A Child's Courage.

Rescue Plan.

Meanwhile, not far away, Jon and Hank waited in a small stolen air boat with Hannah and Tom securely tied and gagged in the front. The two men watched Morgana and her followers leave with two of the children in tow and two others following them from a safe distance. “It would seem like Morgana got what she was looking for.” remarked Jon.

“Which means her need for the two remaining children is coming to a close.” Darkly, Hank added.

“Fortunately for them, we got here just in time.” Serious, Grim said. The two turned to see him pull alongside their boat in a modern barge. “I cannot allow Morgana and her crew to learn the secret of the pirate’s vault.”

Hank and Jon were surprised to find more than a dozen men on the barge, each armed with rifles. “I’m glad you made it, sir.” Softly, Hank said. “Why all of the muscle, though?”

“All will be revealed in due time.” Sternly, Grim replied. “For the moment, just understand that I am in charge.”

“What is your plan, sir?” asked Jon.

“Simple, really.” Calmly, Grim explained. “I have already told the police that I will be investigating their allegations of illegal activities in one of my half way houses. Therefore, we will take Morgana into custody and hand her over to the authorities with enough evidence to put her and her associates behind bars for the rest of their lives.”

“What of the operation, sir?” Curious, Hank asked.

“That is of no concern.” Calmly, Grim said. “Everything is being moved overseas as we speak. As for the children, well, we could take them with us, but I believe it would be easier to simply add murder to Morgana’s long list of offenses.”

He then motioned Jon and Hank to join him on the barge, which they accepted, dragging Hannah and Tom with them.

“Put them in the back with the others.” Firmly, Grim ordered.

Hank dragged Hannah and Tom to the back of the barge where Kim and Amy sat helplessly on the deck, gagged and handcuffed to a rail, and secured them to it next to them. Hannah looked up at Hank with hatred in her eye and swore at him but the gag muffled her words.

“A small piece of advice for you, my dear.” With a smile, he whispered. “The quieter you stay, the better your chances of living through this ordeal.”

Hannah’s eyes widened with fear as the threat reached her and reluctantly became silent. Hank knelt down and tapped her on the cheek. “That’s much better.”

With that, he walked away. Hannah turned to the other three children who returned her fearful stare. Tommy, however, winked at the others before he moved his fingers through his hair, pulling out a small bobby pin…

“Let’s get this over with.” Serious, Grim said. “We have an early flight to catch tomorrow.” With that, the barge slowly made its way to the old riverboat…

At the same time, deep inside the maze of caves, Rick broke the surface of the water, taking a deep breath, then looked around to take in his new surroundings, trying to find some sign that Michael was there. He called out his name but he only heard the echoes of his own voice, bouncing off the high cavern walls. He called again and was relieved to hear Michael’s voice echo back at him. Rick looked around and spotted the pirate ship resting on a sand bar with tall mounds of treasure on the shore. For a moment, he just stared at it in awe then shook his head, letting out a small laugh. “Leave it to Michael to always find the jack pot.”

Rick swam to the shore of the sand bar but paused upon spotting the name of the ship near it’s bow. “The Young Misery… Where did I hear that name before?”

He shrugged it off for the moment then climbed up onto the deck, using the grappling claws. Like Michael, he was not prepared for the sight that awaited him there. “This just keeps getting and weirder and weirder!” Shivering, he said.

“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Walking up to him, Michael said. “Where is Kelly and Race, are they alright?”

“They’re fine. They are keeping an eye on the two kids. Tim and Emily are going to tell Morgana that I didn’t make it, I just hope she buys it.”

Michael shook his head. “We can’t worry about that now, we have a lot of work to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Take a look at the ceiling.”

Rick looked up at the roof of the cavern and found it to be shored up like the last sink hole they were in. “Yeah, this sink hole has been shored up too.” Curious, he said. “But I don’t see what...”

His voice trailed off as he spotted what appeared to be a small, piece of the old riverboat’s hull, with a gaping hole in it, showing through a part of the ceiling that seemed to be just now beginning to be caving in. “Well blow me down…”

“It’s the A list.” With a small laugh, Michael said. “Morgana’s pirate vault was right under her nose. We may yet have a chance to save my brother and his friends, and bring Grim’s entire operation crashing down.”

