Island of the Sequined Love Nun

said.
    "Get back on course."
    "I am on course."
    "Now!"
    "But I am on course. Look." He pointed to the nav computer, which still showed the coordinates of the airstrip in Japan, although it wasn't engaged with the autopilot.
    "No, you're not." She pointed to the compass. "You're at least ninety degrees off course. Turn the plane to Japan now or I'll shoot you."
    Tuck was tired of it. "Right. And you'll fly the plane? There's a difference between being able to read a compass and making a landing."
    "I didn't say I would kill you. I'm good with this. You'll still be able to fly with one testicle. Now that would be a shame for both of us. Please turn the plane."
    Tuck engaged the autopilot and let the Lear bring itself around to the course to Japan.
    "Sebastian said you might try something like that," she said. "I told him I could handle you. I can, can't I? Handle you, I mean."
    Tuck was quiet for a minute, berating himself for over-estimating the efficiency of the military. Then finally he said, "You are a nefarious, diabolical, and evil bitch."
    "And?"
    "That's all."
    "I'm impressed. 'Nefarious' has more than two syllables. I am a good influence on you."
    "Fuck you."
    "You will," she said.

48 – Too Many Guns
    Back at the drinking circle, Malink opened a copy of People reverentially and read by kerosene lamp while the other men huddled to get a look at the pictures.
    "Cher is worst-dressed," Malink announced.
    "Too skinny," said Favo. "I like Lady Di."
    Malink cringed. In the picture Lady Di was wearing a string of pearls, obviously the reason for Favo's preference. Malink turned the page.
    "Celestine Raptors of Madison County is number one movie in country," Malink read.
    "I want to see a movie," Favo said. "You must tell the Sky Priestess to tell Vincent to bring a movie."
    "Many movies," said Abo. "And many delicious light and healthy snacks with NutraSweet registered trademark," he added in English. "Vincent will bring many snacks."
    Malink was turning to the moving story of a two-thousand-pound man who, after being forklifted out of his house, had dieted down to a svelte fourteen hundred when the sound of a machine gun rattled across the island. Malink put down the magazine and held up his hand to quiet the men. They waited and there was another burst of gunfire. A few seconds later they heard shouting and looked down the beach to see Sarapul running as fast as his spindly old legs would carry him.
    "Come help!" he shouted. "They shot the navigator!"

    The Uzi was pressed so hard into Tuck's side that he felt as if his ribs were going to separate any second. The guard crouched behind him in the cockpit hatchway, while out on the tarmac Beth Curtis exchanged the cooler for another manila envelope. She seemed to be in a much better mood when she climbed back into the copilot's seat.
    "Home, James."
    Tuck tossed his head toward the back of the plane where the guard was taking his seat. "I guess you weren't taking any chances about me taking off while you were out of the plane."
    "Do I look stupid?" she said. A smile there, no hint of a challenge.
    "No, I guess not." Tuck pushed up the throttles and taxied the Lear back out to the runway.
    Again Beth Curtis reached over and gave him a light squeeze to the crotch. She put on her headset so she could talk to him over the roar of the engines as they took off. "Look, I know this is hard for you. Trust is something you build, and you haven't known me long enough to learn to do that."
    Tuck thought, It would help if you weren't changing personalities every five minutes.
    "Trust me, Tucker. What we are doing is not hurting the people of Alualu. There are people in India who are selling off their organs for less than the price of a used Toyota pickup. With what we make, we can be sure that these people are always taken care of, and we can take care of ourselves in the meantime."
    "If people are selling their organs on the cheap, then how are you-we-making so much money?"
    "Because we can do it to order. Transplant isn't just a matter of blood type, you know. Sure, in a pinch-and usually it is a pinch-you can go on just blood type, but there are four other factors in tissue typing. If they match, along with blood type, then you have a better chance of the body not rejecting the organ. Sebastian has a database of the tissue types of every native on the island. When there's a need for an exact match, the order comes in over the satellite and we run it through the database.