This story is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations or business establishments or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this story may be transmitted or reproduced in in whole or in part in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the Author or Publisher, except where permitted by law. Copyright © 2012 by Flip McHooter.
Because it's based in the past, some of it may not be politically correct as I have tried to be true to 1969.
Thanks to everybody who has emailed me, I appreciate the tips and feedback. Comments are always appreciated! Flip. 1977. flip@gmail.com
Chapter 32
"Who took Jake? You have to tell me! Do you know who they are?" I screeched at the Dark Man, making him flinch. I knew right away that if I was going to get anything out of him, I better get tough. I clenched my fists and yelled, "Goddamnit, tell me. Tell me right now!"
"No, no, no, no, NO! Oh hell no, I don't know. Whey-o. Go get your boy-o." He looked at me for a long time like he wanted to say more, blinking super-fast but holding firm my gaze, but I guess he couldn't form the correct words or something. Maybe his transmitter had just shut off or was broken. I wasn't quite sure what was up with him but I had to know what he saw. He was rocking really fast back and forth on the balls of his feet, trying to connect to some invisible rhythm. And even though he might be bigger than me, and he might have picked me up like a sack of potatoes the other day, I'd be damned if he wasn't going to tell me everything that he saw. And do it right freakin' now!
Changing tones, I asked, "What did you see?"
"Two times men, and four times door, equals men-times boy-o go. They say that's bad-o."
"Um ... Okay, thanks, I guess," I said, kicking at the dirt and trying to figure out what that meant. "Is that all?"
He just stood there staring at me. I probably wasn't going to get any more out of him, at least anything that made sense, so I started to turn towards the house to go get some help. But before I could run, he grabbed my arm, looked directly into my eyes and said quite clearly, "Go get your boy-o. He needs you. This is the night. Satellites aren't out. The wave-lengths are crystal clear. You must, you must." Then he broke his gaze, let go of me and started to shuffle back into the bushes.
"Thanks. Hey, wait a second! I don't even know your name," I shouted, but he either ignored me or didn't want to say. Oh well. When we got Jake back I'd make sure to find out and maybe get him some help or at least some clean clothes. But I couldn't think about that right now. Jake was the only thing on my mind. "C'mon Sloan! We've got to find Jake," I shouted.
I raced into the house and started yelling for Lisa. She and Jordy were both snuggled up on the couch watching television in the living room and eating Jiffy-pop. Patty Duke was ranting and raving like a mad woman on the TV.
"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." she asked.
"It's Jake. He's been kidnapped!"
"What? Good gravy Marie! That's impossible. What are you talking about? How do you know? Wait just a second. You guys aren't playing some kind of stupid joke on us are you? If you are, I'm gonna pound both of you to bits."
"No, I swear. Jake's disappeared."
"What's going on Ryan? I'm getting scared," Jordy said, looking up over the back of the couch.
"There's nothing to be scared of, little man. We just have to figure out who took Jake and where he is. Then we're going to get him back," I said with some serious conviction. I really surprised myself that my only thought was for Jake and his safety.
"Okay, now you're starting to really scare me too. Slow down and start from the beginning," Lisa said, standing up and walking to the back door to make sure this truly wasn't some kind of crazy joke that we were playing on her. When she didn't see Jake standing outside ready to barge in here and yell surprise, she locked the door and came back and stared me down. After I told her about Sloan barking like mad, and then looking out the front yard just in time to see the green sedan take off, and then talking to Mrs. Kravitz, I finished by telling her about my conversation with the Dark Man and his weird riddles.
"Oh, no. This is bad," Lisa said, as she slumped back down on the couch.
"Who would want to take him? Do you think it's the guys from your old school? Maybe they found out where you guys are living now," I asked Lisa. "Maybe they want to get even for the pictures you guys took."
"No, I don't think so. They would be mad at me and would want to do something to me, but not to Jake. Nobody from down there knows that he was the one that took the pictures. It's not them, I'm sure of it. Maybe we need to call the police. We can't call the Lulu's or your dad because they're driving up north."
