland wrinkled his large brow as he leaned back in the folding camp chair, thinking.

In the silence, the only sound was Emerson sitting at another chair behind Reyland, typing at his computer.

Gannon looked across the limestone rim of the hole to where Sunglasses and El Mighty Mouse stood strapping what looked like fully automatic M4 military rifles. They carried them with a casual ease up before them in the position known as high ready. Butt tight to shoulder, elbows in, trigger finger against the receiver.

Textbook, Gannon thought, watching them. Professional.

“What are you looking at?” El Mighty Mouse said to him as Reyland finally nodded.

“Boys, new plan,” Reyland said, pointing at Ruby. “Take the woman and take her clothes off and tie her to that palm tree there.”

“Wait for me, fellas,” Blackbeard yelled from the water. “Toss me another rope. C’mon. You can’t start the fun without me.”

“If you touch her,” Gannon said, calmly shaking his head, “if you touch any of us, you never get it back.”

“Who are you kidding?” said Sunglasses. “Your girlfriend will be squealing so loud, you’ll tell us the moon is made of queso dip to make it stop.”

“The only thing you’ll get out of hurting me or my friends,” Gannon said, squinting at Reyland, “will be the joy of me making sure you never find what you’re looking for. Ever.”

“Oh, listen to this, boys. Supercop here is going to stand up to torture. We’ve got a tough guy here among us,” Sunglasses announced.

Gannon’s smile was almost wistful in the firelight.

“I’m not that tough,” he said, staring at the water.

Gannon’s smile evaporated as he stared at the man level in his aviator sunglasses.

“I’m just tougher than you,” he said.

“Sit your silly ass down,” El Mighty Mouse said to the mercenary as he started to come around the rim of the hole at Gannon.

Gannon turned to Reyland.

“I said I would get what you need. Untie me, and I’ll go get it.”

“Maybe this information is time sensitive,” Reyland said. “Maybe I don’t care as long as it stays buried.”

“And all those diamonds?” Gannon said, staring at him. “Are they time sensitive, too?”

“Diamonds? What diamonds?” El Mighty Mouse said.

Gannon looked over at him and then back at Reyland and smiled.

“You didn’t tell him?” Gannon said. “Oh, wow. You didn’t, did you? He doesn’t know. And here I thought all you guys were friends.”

“What diamonds?” El Mighty Mouse said again.

“I mean, the money is nothing,” Gannon continued. “Two point eight million. What’s that? Chump change. The stones down in that cave are worth ten, twenty—who knows, maybe thirty—times that.”

El Mighty Mouse looked at Gannon, then back at Reyland.

“Is that true?” he said.

“No. I don’t know. Maybe,” Reyland said, putting up his hands. “You think they tell me everything, Tommy? Was I on the damn plane?”

“It’s true,” Gannon said. “There’s a fortune down there.”