Chapter Five: A Change In Plans

Tom rushed over to the broken shrimp cleaning stand that had stood tall just a few moments ago and began to dig through the rubble, his hands working quickly to free his friend. He removed a thick sheet of tin and looked down at Lee. The dock workers eyes were closed, deep groans were emitting from his mouth as he rolled back and forth on the ground. It looked like he was in a lot of pain.

“Lee, are you okay? Is anything broken?” asked Tom as he reached in and pulled the man to a sitting position, waiting for Lee to get a grip on his surroundings. The dock worker let out a few ridged coughs and cleared his throat. His head was no doubt still spinning from the massive explosion that had just occurred. Lee finally looked up at Tom, his eyes distant.

“What was that? What happened to the ship? What happened?” He said sounding a bit dazed.

Tom turned and looked down the dock at the burning, twisted boat. The thing was now sinking slowly into the port. It looked like it had been drilled straight through with a hammerhead missile. Both sides of the ship were completely blown away as if someone had taken a giant ramrod and forced it through the steel. The sound of hissing pipes could be heard from inside the main hull as it filled with seawater. It was hard to believe this contortion of metal and wood had ever been a ship, and Tom could tell that it wasn’t going to be leaving the shore anytime soon. Their plans were ruined.

“Lee, the ship doesn’t look like it’s going to be going anywhere for awhile… It’s amazing you survived the explosion like you did. You were really close to the thing when it went off. We were running to tell you that Shark Inc. might know about us and the star map. This only proves that they do; there must have been a spy or something. We were going to tell you to be careful, but it looks like it’s too late for that now.” Tom shook his head with disgust at all the mess around the shipping yard. There were pieces of the S.S. O’Mally sticking out of the cement dock while other pieces were adrift in the ocean.

Lee was at a loss for words. Everything he had worked so hard for had blown up in only a few seconds. One second it was there and the next it was a ball of fire. He lifted a shaky hand and rubbed the bottom of his scruffy jaw. His whole body felt like it had been run over by a heavy-duty tank. He gazed down at his trembling arms; blood was now seeping out of the many scratches and cuts he had obtained from the collision with the shrimp shack. Nothing appeared to be broken, though. His legs were a little bruised, but all in all, he was still in one piece.

“This is horrible, Tom… absolutely horrible,” said Lee. “How are we going to get to the island now? I worked so hard…” he trailed off.

“I know, I know. But it’s okay now. You’re safe–” Lee cut him off.

“No, it’s not okay, Tom. I worked on preparing that ship for one whole month; for one whole month I delayed other projects! All my time; all my strength went into making everything perfect for the voyage to that stupid island… and now it’s all gone… it took weeks to prepare, and someone destroyed it in seconds.”

Tom stepped back and let the dock worker stew over the chaos. Lee had every right to be upset by the setback.

“What were you doing when we arrived? It looked like you were going back to the ship for something. Did you know about the bomb?” asked Tom.

Lee let out a harsh laugh as if seeing a funny side to the tragic event.

“No. My foreman, Frank, had just mentioned someone coming by to check the engine room awhile ago, but no one is supposed to be in there. I was just going to check the engine room and then… it blew up. I would guess that whoever did this to us knew what he was doing. He must have placed the explosives right next to the fuel tanks in the hull. That was some explosion that occurred! I bet the whole northern half of Aggerton City heard it!”

“You’re probably right about where he put the bomb. That would explain why the thing is now resting on the ocean floor.” Tom said as he considered that the petrol must have enhanced the explosion and caused the sides of the ship to pop like a balloon. Tom turned and watched as Marten slowly approached. He was grabbing at his sides. He had started at a run toward the pier, like Tom, which had faded into a jog and he was finally, slowly, limping toward the end of the pier like a wounded animal.

“It’s a good thing you guys came when you did,” said Lee who was watching Marten as well. “I wouldn’t have been able to pull myself out of that wreckage.” He gritted his teeth as he tried to come to his feet, which proved to be difficult because he was pretty heavily bruised and aching all over. Tom reached out and helped him stand.