"The cops haven't been very helpful with all of the other crap that's been going on lately. What makes you think they're going to do anything now, especially coming from a bunch of kids? They aren't going to believe us. They didn't even take the broken brakes on the microbus very seriously. And you saw how stupid that cop was that got killed."
"Yeah, you're right about the police. They're not much good lately. Anyway, I've seen a lot of crime shows and they don't do anything until someone has been missing for twenty-four hours, I think," Lisa said.
"Yeah, I remember that too. Anyway, the Dark Man said I have to find him and it has to be tonight."
"Why tonight?
"This sounds stupid, but he said tonight is the night. Also, the satellites aren't out, whatever that means. C'mon, think. We've got to figure this out."
"Who would want to take Jake," Jordy asked simply. "He's a good boy. He's never hurt anyone."
"I don't know who'd do that, sweetie," Lisa said, rubbing the back of his head. I think she was starting to understand that this was bad. Really, really bad.
"I know!" I said, snapping my fingers. "It has to be your dad!"
"What? What the hell are you talking about, Ry?"
"Before we buried Snakey, we were in your mom's bedroom looking for a scarf to wrap him up in like a shroud. Jake was digging around in her dresser looking for a cool one and while he was doing that, I noticed some legal papers sitting on her old guitar case. It was called a `proposition to the court', or something like that, and said he wanted Jake. I looked for another one for you but didn't see any, and I thought that was weird. Anyway, Ace didn't even act like he missed you guys when your mom and dad got in that big fight. I was going to tell Jake about seeing it but then I thought I should talk to my dad first because I really didn't know what it was and I didn't want to scare Jake if it didn't mean anything. I just didn't want to scare him if it turned out to be something bogus, you know? And I didn't want to believe that Ace would take Jake away from me. Then I thought he might think I was doing something with Jake that I shouldn't be doing and that might have made him really mad."
"Aww, sweetie. That's not it. Don't even think like that."
"I know, but what do I know?" I said.
"Petition. It's called a petition" she said, getting back on track. "Anyway, I can understand why my dad doesn't want me. I hate him and he knows it. There's no way I'd go live with him, that peckerwood. I'd be sure and make his life totally miserable. Besides, I'm going to be eighteen soon and then he can't do anything to me. I can't understand why Lulu didn't tell us about this. Shit, sometimes my mom is such a bubblehead."
"So do you think Ace took him? Maybe he had some of his friends from downtown do it. I forgot to tell you this, but when we went to see Enzo's dad downtown, the guy from the tattoo parlor was coming out of his office. Somehow all of these people know each other: Enzo's dad, your dad, and the guys at the porn ... well you know. It's just really weird. And I get the feeling that whatever it is that they do, maybe it's not so legal."
"Why do you say that?" Lisa asked me.
"Because the guys looked, I don't know, slimy maybe. Like guys you'd see in a bad gangster flick or something. Some of them had guns tucked under their jackets. The strange thing was that neither Jake nor Enzo seemed worried by it. I thought it was kinda odd."
"Who had guns?" she asked.
"The old guy in the elevator and a couple of guys outside of Crash's office. Maybe they were just undercover security or something."
"I've always wondered what my dad did might be shady. We never really knew where he works or what exactly he does. He never talked about it. He just said he was off on business trips. But then again, we really didn't care since he wasn't around much for us anyway, and it was always better when he was gone," Lisa said.
"Okay. So assuming it was Ace or one of his cronies who took Jake. How do we get him back? Are we going to have to come up with some ransom money like they do on TV?" I asked.
"No, no. I don't think so. He knows we don't have any money. Everything has been going to the new house. I'm pretty sure Lulu doesn't have a bunch of money lying around. I would have known about it, because I'm always snooping around. Besides, I don't think he wants money. If he petitioned the court then he just wants Jake. Maybe the court sided with Lulu over his custody and that's why he grabbed Jake. I wouldn't put it past him."