As Rick looked up at the tiny section of the A list’s bottom hull, a sudden, heavy wave of realization fell over him. He looked about the deck of the ship at the many different sized remains and noticed that all of the smaller skeletons had rusty shackles locked onto their wrists and ankles, which confirmed his suspicions. “It’s far more than that, I’m afraid.” said Rick, still in a state of horrified shock.

“Huh?” Michael turned to him. “What do you mean?”

“This is the S.S. Young Misery.” replied Rick. “It was a pirate ship that was the terror of the seven seas.”

“I don’t doubt it.” Serious, Michael said. “There’s another one of those crystalline lasers on the forward deck, along with one in the back and two one each side on the deck below us.”

Rick shook his head. “This ship did more that attack other vessels.” Shuddering, Rick said. “It was also a slave ship.”

Michael nodded. “These slave traders, if I know my advanced world history, took children of all ethnic groups, from every region of North America. They did not care what color, age, or race you were, they only cared if you were a child they could sell as a slave.”

Rick shook his head. “It’s no life I would want.” Darkly, he said. “Only, there is more. The captain of this pirate slave ship was Caine ‘the butcher’ Grim.”

Michael became startled then furious. “Maximillian Grim is the owner and operator of the Arrowhead Adoption Association!” Softly, he said. “It can’t just ne a coincidence!”

“What a legacy!” Sickened, Rick said. “I can’t help wonder how these pirates managed to get their ship in here?”

Michael again looked up at the ceiling, but he then let out a long, loud gasp of both fear and astonishment as all of the pieces again began to fit inside his mind. “The children they kept as their own slaves must have set a trap!”

Rick too carried a look of terror and astonishment. “They dug all of those tunnels and shored up these two sink holes… to stop them once and for all.” He looked back at the remains scattered about the deck and shivered off a certain horrified coldness.
“They must have waited to strike until the ship was docked in just the right spot. Only they must not have counted on the ship having captured children on board.”

Michael suddenly gasped. “Then the remains we saw in the other sink hole were....”

His words hung in the air as Rick slowly nodded. “They are at least some of the very children who had set this trap over a hundred years ago, to forever stop their cruel, pirate captors from harming anyone else.”

“But why did they die in the other sink hole? Curious, Michael asked. “Also, what was with the other gun powder keg hanging from the ceiling the maze center?”

Rick shrugged. “We may never know. All we can do is stop the Arrowhead Adoption Association from kidnapping anyone else.”

Rick pointed up. “By bringing their entire operation crashing down around them like the slave kids did to their pirate captors only this time, they will live to answer for their crimes.”

Michael opened his mouth to speak but closed it again and slowly nodded. “Let’s get to work then.”

Inside the riverboat on the southern end of the swamp, Joey tossed and turned restlessly on the small couch, as if to escape Dr. Jerk’s cruelty within his dreams. Then a soft hand touched his shoulder, causing him to wake with a start. He bolted up right on the couch and instinctively struggled to push the hand away. “Get away!” Still dreaming, he shouted. “Leave me alone!”

Then Nicole’s voice reached him. “Take it easy, Joey, no one’s going to hurt you.”

Joey eased his struggling as he opened his eyes and was relieved to see Nicole, the girl he had met earlier. He stopped fighting and let out a slow, heavy breath. The visions of his nightmare faded away, allowing reality to take hold.

“Welcome back to the world of the living.” Smiling, Nicole said. “Are you feeling better?”

Joey nodded, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I guess so. How long was I asleep?”

“It’s almost noon now, kid.” Softly, Nicole replied. “You slept through the entire day and into the night, till today. For a while there, we were afraid we were going to lose you.”

“That long!?!” Exasperated, joey demanded. “I’ve got to talk someone! I was sent to find help!” Joey tried to get up but a sharp pain in his side stopped him fast and sat back down.

“You’re too badly banged up to go anywhere just yet.” Firmly, Nicole said. “Try to relax for now.”

“How can I relax when my friends are in trouble!?!” Tearfully, Joey wailed. “It may already be too late!”

