A Child's Courage.

A Grim plan.

Minutes later, a mere twenty five yards from the riverboat, the two bodyguards forced Tim and Emily along as they stopped at a large clump of vegetation. “This is it.” Serious, Jerk said. “The pirate’s key.”

Morgana moved the clump of weeds aside, revealing an odd, rusted, metal wheel, resting on a steel platform which seemed to once be able to rotate. It had eight holes, none of which seemed to go completely through, and were each closed over with a thin, rusting plate which hung over them by a single, loose bolt. Five of the holes were in the back, running up in a straight line, with the one hole in the center of the odd wheel. The other three holes were in the front, also set in a straight line with the middle hole in the center of the odd metal wheel. Perturbing from both the front and back of the wheel, just below the two center holes, was a rusty metal bar, bent upwards at both ends. In the front, the bent bar ended in a large loop directly in line with the center hole, where Tim guessed the ninth crystal was to be set. In the back, the bar ended in a small, round platform, surrounded by a rusted, three walled steel box with what seemed to have been crystalline dust set into them.

“At long last, the fabled pirate’s vault is within my grasp.” Anxiously, she whispered. She turned to her two guards. “Bronx, watch the brats, don’t you dare let them go anywhere. Gruesome, give me the crystals.”

Gruesome gave Morgana the small sack holding the nine crystals and she carefully placed each of them into the holes within the metal wheel, sliding the largest one into the rear center hole. When all nine of the crystals were in place, Morgana stepped behind the metal wheel and placed her lantern onto the platform.

“Prepare yourselves, children!” Smiling, she said. “You are about to see the fruit of your labors!”

Morgana pushed the bar so that the steel box was flat against the stone, allowing the dim light of her lantern to pierce the first crystal. Instantly after, all of the crystals resting within the massive stone glowed at once with a brilliant light before a blinding white beam shot forth from the crystal wedged into the loop. The beam streamed across the waters of the swamp into a small opening a mere hundred feet from the old riverboat. Upon seeing where the beam went, Morgana let out a long laugh.

“Unbelievable!” Excited, she said. “After all this time of searching, it was directly under our feet the entire time!” She turned to her two body guards, “Bring them!”

Bronx and Gruesome pulled Tim and Emily along while Miss Morgana pulled a small cell phone from under her jacket and punched in a number. “We’ve found the vault. Bring the boat.”

Inside the pirate’s vault, Rick looked up to see the light from the crystalline laser shine through the opening, hitting the far cavern wall. “They’ve found the opening!” Firmly, he called. “Morgana and her two cronies will be here any minute!”

“That’s fine!” Serious, Michael said from above. “Max finished setting all of the explosives for our trap a while ago and we have just hauled up the last load of treasure.”

“Get up here and get ready.” Urgently, Kelly called. “We are only going to get one chance to make this work.”

Rick ran across the deck, to the cracked main mast and quickly crawled up the rigging, into the crow’s nest, and up the rope ladder to the hull of the A-List. Michael could only shake his head. “Show off…”

Then Luke peered in through the trap door. “Hey, guys, that barge is almost on top of Morgana and cronies.”

“Everything is ready.” Serious, Michael said. “We just need to get into position for the trap.”

“Everyone get into position now.” Quietly, Max called through the radio. “The time has come to bring this legacy of piracy to an abrupt end.”

“Here’s the plan, Luke.” Serious, Rick said. “While Grim and his men are confronting Morgana and her men, our survivalist friends will pull Tim, Kim, Hannah, Amy, Emily, and Tom out of harm’s way.”

“What about this trap you mentioned?” Curious, Race asked.

As if on cue, a faint cracking was heard and the riverboat gave out a low moan before falling a few inches down, into the mud, towards the opening of the sink hole. The sudden jerk nearly caused the children to lose their balance on the low deck.

“This old riverboat is about ready to fall into the sink hole with the Young Misery.” Serious, Rick said. “If my calculations are correct, it should crash down right onto the sand bar, next to the pirate’s ship.”

“How long do you think we have?” Worried, Race asked.

“Even with the entire pirate’s vault treasure on board, it will take days for her to fall in on her own.” Calmly, Rick said. “With the added weight of Grim and his men, along with a little surprise the slave kids had left behind, she’ll fall in whenever we want her to.”

“Surprise?” Confused, Kelly asked. Then she remembered. “the old powder keg in the center of the maze.”

“It was never set off.” Frowning, Michael said. “Right now, the only thing holding up the A-List is a bunch of rotting fallen trees old soil.”

“The explosives Max had set onto the rotting trees will send the A-List crashing down once they are blown.” Serious, Rick said. “The old powder keg will finish the job.”