"So help me out here. If Ace took Jake, where would he take him? And how do we get him back? I'm not going to give this up and let him get away with it," I said, starting to get mad. "We are going to get Jake back, I promise you that."
"Me too, Ry. We're gonna get Jake and I'm gonna help," Jordy said.
"Thanks little man. Jake would be proud to hear you say that."
"I think my dad has been sleeping in his office. Or at least he used to. I don't think he has a regular place to stay right now. He'd need a place to hide Jake where people wouldn't see him and wonder what was going on. It would have to be someplace secure where Jake couldn't get away. You know Jake; when he gets mad, look the hell out. And unless they drug him, Jake's gonna try and get away." Then Lisa let out a long sigh and said, "I really don't know where that might be. That could be anywhere."
"Crap. That's not gonna help us find him. There has to be someplace that Ace would have taken him. Think guys. Think really hard." The three of us were lost in thought as the gravity of the situation started to sink in. Then I had a thought. "You told me once that the football jock you, um, dated, and his girlfriend set up your dad with her mom? Could Ace be staying there with them?"
"No. After I busted up that bitches nose, she didn't want anything to do with him or us. I don't think anybody in San Pedro wants anything to do with any of us," Lisa said sadly.
"Okay, what else? C'mon guys, think. Think again."
"Could they have taken him to go fight in Vietnam?" Jordy asked. "All those people are always fighting with the cops on TV at the colleges. Is that why they do it? One of my friend's brothers got taken to Vietnam and he got killed."
"No, Jordy, that's not how they do it. That's something completely different. I'll explain it to you later, okay? It's not that simple."
"Sure, Ry. I'm just trying to help."
"I know you are, little man. That was a good thought, though."
"Has Jake said anything to you recently that seemed weird or out of the blue? You boys are always together so he might have said something. Maybe something just in passing that you didn't pay any real attention to?" asked Lisa.
"Well, let's see. We talk a lot, but it's about swimming and sports and stuff like that. And when we're doing that other stuff we like to do, we don't always talk, if you know what I mean."
"I don't know what you mean," Jordy asked.
"Just hanging out in the tree house, Jordy."
"Oh."
"Here's something strange, but maybe it might help. You know we've been doing this meditation thingy at school as part of our swim training, right? Jake has been telling me about these vivid visions that he gets when the coaches girlfriend Samantha walks us through some guided imagery exercises. He says when he's meditating he sees water and boats and fish almost every time we do it. Me and the other guys are always seeing different things, like trees and birds and other shit, but Jake says his are always the same thing. We were trying to figure out what they meant but we didn't have any idea. Does that mean anything to you?"
"Well, water and boats sound like he's swimming in a pool or like he's floating. Maybe, I guess. That sounds pretty boring, actually. I'm sure if I was meditating I'd have visions of submarines or torpedoes."
"No surprise there," I said, and got a frown from Lisa.
"Maybe he's on a boat in the water -- on a lake somewhere," Jordy offered.
"What do you mean, little man?"
"Well, maybe it's like a clue or something. Maybe he's on a boat someplace."
"There aren't any boats around here. At least not one big enough to hide somebody. Some of the neighbors have little boats they park on their driveways that they take to the river or lake to go waterskiing. The ones that have cabins are too small for anybody to stay in there for very long. If Ace was hiding Jake on a boat like that, people would know, especially if they have neighbors like Mrs. Kravitz. Good suggestion though, Jordy."
"Wait! He could be hiding him on Gramps boat down in Redondo Beach. That totally makes sense. No one would look for him there," Lisa said, finally brightening up.
"Yeah, maybe. I remember Jake telling me a story about how Ace took you guys out one day a long time ago on a fishing boat for lunch and it was like the last time that your family had any fun together. Do you know where your gramps keeps that boat?"
"I think so. It's a place called King Harbor Marina, down in Redondo Beach. It's a big place with lots of boats. I'm not sure that I can find the right slip, though. All I remember is that it was close to the parking lot," she said. "And it was at the end of the dock all by itself, across from a big yacht. Now that I think about it, I think the boat was named the Anne-Marie, after my dead grandmother. But anyway, some of the boats are live-aboards so we might be able to ask someone if we can't find it. We'll just have to act natural."