Just then, the men Joey recognized as Doctor Samson and captain Don ran into the main hall, both were out of breath. “We heard shouting, is everything okay” Breathless, Samson asked. He then spotted Joey sitting up on the couch and gave a smile. “So, our little patient is finally awake, is he?”

“He just woke up, dad.” Calmly, Nicole replied.

“Do you remember me, son?” asked Samuel, approaching him slowly.
Joey nodded. “Good, do you feel up to answering a few questions?”

“There’s no time for that! We have got to help my friends! Please!, they’re counting on me to bring them some help and you are the only people I was able to find!”

“Now, now.” Patiently, Captain Ron said. “Getting all worked up is not going to help you or your friends. Do you know exactly where they are being held?” Joey bowed his head, shaking it in frustration. “Then we are going to need to ask questions to get the answers we need to help your friends, okay?”

Joey nodded. “Okay.”

Captain Ron nodded. “Good. Now, tell me all that you can from the beginning.”

“My friends, Tim and Emily, and I were all kidnapped from our neighborhood by two big men in a black van.” Shaking, Joey began. “They took us all out here and left us in the hands of Dr. Jerk and his boss, Miss Morgana.”

Nichole rose an eyebrow. “Morgana? The industrial pirate?”

Her father silenced her with a wave of his hand then asked, “Can you tell us why you and your friends were kidnapped or what this Miss Morgana and Dr. Jerk wants with you?”

“Morgana wants us to find nine crystals, hidden inside a maze of underground tunnels that had been dug out by some old pirates somewhere out there in the middle of the swamp.” He gulped down a sob. “They all flood with each high tide.”

Nichole gasped. “How terrible!”

“Every night, one of us would try to get away. It never worked because of Morgana’s two body guards, they were constantly patrolling the surrounding swamp.”

“How did you manage to get away?” asked Ron.

“Well, last night, we all agreed it was time for all of us to make a run for it at once, hoping that at least one of us would get away and find some help.”

“It looks like it worked. You were very brave to make it this far on your own.”

Joey sniffled. “I wouldn’t have made it at all if it weren’t for that strange boy. He jumped the man who had caught me, giving me the time to get away. I- I think they caught him instead.” He began to cry. “Lord knows what they did to him.”

“Do you have any idea who he was or where he came from?”

“I don’t know who he was.” said Joey. “He must have heard our calls for help on Tim’s homemade radio, no one else knew we were out there. The only strange thing about him was that he looked a lot like me.”

“Hmm. Hopefully that will buy us some time.” said Samuel. “But tell me more about this homemade radio, who built it?”

“My friend, Tim made it. He’s real smart, he put it together out of a pile of radio parts we had found below deck on an old, grounded riverboat Morgana was holding us in.”

“Now we are getting somewhere.” said Ron. “There aren’t too many riverboats like that in this part of the swamp. All we have to do is find out exactly which one you were being held in. I’ll have Sergeant Thompson dig up some maps of the area so we can get started.”

“Good idea.” said Samuel. “In the meantime, you could get us underway. The sooner we reach the other side of the swamp, the sooner we can find and help those kids.”

“I’m way ahead of you, doctor.” said Ron, running out of the room. “You and Nichole just hit those maps!”

“You see, Joey?” asked Nicole. “In no time at all we will be off to save your friends.”

“I just hope we’re not too late.” said Joey.

At that time, not far from the riverboat, Joe and Luke watched through binoculars from a safe distance as Bronx and Gruesome escorted Emily and Tim away from the maze entrance, through the swamp with Morgana and Dr. Jerk taking the lead. “This doesn’t look good.” whispered Joe. “Once Morgana and her cronies get their hands on that pirate’s vault, they will no longer have any need for the kids and you know what that will mean.”

“I hear you.” said Luke. “Time is running out fast.”

Luke scanned the surrounding area, hoping to catch a glimpse of where Rick and his friends had gone and gasped upon spotting a barge heading their way with a number of armed men standing on the deck. “We’ve got company, Joe!” he whispered.

Joe turned his binoculars and gasped. “Great!” he whispered. “What next!?! Where is that blasted signal!?!”

“I thought you’d never ask.” whispered Kelly, appearing behind the two with Race following.