“Now we have to contact Runt and tell him about the bad news. I really thought today was going to be very different,” said Tom as he helped walk the bruised dock worker out of the debris of the demolished shrimp stand.

They waited patiently for Marten to arrive behind them. When he finally caught up to the place where they were on the dock he was completely sweaty and out of breath.  

“What… happened… here? What… did you… do? Was any of the… crew… onboard… when it exploded?” asked Marten between breaths.

Lee shook his head.

“No, the crew is safe. I got a letter from Runt telling me that the trip might be delayed for another hour, or even a day.” Lee said and noticed a flicker of jealousy at the mention of a letter from their boss. Lee rolled his eyes and continued. “So, I sent them all home until we know what’s going on. Everyone should be safe. We got lucky today.”

“Lucky!” yelled Marten suddenly with a renewed energy that seemed to spring from a burst of indignation. “You call all this mess lucky? It’s a good thing those workers weren’t on that boat when it exploded! We would have lawsuits all over the place. Their families would have sucked our company dry with all the compensation pay; we would owe millions of dollars. It would have been tragic, simply tragic. Someone has to be accountable here, Lee. Do you have any idea who might have done this? You didn’t do this, did you?” Marten’s face was turning bright red which was nothing in comparison to the shade of crimson Lee’s face took on at the accusation.

“Why on earth would I blow something up that I have been working on for weeks? I was informed by my foreman, Frank, that someone came by to check the engine room. But I never scheduled someone to check the engines. Frank just led him to the ships engines and he must have planted a bomb while he was down there–”

Marten interjected quickly, the veins in his neck were bulging and his tone held a mean sarcasm. “You think he planted a bomb?” He turned to the smoldering ship in the harbor and pointed dramatically. “Well that certainly looks to me like the aftermath of a bomb! How could you let this happen, Lee!? We trusted you to look after the affairs of the ship and you let someone go and blow it up!”

Lee balled his hands into hard, round fists as his face became flat and mean. “You know nothing about the complexities of running a crew. You have no idea how it is, having to be responsible for every seemingly insignificant detail, making sure every worker is doing their fair share and to the best of their abilities. Having to know where they are at all times, and only being able to be in one place at once. I’m responsible, that’s why I was in charge of this. Runt would never trust you to be in charge of anything this important!” Marten’s face grew redder, if it were possible. Lee had struck a chord with his last sentence.  

“He trusted me enough to put me in charge of examining the star map!”

“And look what you did! You tried to destroy it!” Lee spat back.

Tom could feel the tension rising and knew someone was going to swing a punch soon if something wasn’t done. He quickly stepped between the two men and held his hands out to separate them.

“Marten, calm down this isn’t–”

“Oh shut up, Tom, we’re not some of your students getting into a fight over a girl at school,” barked Lee loudly from behind. “We don’t need you to fight our battles. I’ve done nothing wrong here. I did my very best in preparing this ship for departure today. If Marten wants a fight with me, we’ll fight. I’ll beat the living crap out of him. What can the fat man do besides eat and complain?”

Marten’s face became one of complete rage and without another word, he pushed Tom out of the way and charged at the dock worker with a manic growl but Lee was prepared and swung his fist toward the fat man with all his strength. The both of them toppled over onto the ground, throwing wild punches at each other. Tom watched impatiently as they kicked and yelled angrily. The whole scene looked completely pathetic. Here they were, standing on a desolate dock on the outskirts of Aggerton City, fighting with each other over a wrong that was done to them by someone else’s hand entirely.  

Tom scrambled over to the quarrelling men and, placing a foot on Marten’s back, kicked him off of Lee. The chubby man rolled a few times before lying flat on his back and looking skyward, panting heavily. Lee sat up and rubbed his neck where Marten had just been trying to get his chubby, but short, fingers around.

“You’re not like high school students? You’re right, you’re worse! You’re acting like children! None of us is to blame for this mess yet we’re sitting here punishing each other for what someone else has done to us! The real criminal is still out there, and we don’t need to be a man short because one of us has killed him off!”

