The new plan was harder to swallow than escape. Harder to execute as well. But it was the only choice left.

Robin watched his uncle from the quarter deck, trying to muster up the malice he had felt last night when he'd agreed to this. This was the man who had taken him away from everyone he'd ever cared about. This was the man who killed his father. So why did Robin have such a hard time imagining himself plunging the knife into his chest?

He'd never killed anyone before; as a deckhand, combat wasn't really part of his job. Even when other pirates had raided the Encantador and his job was to defend, Robin had never murdered another human. He wondered if he would feel different after the deed was done. If the devil would crawl out from beneath the dark waves, clutch his hand and refuse to let go.

That was what Mama used to say: Evil is a needy friend. Once you give into him, it's only a matter of time before he comes back for more.

But for his new friends, perhaps it was worth it. If they could kill the captain and escape with their lives, maybe Robin could reinvent himself. Join the crew of the Fina or become Captain of his own ship, as his father had been . . .

He put his head down and went back to mopping. No one could know what they were planning. His job was to scout out Araya's patterns and weaknesses -- easy ways to kill him, if there was one.

Robin couldn't imagine how Araya was able to live with himself. If Robin had killed his own brother, he would have killed himself as well. But Araya continued to strut around on the ship that was now his, not Carlos Araya's.

Robin hated that the Captain shared his name -- Rosario Araya, after the Captain's father, Robin's abuelo. But maybe it was a good thing. It reminded Robin every day of what he could become if he wasn't carefully -- how close evil lurked during every second of the day.

He saw the door on the deck bellow open. Livia met his eye as she was pushed to the ground, her hands bound at her back. Her eyes said, kill him.

Livia was a vengeful spirit. Robin didn't doubt that if he gave her a knife and left her and Araya in a room alone, he would be dead in five seconds.

Going back to his dull cleaning, he found himself thinking about James' visit last night. He hadn't known he and Olivia were involved . . . well, at least he didn't seem to be such a bad guy. At least he and Robin had a common enemy.

Apparently, the other Captain's father had been killed by Araya as well. He wanted to see him dead as much as the rest of them.

Heath's idea was simplest: use the knife and slit his throat. Or, as she put it, "Murder his goddamn face off."

While this was one way to do it, the rest had vetoed that plan. What they were going for had to be more tactful, less full-on. Poison, maybe. Pushing him off the plank, having his own men turn on him . . .

But it was true, Araya was too good for these fanciful ideas. He could smell poison from a mile away. He'd push Robin off the plank before the deckhand could get him anywhere near it. And his men were far too loyal to turn on their captain, even if there was a valid reason to do so.

Robin did have an idea that might work, but he was hesitant to present it, mostly because he was afraid they would adopt the plan. It was dangerous, but it just might work.

Watching Olivia stumble behind her guard, he became more and more conflicted. If they didn't kill Araya, she might never get out of here alive. But the only way to do that might be to put her in even more danger. What was the word for this? Catch 21?

He would tell them, he decided. Tonight. They would get out of here alive. They had to.