Joe and Luke jumped, then turned to her. She merely smiled at them and pointed at the very top of the riverboat where the two boys spotted a pirate flag waving in the wind. “Well, he did say we’d know it when we saw it.” said Joe.

“Let’s go.” urged Race. “It’s going to take a miracle to save those kids with our skins intact.”

Joe smiled. “One miracle coming up.” he said.

He pointed to a small army of adults in military fatigues approaching them from a dozen amphibious vehicles with Bob leading the way. “I found my friend, Hannah O'Falcon at the resort.” Smiling, Bob said. “I hear she and her brother are friends of yours.”

“Yes, they are.” Smiling back, Kelly replied. “Where are they, did they decide to stay at the resort?”

Bob frowned. “They were kidnapped.”

Kelly gasped, shocked as Bob explained what had happened at the resort up until he lost consciousness. When he was done, he added, “If some kid had not blown his whistle, alerting everyone of danger, I might have been taken with them.”

“Well, that complicates things.” said Michael. “They probably took them as insurance to ensure we do not interfere.”

“Well, after Max here brought me around with some smelling salts, he had me fit into these military threads and asked me to lead them to the riverboat.”

“This is a rescue mission, one too dangerous for children like yourselves.” Serious, Max said. “If I thought it would do any good, I would insist that you all stay out of this.”

“Well, it won’t” Serious, Kelly countered. “This has become personal to all of us so let’s work together and stop this adoption ring once and for all.”

“We have more to worry about than Morgana and her crew.” Darkly, Luke said. “There is a barge moving down river with a lot of muscle on the deck.”

“I’m willing to bet they have Hannah and Tom on board.” Angrily, Race said. “Perhaps, even Maximilian Grim himself.”

“How can you be sure?” asked Kelly.

“It makes sense.” said Max. “Who else would come out this way with so much hired muscle?”

Max took out a pair of binoculars of his own, looked down river, and spotted the barge with Hannah Tom sitting in the back, beside two other children, with their wrists handcuffed to a rail.

“They have Hannah and Tom handcuffed to the rail.” Angrily, he said. He slowly lowered his binoculars. “There are two young girls with them, also handcuffed.”

Kelly gasped, shocked. “What!?!” She quickly took out her binoculars, focusing them upon the retreating barge, and opened her mouth as if to scream. “They have Kim and Amy!”

Race growled in rage. “They kidnapped her again…” His growl deepened. “We’ve got to stop this, once and for all!”

Luke nodded. “Agreed. But we’ll need a plan.”

“I suggest we hurry over to the riverboat.” Serious, Max said. “We can form a plan there.” Without another word, the five piled into one of the two amphibious vehicles with Max and his team and they approached the riverboat with hardly a sound…

Upon seeing the A- List again, Max could not help but shudder as a cold chill ran down his spine. “I had a feeling I would be seeing her again.”

Maxine turned to him, puzzled. “What was that, dear?”

“Do you remember me telling you how I was nearly kidnapped off of a riverboat when I was a boy?”

Maxine nodded. “Yes.”

Max pointed at the A- List. “That is the riverboat.”

Maxine looked up at the wrecked ship and suppressed a shiver of her own. “So it’s come full circle for you then.” Softly, she said. “Only this time, we stop them for good.”

Max nodded then led Maxine behind the children where they met up with Michael and Rick who were waiting for them. “I see Bob made it through.” said Rick, looking at the small army of men and women on the amphibious vehicles. “I’m impressed.”

“As are we.” said Race. “What happened to you two down there?”

“We’ll explain later.” Serious, Michael said. “We have a plan.”

Kelly smiled, happy to see that both of her friends alive, but then frowned. “Maximillian Grim is here, in the swamp, they have Hannah, Tom, Kim and Amy prisoner.”

Rick’s eyes widened in shock. “They kidnapped them!?!”

Max nodded. “They are using my children and your friends as insurance, to keep us from interfering with them.”

Michael’s eyes narrowed with anger. “We are going to do more than interfere. Follow us, there is a lot to do and time is against us.”

The four followed Michael and Rick to a small storage room in the lowest part of the ship where they found a small pile of useless radio parts, pushed off to the side. “This must be where the kids built their radio.” Softly, Kelly said.