Marten and Lee both looked surprised at Tom’s outburst. They had never seen him speak with authority before. He had always been a quiet, well mannered man.

“I suppose you’re right, Tom…” said Marten, returning to his usual pompous self. He lifted himself into a seated position and his hands came to the black tie around his neck as he began to adjust it.  “We are acting like kids. We should know better. I’ll be the bigger man here; I apologize! It won’t happen again!”

Lee looked at the fat man blankly. He rolled his eyes heavily.

“WE are acting like kids? You’re the one getting on my case about the ship exploding. You’re the kid here, not me!”

Tom, sensing another brawl, interjected quickly.

“Let’s just figure something out, besides yelling at each other. This whole arguing thing is not cutting it.” He turned to Marten and held out his hand expectantly. “Let me see your cell phone.”

The fat man looked reluctant.

“Why do you want my phone?”

Tom threw up his arms in frustration and motioned to all the burning debris around the dock. He looked sardonically back down at Marten.

“Why do you think I need the cell phone, Marten? Could it be that our ship was just obliterated right before our eyes? Could it be that we no longer have solid plans for departure? Could it be that another company might get to the island before us?”

Marten shifted uneasily on the ground at Tom’s unkind words.

“You don’t need to be so rude, Tom. It was just a question.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone and handed it to Tom. Tom took it from him and walked down the dock, his mind still brewing with annoyance and frustration. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the letter that Runt had left him. He opened it and dialed the number written at the bottom of the yellow page. The speaker rang and after a few moments of no one picking up, it went to Runt’s voice mail.

“Hi, you have reached Runt F. Presto. I cannot come to the phone right now. I am probably busy with–”

Tom hung up. He lifted a hand and ran it through his brown hair and, letting out a heavy sigh, he turned around. Lee and Marten were now coming to their feet. They were in the process of brushing themselves off when he spoke to them.

“It looks like we might have to wait for a response!”

“Who did you call?” asked Lee.

Tom looked down at the phone.

“I called Runt to see if there is anything he wants us to do here before we go.” He looked back up and frowned. “I can’t get a hold of him.”

Marten laughed slightly.

“Runt is always leaving his phone around. He probably left it in the office again. He does that with me sometimes.”

“What do we know?” asked Lee.

Tom shrugged.

“I don’t know what Runt wants. He has been planning for this trip for a long time. Now it’s… over, I guess. Someone else will get the prize and the fame; and we will get the shaft!”

“Do you still have the star map with you, Tom?” asked Lee quickly. There was some concern in his voice.

“Yes. I have it with me.”

“Then all isn’t lost,” Marten chimed in. “We can still be the first. Shark Inc. doesn’t have the directions. No one does but us!”

Tom ignored the optimism and looked at the ground. He really wanted to leave today and find the island, now it seemed that they would have to wait another month or so before the next time came around. There has to be some way to get going again, thought Tom. We have to leave today!

 The company went silent, giving Tom the opportunity to turn around and look at the peaceful shore, studying it for a bit. He was about to speak up again when he spotted a lone figure biking along the boardwalk near the docks. The man was dressed in a black suit and appeared to be pedaling quickly. Tom watched as the reflectors on the bikes pedals shimmered in the morning sunlight. The man turned onto dock 49 and headed straight for the company.

“What in the blazes is that man doing?” asked Marten as he walked up to Tom.

“It looks like a biker. We get them out here every so often,” said Lee with a yawn, stretching his sore limbs. “They ride out here to see the sun come up over the sea. It’s common to see them going up and down the boardwalk.” 

Tom turned to the both of them and smiled. He spoke with excitement.

“It’s Runt. He’s here!”

Marten was amazed at the news.

“On a bike? Runt came on a bike… and in a nice suit too. What is he thinking? ”

This information surprised even Lee; the dock worker had only seen the president of Scar Co. drive a fancy car. It was definitely a change from the usual meetings they had in the past. There had to be something behind it all.

            Runt stood up on the bike pedals and waved to everyone. He called out as he got closer to them and slowed the bike down.