"Then let's do this. Do you know how to get down to Redondo Beach from here? That's a ways away you know," I said.
"I can drive us down there but I need to look it up on a map first. But more importantly, we need a plan. We can't just go walking down the different piers and pick Jake up and take him home just like that, like it's no big deal. It's a big place and by the time we get there it will be dark. If my dad went to this much trouble to kidnap Jake, then he might be watching him or he might have one of his so-called friends watching him. And besides, he'll recognize me for sure and maybe you, too. I think we need some help to work out a good plan before we just drive on down there. Think Enzo and Kenji could help us out? I'd call Cooper but he's working tonight at the pharmacy."
"Sure. I'm sure Enzo and Kenji would help us out. Besides, Enzo owes us one."
"Great! Then call them up and get them over here, pronto. We have to do this right so no one gets hurt. Well, at least us," Lisa said. I got the feeling that if we got into trouble, she wouldn't be averse to going ballistic on her dad or even sinking the boat.
"Can Chris come too? He likes Jake a whole lot too and would want to help us get him back home safe. We're littler and it's gonna be easier for us to hide if we have to sneak around out there by the boats. Maybe we can snoop around on the docks looking for him. Maybe people would think we're too small to be planning a big rescue. Oh, man, this is so shebang! We could even use Jake's walkie-talkies!"
"Good idea, Jordy," Lisa said. "Ryan, call them up."
"I'm on it pussycat, right now! You guys better go get changed. Oh, by the way, my mom has a bunch of old road maps in the junk drawer in the kitchen next to the fridge. Check `em out and I'll be right back. Before I call the guys I'm going to run around and make sure all of the doors and windows are locked up tight. Jordy, go upstairs and make sure everything is locked up there too, okay?"
"You got it, Ry."
"C'mon, Sloany girl, help me out!"
"Woof!"
After the house was locked up tight, and I was sure that no one could get in without us hearing them, I got on the phone to talk with Enzo. His new `mom' answered the phone with Italian formality that made me chuckle. "Ciao, la famiglia Ferrari," is what she said. Thankfully, Enzo was home finishing up his ravioli dinner and I didn't have to carry a conversation with her like I had to do with his old mom. Well, not like I could, anyway since I didn't speak Italian. I didn't tell him exactly what was going on in case he told his dad, who could have been in on this freaky deal, so I only told him that we had an emergency going on and that we needed him, along with Chris and Kenji, to help us out and maybe spend the night with us. Then I had a crazy thought and told him to make sure everyone was wearing dark clothes. If we were going to doing some super spy-work, we might as well do it right and dress the part. He called Kenji, and after a very long minute, he called me back to say they'd be there in ten minutes. His new "mom" had no clue what was going on, and his dad wasn't home, so he left a note for Crash saying that he and Chris were spending the night at our house again.
Jordy came bounding down the stairs wearing his favorite Monkees t-shirt and a pair of jean cut-offs and blue flip-flops. Totally not correct for the mission at hand. "Hey, little man, why don't you go back upstairs and put on your black turtleneck and your darkest jeans. Let's act like we're super good spy-boys, okay?"
"Shebang! I'll be right back, big brother. Don't start anything without me, okay?"
"You got it, little dude. Maybe you can find something dark for Chris to wear in case he isn't dressed right. And bring me down one of dad's dark hats."
"Yippee! We're gonna get super Jakey back," he shouted as he flew back up the stairs. I thought for the first time that I was really lucky to have such a groovy little brother. Really lucky.
Lisa came downstairs a couple of minutes later looking like a bigger, boobier version of Yoko Ono, wearing dark bell-bottoms, pointy-toed leather boots, a dark top, and a dark jean jacket. To top it off, she was wearing one of her mom's big hats and dark sunglasses. "Do I look all right? I'm on a mission to get my brother back and I'm ready to kick some mother-fucking ass."