“It was.” Nodding, Michael replied. “Unfortunately, they did not discover this.” He reached his hand into a small hole in the floor and pulled out a brass ring which in turn pulled open a secret door in the hull of the ship with a rope ladder leading down into the darkness.

“A secret door?” Surprised, Kelly asked. “Where does it lead?”

“Into a secret cargo hold.” Serious, Rick replied. “The last owner of this ship apparently used this vessel smuggle items into the U.S., most likely drugs from South America.”

“I was not used to smuggle drugs.” Angrily, Max said. “It was used to smuggle children.” The others turned to him shocked. “I nearly became of its many victims when I was a child.”

“That can’t just be a coincidence.” Shuddering, Luke said. “I’m guessing this all ties into this pirate’s vault.”

“It does and it doesn’t.” Darkly, Rick said. “If Tim, Emily and Joey had discovered and explored this secret chamber, they would have found that there is a gaping hole in the bottom of the river boat that opens into a deep underground cavern.” He gulped before adding, “The pirate’s vault.”

“It’s a pirate ship called the Young Misery.” Gravely, Michael explained. “It rests on a sand bar with its hull shattered and a ton of treasure surrounding it on a sand bar.”

“That’s incredible…” Startled, Kelly said. “Only how do you suppose the ship got stuck there?”

“It’s a graphic tale.” Serious, Rick replied. “The scene that awaits you below will give you a good idea…”

Max nodded. “what’s your plan, boys?”
“We will explain our plan while we work.” Serious, Michael replied. “It’s going to take an explosives expert, though.”

“Let’s get to work then.” Calmly, Max said. “My crew and I will work with your plan and cook up a few surprises of our own.” He turned to his wife. “I want you to stay up here and listen for me to call.”

Maxine nodded. “Let me know what you find down there.”

Max nodded back. “I will.”

With that, he followed the group down the rope ladder, closing the trapdoor behind him. The rope ladder extended through the darkness of the hidden cargo hold of the river boat, into the cavern like sink hole. Eventually, the group stepped off of the ladder, into the small crow’s nest of The Young Misery where they then climbed down the ship’s rigging onto the main deck. None were prepared for the sight that waited for them. Seeing the grizzly remains strewn throughout the ship, Kelly gave a cold shiver. “This must have been a slave vessel, judging from the child skeletons with shackles on their ankles…”

Michael nodded. “The pirates who sailed her kidnapped children from all over the new world and sold them as slaves or worse.”

“They had to have kept a number of these children as their own slaves.” Darkly, Rick added. “Only they made a fatal mistake, one which cost them all of their lives.”

“What was that?” Horrified, Kelly asked.

After a pause, Rick replied, “They underestimated a child’s courage.”

“We cannot let Morgana or Grim get their hands on this.” Serious, Michael said. “Nor can we allow the courage and sacrifice of these long dead children to remain silent.”

“What’s the plan?” Curious, Bob asked.

Before anyone could respond, a radio on Max’s belt came to life with a min’s voice. “We have company boss. Morgana and her cronies are approaching the riverboat with two hostages in tow and a barge following.”

Max took the radio in hand. “How far out are they?”

“A hundred yards, give or take and they have a mess of muscle on the barge.”

“That barge is holding four children hostage, including my son and daughter. Do not approach it without my say.”

Kelly moaned. “Why can’t anything ever be easy?”

Rick, however, smiled. “This actually makes things easier.”

“What do you mean?” Curious, Race asked.

“The people who had kidnapped and dragged me out here stuck around after I had escaped from them. I caught a glimpse of them from time to time while I was being held prisoner in the riverboat. My guess is that they were checking up on Morgana and Doctor Jerk.”

Michael snapped his fingers, catching on. “They reported their findings to Grim who decided to come down here with some muscle to confront her.”

Rick Nodded. “And with the police no doubt demanding answers by now, Morgana and her cronies would make fine escape goats while he moves his operation elsewhere.”

Max grunted. “There will likely be heated words between them. My men could pull their hostages to safety while they are arguing among themselves.”

“That’s great.” Softly, Kelly said. “Only how does this make it easier to deal with them?”

“We haul just enough of this treasure onto the riverboat to serve as a lure, get them all onboard.” Serious, Michael explained. “Once they are on board, we send the A- List crashing down into this cavern like sink hole.”