“I remember you telling me.” Shuddering, Kelly said. “the old powder keg was to be used to seal the second sinkhole, sending the high tide directly into the first sink hole.” She gulped. “With no way to escape, they would have drowned.”

“Our plan is different.” Calmly, Michael said. “The old powder keg has just enough punch left in it to seal the blow hole so the high tide will go into the main cavern.”

“So, we are going to wait until Grim and his men are all on board the riverboat then blow the explosives, sending them all into the sink hole cavern…” Confirming the plan Kelly said.

“We have to lure them on board first.” Serious, Rick said. “That is why we moved the treasure onto the riverboat.”

“Let’s get this done.” Serious, Michael said. He turned to his radio. “Luke, tell Max we are ready.”

“Will do.” came Luke’s voice. “Get into position.”

Back to the ancient crystalline laser, Morgana looked at her watch and frowned. “Where is that blasted barge!?!”

Then, the approaching sound of an engine reached her ears. “Well, it’s about time you got here.” Not turning around, she scolded. “We have found the vault.”

“Have you indeed?” Darkly, Grim asked.

Morgana jumped and spun around, her face turning ashen white as she found herself facing Grim standing on the deck of her barge with the men she had originally hired standing behind him.

“What is he doing out here!?!” whispered Bronx, startled.

Morgana whispered, “Shut up, stupid!” then turned to Grim with a smile, vainly trying to hide her panic. “Mister Grim! What a pleasant surprise, I was just about to call you.”

Grim’s glared down at Morgana and her men, his voice even and cold. “Well, it seems as if I have saved you the trouble.” He looked at the crude laser, still lighting the way to the riverboat. “Is this what you were looking for, Morgana? My great grandfather’s treasure?”

Morgana took a step back, more panicked than before. “You knew about this?”

Grim nodded. “I have been searching for it myself for a number of years, thank you for finding it for me.” He then frowned. “Still, you were sloppy, Morgana, very sloppy.”

“What do you mean?”

“First, you underestimated the resourcefulness of your young captives, allowing them to tap into your ham radio system using radio parts you so conveniently left for them to find. Second, you failed to monitor them closely, allowing them to call for help which greatly complicated everything.”

“The radio was destroyed the second it was discovered.” Weakly, Gruesome countered.

Grim glared at Gruesome, forcing him to fall silent, then continued. “Those calls for help reached a number of people as far as California, including a child we had targeted!”

As Grim and Morgana continued to argue in the front of the barge, Hannah and the other children were almost free from their bonds but dared not move in fear of being discovered. Hannah, the oldest of the four on deck, struggled with the bobby pin, hoping to somehow pick the lock. She turned to the others but quickly forced herself to turn away, seeing their uncertainty. “I have got this lock to pick!” Urgently, she thought. “I’m the last one not free.” She sighed. “I wish I paid more attention when dad showed me how to do this.”

Then, her heart skipped a beat as she felt a cold metallic object brush against her wrists. She was free from the handcuffs in the next breath but she did not dare move. Instead, she turned her head and looked over the side where she spotted her mother, Maxine, in scuba gear, treading in the water. She winked at her then placed the handle of a large hunting knife in her hand before silently vanishing below the water. Thinking quickly, Hannah quietly led the others over the side of the barge into the water, out of site.

At the front of the barge, Grim again stared down at Morgana. “I promised the police I would personally look into the reports of children being kidnapped by my company.” Darkly, he said. “Can you imagine my surprise when I discover that is was you, my most trusted associate, along with the company physician and his two hired thugs kidnapping and selling children as orphans for your own selfish ends.”

“It will be my word against yours! Not to mention the children!” Angrily, Morgana protested. “They will finger me, no doubt, but they will finger you as well!”

Grim merely smiled like a python to a rat. “You mean the poor children you and your men had murdered, including the brave young souls who had risked it all to save their friends…”

Bronx and Gruesome took a step forward to protest but they were stopped by Grim’s men. They then quickly rendered the two of them, along with Morgana and Dr. Jerk unconscious with a blow to the back of the head with the butt of their pistols.

“I’m pleased you are beginning to see things my way.” Grinning, Grim said. He turned to his men. “Secure them to the rails then head for the river boat.”

Grim’s men dragged the four unconscious adults to the back of the barge but froze upon discovering that their four young prisoners were missing. “The kids are gone!” One man announced.

Grim frowned impatiently. “Forget them, we will safely be in Europe by this time tomorrow.” He pointed to Tim and Emily. “For now, secure these two up front. I have a treasure to claim.”