“It’s good to see that everyone is all right and accounted for. I have some terrible news!”

            Runt stopped the bike right in front of the men and got off, putting down the kick stand and walking over to the small company. His face was beaded with sweat and dirt. He looked as if he had just biked a marathon.

            “Runt, why the devil did you take a bike? This is so unorthodox for you. What happened? What is going on?” asked Marten pressingly.

            Runt frowned.

“A lot is going on. I came as quickly as I could. I met with Mr. Edmonds at Shark Inc. I asked him a few probing questions to see how much he knew about the map. Apparently he already knows about our trip to the island. He was very straight forward with me on that matter. He told me that he plans to be the first on the island. No doubt he had been doing some snooping around; probably got his drones to do information gathering. My guess is that he got his regional manager ‘Ruler’ to do the dirty work for him!”

            “That is just like Ruler and Mr. Edmonds! They would send spies to find out our business; they’re sneaky little snakes. Why don’t they make their own discoveries instead of stealing others? It’s appalling to even think about!” Marten paused; he looked over to the bike. “Why did you come by bike, Runt?”

            Runt shook his head with frustration.

“I took a bike because someone had slashed my tires while I was in the meeting with Mr. Edmonds. It was a childish thing to do, but I think that they hired someone to do it. I bought this sturdy thing off a man at the bus station. He thought I was crazy but I had to get here as quickly as possible just in case something went wrong. Did you all get my letters I sent?”

            Everyone nodded, except for Marten.

            “I sent you those letters because I wanted you to be aware of the problem we face. I didn’t want delays to occur today, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. When Shark Inc. plans sabotages they go all out. We have to be careful, and we have to leave for the island now! I think Mr. Edmonds is planning to go as well to find the island. We need to call the crew!” Runt shifted his gaze from the company. He looked out over the port with puzzlement. A few things were still burning. “Where did my ship get off to? Did someone steal it?”

            The company looked at each other and then at the debris covering the dock and distant beach. The small group became very still and uneasy so Tom decided to speak up.

“Well, Runt, you’re not going to believe this but your ship sort of blew up and sank to the bottom of the port. We think it might have been the same people at Shark Inc. that did it; although we aren’t entirely certain about that…”

            “It was them, Runt,” said Marten with determination. “I know it was them! They would do something like this.”

            Runt looked like someone had punched him in the gut. He stared at the empty dock with a hollow expression. He shook his head with amazement.

“Oh my, goodness! What a tragedy! My boat gone; sunk in the sea? I feel by the time we get everything worked out again it will be over. Mr. Edmonds will have made our discovery. If we were to be the first we needed to leave now; that or at least within the week.”

            “There’s got to be a way for us to still go. Shark Inc. can prepare all they want but they still don’t have the map. I have that on me right now,” said Tom. “There’s got to be another ship, Runt. Don’t you have one?”

            “No, I don’t,” said Runt softly. “My ships are either out to sea or being loaded with something else. Oh… not to mention a few are having repairs done. It would be impossible to set anything up at this point. I have other investments to look after as well!”

            The company became quiet, their minds stirring with a hundred different thoughts.

            “I think I can help…” said Lee reluctantly.

            Everyone looked over to the dock worker.

            “How can you help?” asked Runt firmly. “What can you do? Do you have a boat ready for us?”

            Lee shook his head.

“No, I don’t have a boat ready for us, but I do know someone who does; my uncle Tash. He lives in South Bay by the docks there. He has been shipping things over the three seas for some time. He could whip something together for a small company like us if we asked. We could be gone by the end of this week if everything goes well, probably not with a massive crew like we planned. It would only be us and whoever he would want to bring with him. But the main point is that we would be the first on the island.”

            “That is amazing, Lee! I never knew you had an uncle in the shipping business. What does he move?” asked Runt.

            Lee shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m not entirely sure what he moves. But this I do know; he is successful at what he does. He owns a very big mansion by the seashore. Maybe you have heard of it, the place is called the ‘Fantas Estate’. It’s one of the biggest houses in the Aggerton City reign. If anyone can help us out with our situation it would be him.”

