They wait until Buckland's gig has begun its trip back toward the Renown before they go too far. There's always a chance of Hobbs or someone like him seeing them, sending up a word or alarm, but soon enough the murky darkness of spent gunpowder and shifting sunlight swallow them up and they move with greater speed, stopping in a hollowed area to reload each of their guns.

"Madness," Bush mutters under his breath, shaking his head as he slides one pistol into his breeches and begins to work on the other. "Suicide."

"Not suicide," Archie reminds him in a low voice, barely loud enough to fill the space between them. "Murder of his own Lieutenant."

"Mr. Kennedy…"

Archie raises his gaze and meets Bush's eyes. "Do you deny, Mr. Bush, that acting captain Buckland sent Horatio to die?"

"I would not be surprised, Mr. Kennedy, if the acting captain had not quite thought this through…"

"I beg to differ, Mr. Bush. I think this is the first endeavor Buckland has actually put any thought into at all. Of course, he's had to, as Horatio wasn't about to plot it for him, though he certainly accepted the fate well enough."

"I doubt our Mr. Hornblower intends to accept any fate a man other than himself has chosen for him."

"Mr. Hornblower does his duty, Mr. Bush. Even if it's sure to get him killed."

"Hasn't yet."

Archie laughs and finishes with his second pistol. "Only has to happen once."

They move through the tunnels, the sound of gunfire and the smell of smoke and powder in the air. They stop several times to reload, their movements quick and economical. For a moment Archie can imagine Horatio's voice, calling out the time. He glances at Bush and imagines the same thought in his head, as a slow smile curves his lips and he huffs a laugh beneath his breath.

"Why are you doing this, Mr. Bush?"

"Because it has to be done. And I do my duty, Mr. Kennedy." His second pistol is loaded and he glances at Kennedy. "And you?"

"If Horatio dies, it should be in battle with great and glorious honors. It should not be tucked away in some useless bay because of an old man's madness, a foolish man's mistake, or his own damnable pride."

"That is why, is it? Why you risk life and limb and Buckland's ire?"

Archie laughs at the last. "I've had far worse than anything Buckland can rain down on me, Mr. Bush. And as for the rest…he's worth it. Worth my life. And more." He nods toward the stairs. "Shall we, Mr. Bush?"

"If he's worth life, Mr. Kennedy, then what say you we keep him living it?"

Archie pulls his handkerchief free and waves it in Bush's direction before heading for the stairs. "That was my plan all along, Mr. Bush."

"There was a plan?"

"There's always a plan. We just don't always let the superior officers in on it."

Bush laughs and follows behind Archie as they start up the twisting staircase. "You'll probably not be surprised, Mr. Kennedy, to find I have no trouble believing that at all."