"Man, I wouldn't want to mess with you. But you better not wear the sunglasses while were driving," I said.
"I know. I won't. So what's the plan?"
"Enzo, Chris and Kenji should be here any minute. I was thinking that maybe we should have Jordy and Chris scout out the area first, to see if they can figure out where your gramps' boat is. Maybe they can tell us if there are lights on inside it or if anybody weird is hanging around. Then all of us can meet back at the car and figure out our next move. Are you ready to go ballistic on someone if he's holding Jake?"
"Yeah, I sure am. But I don't want the other guys to be in any danger or get hurt. Especially Jordan and Chris. I'm pretty sure that you, Enzo and Kenji can take care of yourselves. But maybe you should go get your BB gun and your baseball bat just in case. If we look menacing they might give us Jake back without any trouble. Besides, I've decided that we're gonna do this all on our own. No cop's, no parents, no nothing. It's me and Jake against my asshole dad."
"It's all of us against your asshole dad, Lisa, and don't forget it. I'm in this as much as you are," I said.
"Got it pussycat! But I think we need more of a plan than just sending the little men to scope things out. How's this: Once we figure out exactly where the boat is in the Marina, we'll have Jordy and Chris check it out, you know, maybe just walk to the end of the dock and then come back like we planned. But only do it if we can keep an eye on them. I really don't want them to get hurt. Then, if they can tell that somebody is on Gramps' boat for sure, one of us will have to get a close-up look before we all go wild and bombard whoever is on there."
"That makes sense. I'm thinking that out of the three of us older guys, Kenji is probably the least likely to be recognized or questioned. He hasn't been over here very much, so those dudes in the car might not remember him. What if we took a pizza box from the trash can and have him pretend to be making a delivery. Weigh it down with newspapers or something so it seems real. Kenji should be able to play that off, maybe acting like he's lost or on the wrong dock or something. What do you think?" I asked Lisa.
"I think that's a scathingly brilliant idea," she said.
Just then the doorbell rang, scaring the crap out of us. It was Enzo, his little brother Chris and Kenji. The three of us were instantly relieved that it was them and not one of Ace's goons.
"Hey guys, thanks for coming over," I said, closing and locking the front door, but not before I took a good long look up and down the street to make sure nobody was sitting in a weird sedan watching us from out there.
"No problem. Tell us what's going on," Kenji said, getting right down to business. He looked from me to Lisa and back again. "Where's Jake?"
"That's the problem. We think he's been kidnapped, maybe by his dad. Actually, we're pretty sure it was his dad. The Dark Man saw some guys in a car take him and told me about it just a little while ago. We're going to get him back and we need your help," I said.
"The same freaky guy in the bushes that grabbed you the other night? Can he even talk?"
"Yeah, that's the same guy. He talks in riddles and he's kinda hard to figure out, but I don't have any reason not to believe him. Actually, in some weird way I think he's looking out for me and Jake. I’m not sure why though."
"Well, we're all on board and we're gonna help you get Jake back. What do we have to do?" Enzo asked. I was so glad that Enzo got his life back together. I was pretty sure he was going to turn out to be a good friend.
Jordy walked in the room then, looking like a mini version of James Bond. If he had a cigarette in his hand he'd totally look the part. After saying hello to everybody, we all got into our plan. Lisa had checked out an old Auto Club map of the South Bay that my mom had and told us it was pretty much a straight shot down the freeway to Redondo Beach. We'd just have to find the Marina once we got there and then find the right boat. We also decided that she would drive all of us in the station wagon since she was familiar with it and it was pretty fast, not that we were planning a car chase or a crazy get-away or anything like that.