            “Okay, I like the sound of this. Do you think you can talk to him and get things set up for us? You can tell him that Scar Co. will happily reimburse him for any cost that it might take to get things ready,” said Runt.

            Lee nodded his head.

“I can do that. But I can’t promise that he will want to actually do this... I haven’t seen my uncle in a long time. There have been a few… run-ins with my family in the past.”

            “Run-ins?” asked Marten skeptically. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, there are two sides to the Fantas family. There’s the rich side and then there is the not-so-rich side. I am a ‘Foldings’ and I land in the category of the latter. Uncle Tash doesn’t like the poor side because the Foldings always ask him for money and favors... it’s kind of bad…”

            “How bad?” asked Tom. He was growing a little suspicious of Lee’s family. The dock worker was making it sound like there were some serious issues yet to be sorted out between them and Tom thought it sounded a bit shady.

            “Nothing too bad, Tom… not like you’d think… its fine, really…” Lee paused and looked down at the ground. “I can try and see. I mean I can go over to my uncles and ask him if he will sponsor this trip. It might be a long shot, but it’s also the best chance we’ve got.”

            Tom was going to ask another question about the family business when Runt jumped in, his voice sounding excited.

            “Great! Wonderful! It’s settled. We will try Lee’s idea for now,” Runt pointed at Marten. “I want you to go with Lee, here, and talk to Mr. Fantas on my behalf. Tell him that we are a well known company that can repay him should he go along with this investment. Try and convince him, Marten!  Use that charm of yours!”

            Lee and Tom laughed at the word “charm”.  Marten couldn’t charm anything; they didn’t know how he was expected to charm a wealthy business man.

            Marten didn’t seem to notice the chuckling. He was looking smug at Runt’s praise. He nodded his head and grabbed Lee by the shoulder, drawing him in close.

“We will do our best to secure a ride with Mr. Fantas. Everything will be taken care of. You can count on me, Runt.”

            “Good. While you’re gone, Tom and I will go to the insurance agency. I need to know whether they cover bomb explosions on loading ships. I don’t want to lose one of my ships over something like this.”

“Did you need a ride then? We’ve got my car.”

            “No, that won’t be necessary Marten I want the two of you to the Fantas place as soon as possible. We’ll catch a ride with a taxi. I saw one on the boardwalk on my way in. The man was just resting behind the wheel, probably been driving all night. We’ll wake him. You go with Lee.”

            Lee gave his uncles address to the president of Scar Co. and the group split up, heading for their separate destinations. Lee and Marten left in the car, and Tom and Runt walked over to the taxi.

All was not yet lost.

Authors Note: I really enjoyed this chapter and I hope you do too. We’ll post again next week on Friday at 4 PM MST. Thanks again! 

Chapter Four: Today

Tom Hoffman woke up to the sound of a car horn blaring in his driveway. He turned over in his bed to stare at the clock resting on his bedside table. It read 6:05 am. He regarded it for a few seconds, trying to comprehend its smooth digital surface. The florescent green numbers looked foreign as he allowed his mind to take a moment to register the information that was lit across the small screen. He slowly began to lift himself up from his mattress to look up at the calendar hanging on the wall across the room, reading it with foggy eyes.

Recognition swept over Tom as the digital numbers on the clock switched to 6:07 am. I don’t have work on Saturday’s… Why am I awake? Tom wondered to himself.   

 The car horn blared again loudly. The noise’s presence scattered his thoughts like leaves being scattered by a leaf blower. Tom turned to the window at the far end of his room and studied it with another confused look. The car horn blared a third time as a small blue glow was pouring into the room from the windows rectangular frame.

The car horn continued to sound loudly, relentlessly. Tom yelled in frustration at the annoying sound. The driver outside wasn’t being very considerate.

“Who the heck is blaring their horn at this hour?!” Tom yelled in the direction of his window in a voice that hadn’t been used in hours.

