Kanani grinned at Jock grinning at her, and she nodded, yes, yes. He nodded at the blood mess of silverware and she picked up a steak knife, and a butter knife, one in each hand. For Wendell. Dinner time! They were gonna finish this thing like nothing had ever been finished. You want gung-ho, you want go for broke? We bust ’em up forever.

Wendell saw the door. “Selfer in there?” he said to them.

Jock nodded. “And Frankie,” he said. “Two birds, Wendell.”

And Kanani nodded along. They were going to separate the two limb from limb until you couldn’t tell who was who. They might as well be Captain Cook. Maybe they’d even bake their remains. Aloha! Close your eyes, boys, because here we come . . .

But Wendell wasn’t smiling. “Both of them are in there?” he said.

“Yep. Oh, yeah.”

“We need them quiet,” Kanani said. “Never talk no more.”

Wendell glared at the revolver in Jock’s hands. His own hands clamped to his waist. “They in bad shape?” he said.

“You bet. Frankie might be done fer.”

“They deserve it,” Kanani added.

“No doubt. That’s the Golden Rule.”

Jock’s head cocked at Wendell and Kanani’s cocked at Jock. “Come again?” Jock said.

“And now you plan to finish them off,” Wendell said, his shoulders filling out. “That about right?”

“You look disappointed,” Jock said, his grin fading.

“I’m not. I just want to know—did you use that? That gun?”

“This? No,” Jock said. He looked to Kanani.

Kanani shook her head. She lowered the knives. “They did all this to each other.”

“We only helped them along,” Jock said. “Got them in the ring, see.”

“It was gonna happen sooner or later,” Kanani added.

“Lansdale?”

“Gone,” Kanani said.

“Though he could always come back with a crew,” Jock said.

“I see. Which is exactly why we need to keep moving,” Wendell said.

Kanani and Jock had crouched to the wall, looking up at him. Jock said, “But . . .”

“I don’t know how to thank you two.” Wendell paused to clear his throat. “But, no more blood. All right? Just leave those two in there.”

“Let them rot. Like they did to you. In their cell. Yeah,” Jock said.

The revolver went into his pocket. The heat had cooled in Kanani’s chest. Wendell reached down to her and touched her face, and she leaned her head into his hand, smiling.

Jock nodded at Wendell. “I bet you were one hell of a patrol leader. Okay, Lett. Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Wendell said, “because we’re not out of this. Are we?”

“I know my way around the tunnel parts,” Jock said. “But after that?”

They looked to Kanani.

“Let’s go,” was all she said.

44.

Kanani, Jock, and Wendell moved down more corridors, through doors the keys unlocked.

They smelled the cigarette first. Then they heard the footsteps.