"Now we wait," Miro whispered. "We should eat, we'll need our strength."
They ate the gruel, scooping it up with their hands, and then they waited. If Carver or one of his men decided to check on them, or Carver decided it was time to rid himself of his two burdensome prisoners for good, they were done for.
The waiting was the hardest part. Miro's arms and legs were tensed, yet he still sat in the same position against the wall. He tried making conversation with Amber, but besides the terrible risk of their plan, and the fact they might not survive the night, there was little for them to talk about.
Miro heard the closing bells of the last dog watch, and then one bell to mark the shift change to the first watch. He closed his eyes, but didn't want to sleep. He heard six bells strike, which made it an hour before midnight. Finally, Miro heard one bell strike.
"We'll wait a few more minutes," Miro whispered to Amber. "Then we'll go."
In the now-complete darkness, Miro could sense Amber tense beside him. He squeezed her hand, and she squeezed his in return.
"All right," Miro said. "Now."
He decided to push the cell door in one motion, rather than drag the sound out. Taking a deep breath, he thrust the metal door open quickly. At the same time, Miro coughed as loudly as he could, hoping to disguise the sound.
He winced at the screeching, howling sound of rusted metal moving against metal. There was no use in waiting to see if anyone would come to investigate. Miro stepped out of the cell, leading Amber by the hand behind him.
He fortunately remembered the way to the main deck; without Carver's demonstration on the deck it would have taken them an age to find their way to the open. It was dark in the passageways, but behind these doors were scores of sailors, swinging in their hammocks and snoring.
Luck was with them, and they reached the companionway that led to the main deck without encountering anyone on the way. Miro climbed the ladder-like steps and was about to push the hatch open when he felt Amber squeeze his hand sharply.
Miro heard footsteps, at the edge of hearing but growing louder, the stump of a bare-footed man as he walked on the deck overhead. The thumps grew in volume until they were directly overhead. Would someone open the hatch and try to descend the steps? But the footsteps continued, past them, and over time drew away until they could no longer be heard.
Without thinking too hard about what he was doing, Miro pushed open the hatch. He peered out, the deck well lit by the starry sky overhead. The cool sea breeze sent a wave of pleasure through him after the cramped brig, but Miro still waited until he could see the deck was clear before he climbed out, pulling Amber up after him.
"Who's that?" a voice challenged. A sailor sleeping under some canvas in a corner sleepily sat up.
"Klaus," Miro said, walking over to the sailor and squatting down.
"You're not Klau…"
Miro's knife silenced the man as he stabbed firmly into the sailor's chest, bringing the tip of the knife up to find the heart.
He turned back to Amber. Their next step was to head up to the quarter-deck and find the officer's quarters. Carver would be in the captain's cabin, by far the most comfortable quarters on the ship.
Miro's agreement with Werner said he would kill Carver and the officers supporting him: Ulrich the quartermaster and Beck the second mate.
Miro saw the longboat, recently used and raised up on the side of the ship, ready to be lowered when next needed.
Rather than risk his and Amber's lives further, Miro decided to change the plan.
He led Amber to the longboat. "Here," Miro said, "help me put some of these barrels into the longboat."
"What are you doing?" she whispered. "Someone will see us."
"Hurry," Miro said, grunting as he lifted a barrel.
"What's in them?"
"Stores," Miro said. "Water, perhaps even food."
He heaved a second barrel into the longboat, wincing at the sound of wood striking wood. Amber managed to lift a barrel up with Miro helping the rest of the way. They threw two more barrels in before the commotion sparked shouts behind them.
"Get in the longboat while I lower it," Miro said.
Without hesitation Amber clambered over the gunwale. Miro heard more shouts and then turned as he heard a hatch crash open. A sailor ran towards him and Miro smashed a fist into the man's jaw. The sailor fell down.
The ship's bell began to ring, sounding again and again as the alarm was raised. Shuttered lanterns were opened and light spilled out onto the deck.
Miro's breath caught. The broken-nosed sailor Ros stood revealed in the light, filled with menace and holding a sharp cutlass in his hand.
Miro charged him, and they both went down in a pile of limbs. As they rolled over and over, each trying to get a stranglehold on the other, Miro caught Amber watching from inside the longboat, her eyes wide with fear.