He pushed himself out of bed and walked over to the window, pulling at the blinds clumsily so he could see who the culprit was. He stared out over his front lawn, spotting the disturber of the peace quickly. Sitting in his driveway was a very nice sports car, behind the wheel a very chubby man in a white polyester suit. Tom was going to open the window and yell at the loiterer when it suddenly hit him. Today was the day of their departure to the Island! Marten had told Tom he would come pick him up at 6:15 in the morning.

Tom cursed under his breath as he rushed to his closet and threw open the doors with one smooth motion. His eyes ran frantically down the many shelves until he spotted the clothes he was going to wear on the journey.

How could I have forgotten that the trip was today, Thought Tom in bewilderment. We have been planning for it for a month now! He grabbed his clothes and threw them on. His body wiggled back and forth as he struggled to get his T- shirt over his head. When he was done dressing he ran over to the night stand and grabbed his shoes. He was in the process of tying them when the car horn blared sharply through his bedroom window again. This time Marten seemed to hold the horn down longer.

“Give me a minute! I’ll be right there!” yelled Tom frantically as he grabbed his watch off the dresser. He buckled it around his wrist and then placed his leather wallet in his back pocket. When he was finished he ran for the front door. His bags were already waiting for him at the threshold. He had packed them a week in advance just in case there was a need to leave unexpectedly. Tom grabbed them and was about to leave when he spotted a yellow letter resting on the ground by the base of the door. He put his luggage down and picked it up. On the front of the note was etched a fancy signature. It was written in blue ink and had a peculiar stamp. Tom recognized the writing to be Runt’s and wondered for a moment why he would leave him a letter on the day of departure but, seeing the need to leave quickly, he pocketed the letter without another thought about it, fumbling in his pockets for his house keys.

He heard Marten shout his name from the car. He opened the front door and waved to the agitated man sitting in his driveway. Marten waved back to him halfheartedly.

“Give me a minute, I have to lock up!”

“Well, make it quick, man!” Marten yelled out of the side window of his car. “We are supposed to meet Lee and Runt at Dock 49 in thirty minutes! The ship will be leaving in just around an hour! And if I know Lee, that dirty little sailor will do anything to leave me behind. He has been joking about it for a while, and I think he might have the gall to actually do it. That man is so uncivilized… We need to go!”

Tom ignored his complaining and locked the front door to the house. He picked up his bags bringing them in the direction of the idle car.

Once he had situated his things in the back seat and closed the door, he climbed into the front, Marten at his side. 

“What took you so long? I was waiting in your driveway for ages! I thought we agreed that I would come pick you up so that you wouldn’t need to take the bus. I was this close to leaving you, this close,” said Marten as he held up a hand and held his thumb and index finger a millimeter apart. “If you hadn’t responded when you did you would be walking to Dock 49!”

Tom buckled his seat belt and glanced over to Marten. The chubby man looked disgruntled. Tom knew he wanted an explanation for his delay.

“I overslept. Sorry Marten!” He said quickly as the man’s face got contorted with disapproval. “But look,” said Tom as he pointed to the clock above the CD player. “No harm done, it’s only 6:18 am. Right on schedule! Let’s get going, wouldn’t want to be late!”

They pulled out of the driveway slowly and headed down the quiet neighborhood. At first the drive led them through Tom’s small suburban town, down Main Street and before much time had elapsed at all, they were on the freeway, cruising straight for the city in the distance.

Tom watched as the morning light hit the heavy smog that hung over the tall buildings. Aggerton City always looked so dirty in contrast to the county. It was like viewing a black spot on a brilliant painting. I wonder where all that smog comes from, Thought Tom. The place is like a gas chamber.

The car carried them smoothly across the countryside as they passed by the open farming planes on the side of the freeway. The wheat and grass stalks swayed back and forth in the cool morning breeze, like little arms. It was almost as if the whole land were waving goodbye to the two men as they went, wishing them an amazing journey and a happy trip. 

Marten looked out at it all and shook his head. He felt like gagging as he took in the dirty farmland outside the city.

“It always smells out in the country,” he said to Tom. “I don’t know how you can live out here.” He rolled up his window and turned on the air conditioning.

Tom looked over to him and smiled.