“How exactly do you plan to do that?” Curious, Max asked. Then, as if on cue, a loud cracking sound was heard followed by a loud haunting moan from the old riverboat.

“What was that?” Fearful, Kelly demanded.

“The A- List will eventually fall into this sink hole.” Serious, Rick explained. “If my guess is right, it will land onto this sandbar, right next to the Young Misery.”

Luke smiled. “But you intend to speed that up.”

Rick nodded. “To pull it off, we will need an explosives expert.”

Max nodded. “You are looking at one and we brought some with us.. we like to be prepared for anything.” He paused. “What is your plan?”

“The enslaved kids left behind a nasty little surprise when they essentially buried the pirates alive.” Softly, Michael replied.

Rick nodded. “We found an old powder keg hanging from one of three large support beams inside a sink hole much like this one they had shored up in the center of a man made maze of underground tunnels.” He paused. “If I told you the exact location, can your men rig a remote detonator to it without being seen?”

“Without a problem.” Calmly, Max said. “Only why?”

“The enslaved children used a powder keg to trap the Young Misery inside this sink hole.” Darkly, Michael said. “They also built the massive underground maze to hide a number of crystals.” He pointed at a number of odd steel wheels set on rollers on different parts of the deck. “We believe they were the last remaining crystals the pirates used to make a laser cannon.”

Max’s eyes widened. “So the stories of hot light cannons my grandfather told were true.” Thoughtful, he muttered.

“It seems impossible, I know.” Calmly, Rick said. “Only what else could have made that hole?” He pointed up to a round hole near the cavern ceiling where light was shining in. “We believe the pirate’s made that hole with one of the cannons, trying to escape this death trap.”

Michael gulped. “Only they did not succeed. From what we’ve been able to gather from these remains, we have their young prisoners to thank for that.”

Max knotted his jaws in decision. “I’m guessing the children used the fallen trees and boulders to trap the pirates.” Serious, he said. “We will have to place the explosives just right to drop the riverboat without causing this old sink hole to cave in on itself.”

Kelly shivered off a certain coldness. “How do you think they were planning to use the other powder keg?”

Rick sighed. “To seal the other sink hole so that this one would almost immediately flood with the high tide.” Darkly, he replied. “The enslaved children intended to drown the pirates.”

Michael nodded. “It would have worked only they didn’t count on the pirates bringing more children upon their return.”

“The only problem we may face is the powder keg’s age.” Thoughtful, Race said. “It must be at least a hundred years old, there may not be enough punch left in it to seal hole in the other sink hole.”

Michael smiled. “I think Max and his friends can more than compensate for that.”

“Do we really have time to pull this off?” Wincing, Kelly asked.

Max took out his radio. “What is the location of the opposition?”

“The kidnappers have stopped about twenty five yards out with the barge a few yards behind.” Serious, a voice replied.

Max grunted. “They must be waiting for the kidnappers to make their move.” Serious, he muttered. “Listen close, we have a plan but we need to work fast. Meet me on the deck for the details.” He turned to the children. “Good luck and above all, be careful.”
With that, he quickly climbed up the rigging to the crow’s nest, disappearing into the hull of the riverboat.

Once gone, Race asked, “How do you suggest we haul the treasure up in the little time we have?” asked Race.

Rick pointed to a small rowboat, still hanging from the side of the ship by a crank and pulley system. “We need just enough to lure them all onto the boat.” Calmly, he said.

Michael pointed up to a similar rope and pulley system connected to the sails near the top of the cracked main mast. “We can use the sail ropes to haul the treasure up in buckets.” Serious, he said. “Once we have enough in the busted hull of the A-List, we get out and get ready.”

Race shook his head. “You have got to be kidding.”

Michael gave Race a pat on the back. “Think of it this way, we will all get our exercise.”

Kelly sighed. “I just wish I know where Joey was right now.”

Both groups worked quickly to set their plan into action while, on the southern end of the swamp, Captain Don’s riverboat pulled away from its dock and began to make its way up the Mississippi at all possible speeds. “Hang on, guys!” Looking the way he had come, Joey called. “I’m coming with help, the Louisiana police!”