The next step was not so straightforward. Enzo didn't want to put Chris in any danger, but Chris wouldn't listen to him and said he was going to do it anyway, whether Enzo liked it or not. He told us that he likes Jake because he's always nice to him and played with him in the pool. He was going to help out and wouldn't take no for an answer. So then I suggested that in addition to the walkie-talkies, the two boys walk down the dock with Sloan, since that seemed like a normal thing for two boys to be doing in the early evening. If anything smelled like danger, Sloan would be sure to pick it up and start barking like crazy. She was very protective of all of us, but especially me and Jordy. And we'd all be sure to keep them in our sight. After that, Enzo relented and we finalized our plans, packed up or gear in the station wagon, locked the house and headed towards the freeway.
The ride down was pretty quiet with everybody deep in their own thoughts. I think this was the first time ever that the radio wasn't on. Finally, just before we got off the freeway, I couldn't take the silence anymore and said, "Hey guys, thanks for doing this. I know we're going to get Jake back and he's going to be all right. We just need to be extra smart about this. If it looks at all dangerous we'll go back to the parking lot, find a payphone and call the cops. But I really think we can do this. Just be smart, stay on your toes and watch your back. Before you know it we'll be on our way back to Pasadena and Jake will be sitting here cracking us up with his stupid jokes."
"Yeah, I agree," Enzo said. "Those dudes are no match for us. We've got the element of surprise on our side because I'm sure they won't be expecting a bunch of kids to be down here this fast helping rescue their friend."
"No shit, Sherlock. They probably think we're still at home waiting for the cops to show up and take a report," Kenji agreed.
"Or maybe they think we wouldn't miss him this fast," I said.
"Boy, are they going to be surprised!" Chris added.
"Okay, so when we get there, I'm going to park on the far side of the parking lot. Before we get out of the car everybody needs to look around and see if you guys see the green sedan that's been hanging around our house. Ryan, you remember what my dad's black Citroen looks like, right? Keep an eye out for that, too."
"Roger that, Bucky, as Jake would say."
"And Jordy? You and Chris stay together. If something happens and you can't get away, you guys drop to the ground and stay there. Okay? Start screaming like crazy. We'll come get you right away."
"Yes, Lisa," both Jordy and Chris answered. They were sitting way in the back and were fidgeting like crazy.
"What are we going to do if they have guns?" Kenji asked.
"Well, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. But don't take any chances because I don't want anybody to get shot. Besides, that's not going to happen so don't worry about it," she said.
"You know, I think I might have a plan for that, just in case they do," I said. "If someone starts shooting at you, jump in the water. It's going to be cold and dark but you're all great swimmers and you can tread water until we get you out. They won't be able to see where you went. Swim up next to one of the other boats if you can. If someone shoot's off a gun down here, people will hear it and the cops will show up before you can fart. Can you little dudes do that?"
"Yeah, I think so. You're sure you'll come get us?" Jordy asked, slowly.
"Of course, little man, no problem. But that's not going to happen because I don't think they'd be that stupid. I just want all of you guys to be prepared for the worst so we can all be safe and not get hurt."
"I sure hope you're right," Chris said.
"And remember those self-defense moves dad taught you Jordy? If you can't remember what to do, hit him or kick him as hard as you can right in his nuts. If he grabs you from behind bite his arm. This is serious and you guys don't have to fight fair."
"Okay. We can do that, can't we Chris?"
"You bet!"
The sun had finally gone down and the last of the daylight was starting to fade. Luckily, there wasn't any fog tonight and it was still pretty warm out. We made a turn off of Herondo to Harbor going south, and before we knew it, we were at the main entrance to the Marina.
"Keep your eyes peeled, guys," Lisa said, as she turned onto Marina Way. "Here we go."
After we passed the administrative buildings and a couple of restaurants, there were a bunch of docks on either side of us. Each dock had at least twenty-five or more boat slips on each side of the dock, and they were all mostly filled with a crazy assortment of boats. Little sailboats like my pen-pal, Antonio, in New York raced. Some were bigger than others, and at the end of each dock was a bigger slip for some of the larger, fancier yachts and sport fishing boats. The problem was, there were at least ten or twelve docks on each side of us. That meant that there were over a thousand boats here! How in the heck were we going to find the right one? That question was answered soon enough when Lisa called out and started pointing, "Right there! I remember that dock. I was here before. It's next to the showers and bathrooms for the live-aboards."