“Yep, in some areas it does get pretty smelly, but that’s just because we’re driving past the cattle farms. Most of Aggerton’s food is grown out here on the edge of town. When you eat a steak, or fry an egg, or order a nice green salad it all started here. The farmers pride themselves on growing the best food for the city. It’s truly amazing to think about. The people are independent out here in the country.”

“Independent…What are you talking about, Tom? I don’t think I could ever live this far away from civilization. I need the city. I need Aggerton! I have lived my whole life in the sanctuary of the tall skyscrapers!” He paused and looked over to Tom. “That doesn’t mean I can’t rough it, or that I’m a sissy boy. When I was young my dad used to take me kite flying in the city park, and afterwards we would hang out by the duck pond and eat sandwiches. We would spend all day in the good old ‘outdoors’. I have too many fond memories in the city. It’s hard to even imagine anything outside of it!”

Tom nodded at his words, more because he was at a loss of how to respond to Marten’s crude idea of “roughing it” than because he agreed. Spending a day in Aggerton City Park was far from what Tom considered roughing it. The place had drinking fountains for heaven’s sake; it was not a forest or a jungle. It was a city; it had everything built into it to make life easy and comfortable. Tom could see why someone would be so hooked on the adequate businesses and the fast paced lifestyle. If they grew up in it, and all they knew was the city, then of course it would seem like the best place to exist, especially if you’re loved ones were there with you. For Tom it was like that, but with the country.

“I guess, to each his own, right? You have your way of living and I have mine, and there is nothing wrong with that.” said Tom a little unengaged as he let out a big yawn and stretched his arms and legs. His eyes began to water from the strain.

“Yep, I guess you’re right!” said Marten softly. “Some people are just strange when it comes to what they want in life! Some people just want a blanket and pillow and a nice place to sleep. While others need more. A whole lot more!” It sounded to Tom like he was about to lead into some big speech when he abruptly reached over and turned on the radio, totally ending the conversation.

A flamboyant announcer spoke up suddenly from the car speakers. His voice sounded annoying and overly excited as if he had won the million dollar lottery. The man was completely fake.

“Good morning, Aggerton! We have a great forecast for you today. It looks like it’s going to be sun, sun, sun and fun, fun, fun for the whole family. With highs in the upper 80’s and lows in the lower 70’s; if you weren’t planning on going to the beach today, you may want to reconsider. It’s going to be a beautiful weekend! Pull out those kites and get a move on!”

Tom smiled at the exaggerated voice. He reclined his seat and closed his eyes. He listened to the hum of the vehicle as it passed over the rough foibles of the road.

“It looks like it’s going to be another beautiful day, Marten! Perfect weather for sailing the high sea!”

 “Yep,” grunted Marten flatly. He reached over and turned up the radio a bit more so that he could hear over the purr of the freeway and drown Tom further out. He had turned on the radio for a reason. The announcer had shifted subjects; he was no longer talking about the weather. He was discussing traffic conditions in and out of Aggerton City.

“We have a few delays in some parts of Aggerton. Highway 45 on the northern end is congested.  A semi truck has turned over blocking all four lanes of traffic. Orange hazard crews are working quickly to free up the gridlock. So if you’re heading into the city form Hungport Bay, expect delays! That’s the weather and traffic, we’ll be right back after these short messages!” The radio went to a commercial. Marten reached over and turned it off. He looked over to Tom.

“We got lucky today, Tom. It doesn’t seem like we will be having any delays, both in the weather and traffic. All the accidents that have happened are miles away on the northern end. We’ll be at dock 49 sooner than I expected.” 

Tom ignored his redundant statement; he had heard the announcer clearly when he had told them about the weather and traffic. He already understood that the day was going to go smoothly. He opened his eyes and looked outside the window at the fluffy white clouds as they floated by peacefully.

His mind began to drift to more important things. He began to think about the island and the stories that his father had told him about.

“Do you think we’ll actually find it? Do you think it’s actually out there waiting for us?”

Marten looked over to him.

“Find what?”

There was a pause. Both parties thought quietly to themselves for a minute. Tom finally broke the silence.

