Target in the Sky [Arthur and Ludwig]

[Ludwig Beilschmidt]

Surprised at the readiness with which the man handed over his weapon, Ludwig nonetheless nodded, a solemn look on his face, and got quickly to work. The gun was built in a standard way, and it took him only a few minutes to completely disassemble every part that hadn't been screwed together, which was good enough. Keeping in mind the man's command to hurry, as soon as he'd finished, Ludwig picked up the barrel and the butt of the gun and went to the door. The lock and chain had been solidly attached, but the door had another weak point: the hinges. And for all the pomp and stained wood and gilding that had gone into the airship, the hinges had two things going for Ludwig: their design was simple, and the metal they had been made of was softer than steel.

Using the barrel of the gun as a chisel and the butt as a hammer, he pounded away at the hinge-pins, and they slid out of the hinges easily. The door now hung loosely on the lock side, and Ludwig pried the hinge side open as best he could, still using the gun pieces. Once he'd gotten a good opening, he simply grabbed the edge of the door and pulled; the wood around where the lock had been installed splintered and the door fell to the floor with a thud.

Ludwig didn't bother announcing that he'd finished: he simply gestured to the dark opening where the door had been, a sort of 'here-you-go' for the pirate captain.