"Go down and turn around. Park on the other side of the street so we can fly out of here when we get him," I said. Maybe it was the weird meditation we were doing, or some other heightened sense of reality, but I could feel Jake's presence here. Lisa went down to the end of Marina Road and turned around. On the way back up I noticed that only a few boats had any lights on inside them and that it was actually really dark. I hoped that wasn't going to be a problem for us.
Lisa found a good spot to park where nobody could get in front of us and block us in. She turned off the motor and sat there for a second, taking a deep breath.
"Okay everybody. Before we get out, take a good look around so you know where to go and remember where the car is parked so you can find your way back in a hurry. Jordy and Chris, you see that ramp over there? All you have to do is walk down the ramp and go slowly down the dock just like two normal boys walking their dog. Look at the end of the slip. There should be a bigger fishing boat than the others tied up. See if it's the Anne-Marie. Check if the lights are on and listen for any voices. Then slowly turn around and walk back. Remember, you're just two boys out walking your dog," she said.
"We can do it, right Jordy?"
"Shebang!"
"Great. Everybody get out on the sidewalk for an inspection," Lisa said. We all climbed out of the car and assembled on the sidewalk.
"Jordy, leash up Sloan. You walk her and Chris will carry the walkie-talkie. Chris, turn on your walkie-talkie and make sure the sound is on low, but not so low that you can't hear it. Kinda keep it under your shirt like this," I said, showing him how to do it. Standing back up, I continued, "Enzo, you go with them but when you reach the bottom of the ramp, go to the left and go down the other dock next to it. See it over there? Be sure to keep them in your sight, okay? If something happens, whistle real loud and we'll come running."
"You got it."
"Here's the other walkie-talkie. Double check the sound out with your brother," I said, handing Enzo the other walkie-talkie. "But don't go yet, I'm going with you. I'm going to hang out by the showers at the end of the ramp over there."
"What about Kenji and me?" Lisa asked.
"You two stay here behind the car. Listen for Enzo in case he whistles, and if he does, come running. Lisa, help Kenji put on this baseball hat and grab the pizza box. Make him look the part. Once the little dudes come back and tell us what they saw, Kenji's going next to double check. Then, when he comes back, we're gonna all go back and take them down and rescue Jake. Everybody got it?"
“Yes," everybody shouted.
Enzo, the little men and I crossed the empty street and walked along the sidewalk until we got to the ramp. Jordy turned around and gave me the thumbs-up sign, and then the two of them started down the dock. Nobody talked and they all did exactly as we planned. From up here on the railing, I had a pretty good view of both docks, and I could keep my eyes on everybody, even though it was dark. There were a few street lamps on each dock, giving off a small pool of light, but it wasn't good for much. And either there weren't very many live-aboards here, or else everybody was tucked-in for the night. Or maybe they were eating dinner up on one of the nearby restaurants. Still, a sprinkling of boats had lights on in their small windows, but not very many. I could hear the sound of a shower running behind me in one of the locker rooms and the soft clang as the boat closest to me rubbed against the dock. Other than that, it was very quiet. Even the water was flat and still, like a midnight blanket.
Enzo hadn't wasted any time and was down at the end of the dock to the left. He had slipped in between two boats and had a perfect view of the adjoining dock and a clear view of the boys in front of him. The docks were pretty close together, so close in fact that if the boys got into any trouble, Enzo could probably dive in and reach the other dock before I even had a chance to run down there. Looking down the dock in front of me I could see the boys casually walking Sloan.
So far, everything was going to plan. Never being religious, I still said a quick prayer for protection of the little men, and for Jake as well.
Suddenly, some man came barging out of the men's side of the shower room right behind me, slamming the door shut with a loud bang. Startled, I had to take my eyes off the little men to see what all the noise was about. "Roscoe, that you?" he said to me.
"No mister. I think you have me confused with someone else."
"Aye. Yer too young to be Roscoe, ain't ye?" He was an old guy, and his fat, bare belly wasn't doing him any favors in the looks department.
"I guess so," I said, taking a quick look down the dock. Sloan had stopped and the guys were waiting for her to finish taking a piss.
"Watcha doin' out here by yerself, boy?"
"I'm, umm, waiting on my sister to finish her shower. She takes forever," I said, thinking fast and pointing over my shoulder towards the ladies shower room. "Her Aunt Flo is visiting so this might take a while."
"Aye. Damn dames! Not good for much `cept cookin'. Be good boy. I'll see ya then," he said, and walked off down the sidewalk towards a different row of docks.
Wow, that was close I thought. I looked back down the dock and was happy to see that Jordy and Chris had started walking back this way. I looked over and Enzo had started back up his dock as well. Soon, all of them were on the ramp. I couldn't tell from their looks what was going on, but I knew we shouldn't be talking here.
"They're you are. Mom wants you back at the car," I said, way too way loudly and giving them a stern look and tilting my head that meant serious business. Chris didn't get it and started to say something, but I cut him off with a curt "Wait."
We hustled over to the car to meet up with Lisa and Kenji. They were standing there, he in his sort-of Pizza Man outfit and she in her dark get-up. They came around the car to meet us as soon as they saw us walking towards them. "How did it go? What happened?" Lisa asked.
"No problems. Tell us what you saw, guys," I said.
"Well, it was kinda scary cuz it was so dark, but then after Sloan peed we went to the end of the dock. The boat's name is the Anne-Marie, just like you said," Jordy said.
"Tell them about the music," Chris said, clearly excited.
"Oh, yeah. There was only one little itty-bitty light on in one of these funny round windows. It was cracked open a little bit and we could hear the radio but we couldn't see inside. The song that was playing was Sugar, Sugar, and if Jakey is in there, he's gonna be real mad. He hates that song," Jordy said, starting to giggle.
"Did you see anybody on board?" Enzo asked.
"No. Other than the radio, it was all quiet."
"That's not good," Lisa said.
"Why do you say that?" Kenji asked.
"Because we need to know how many guys are onboard."
"Did you guys see a way to get onboard? Like a ramp or stairs or something, or can you just jump in the boat from the dock?" I asked.
"The front part is too big, but the back part is lower. You guys are taller so you should get right in, but somebody will have to boost me and Chris up," Jordy said.
"And Sloan, too, if she goes with us," added Chris.
"Good job, guys, that's great information. But I think we'll leave Sloan in the car for now. She might get in our way."
"Okay. So Ryan, what do you want to do next? Send Kenji in with the pizza, or should we just storm the boat?" Lisa asked. "I'd really like to know how many guys we're dealing with and I'd also like to know if Jake is really on there or not."
"I don't know. I kinda agree that we should try and get more info. Maybe we should send Kenji and see what he comes back with. I'd really like to know how many guys are on board, too. What does everyone else think?"
"I vote for doing it now. Let's not wait around anymore," Jordy said.
"I think we should send Kenji first," Enzo said. "I think if we know exactly what we're up against, that might make this mission go easier."
"I agree," said Kenji.
"Okay, so let's do this: I want to sneak down the dock and hide closer to the front of the boat, out of sight. Then when Kenji comes down to make the fake pizza delivery I can try and look in one of the windows, or at the very least, listen to what's being said," I told them. "Somebody lock Sloan up but make sure to roll down a couple of windows so she has some air. Then you guys hang out by the lockers. When we get more information we'll just meet you back up here and then plan our next move. But if we need you guys you can come running and we can all bombard the boat together."
"Great idea, Ry. If you need us, use that same whistle that Enzo was going to use. That will be our signal, okay guys?" Lisa said.
"Right on. Kenji? You ready to do this?"
"Yeah, man. Let's go!"
"Me, too," Chris added.
"Let's go G.I. Joe on them," Jordy said.
"Lisa?"
"Let's do it!"
"All right, here we go."
***Special thanks to my editors Jason T. and Hans for help with this chapter.