“You know, Marten. The Island of Liroic. Do you think we can actually find it and get to it?”

“Of course we can, Tom! We have worked out all the directions from the back of the star map. Everything should go smoothly today. At the end of this month that island will be ours. We’ll make history. You’ll be famous!” There was another short pause that came with Marten’s words.

“My father used to tell me stories about King Liroic’s Island. He told me what Grandpa Hoffman used to tell him when he was a boy. He said that our bloodline came straight from that place. He said that there are things on that island that would blow our minds.” Tom paused and took in a deep breath. “I never really believed it was real. It all seemed like a joke or a stupid kid story, made up to humor me as a young child. But now… now it’s real… I am actually going to go to this place.” Marten lifted his eyebrows and gave Tom a weird look.

“Are you going crazy on me, Tom? Because it sounds like you’re going crazy, what with all this talk about you being a descendant. What nonsense is this?”

“I am not going crazy!” said Tom abruptly folding his arms over his chest. “I’m telling you what was told to me when I was very young. I bet our family can trace the Hoffman line back to that Island.” He shifted his thoughts and stared at the dashboard.

“This Island was only a childhood dream three months ago, but today it feels real. Today it feels like I am stepping out of the past and heading into the future. Surely you can feel the excitement, can’t you?”

Marten laughed uneasily.

“Yes, sir! I can!”

Tom ignored him. It was quite apparent that Marten had not daydreamed about the trip quite as much as Tom had. He seemed the type of man who really was in on the trip just for the fame it would bring him. He decided to change the subject before things got stale.

“How much farther until we get to the docks?”

Marten shrugged.

“I don’t know, maybe in about twenty five minutes or so. Everything’s different now that we have no delays! I was planning for delays… and there aren’t any. We should be there very shortly.”

“Good, that gives me enough time to read,” said Tom as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out the yellow letter from Runt. He opened it and read it slowly in his mind. When he was done, he cursed under his breath.

Marten looked over to him with surprise.

“What is it, Tom? What’s the matter? Did someone die in your family? Is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine, Marten. No one is dead!” Tom wondered why on earth Marten would automatically think someone had died.

“Where did you get that letter from?” asked Marten with curiosity. “I didn’t see it in your hands when you got in the car.”

“That’s because I put it in my pocket–”

 “Well, who is it from? What did it say?” Marten said, cutting him off sharply.

Tom was annoyed at Marten’s persistence to find out what the letter said. If there was a secret going around, Marten had to know about it. It was in his nature to be pushy and nosey.

“It’s from your boss, Runt. He must have mailed it to me a few days ago; that or delivered it himself. The funny thing is I didn’t hear anyone come by yesterday, and I most certainly didn’t see anyone. It wasn’t on the ground when I got back from work. It was just there this morning, as if it had been pushed under the door.”

“Runt wrote you a letter? That’s amazing! He never wrote me a letter… What does it say? Anything important?”

Tom could hear the jealously growing in Marten’s voice. He savored the moment a bit before he continued.

“It says that he is changing the departure time. It’s because of certain things that have come to his attention. It’s no longer going to be at 7:30. He wants to push it back an hour... and probably farther than that. He said he would meet up with us at the dock later to discuss what’s going on.”

“What things have come to his attention that would cause him to delay the trip? What’s going on? Something is not right!”

Tom opened the letter and peered down at it for a second, his eyes washing over the words, mumbling to himself as he read.

“It says that he has reason to believe that someone from another company might be planning to interfere with the departure today. The letter said that he was going to look into it and find out.”

Marten let out a deep moan. He lifted a hand and started rubbing his temple vigorously.

“I knew something like this was going to happen! I knew we couldn’t keep this a secret from the other companies around the city. Everyone has spies, and everyone is looking for a piece of our fame! I mean, how could we hide it? We practically stopped everything in the company to get ready for this trip!” He let go of his forehead and pounded his fist on the steering wheel. It made a dull thud as it hit. “I kept saying to Runt ‘maybe we should speed things up a bit’ but, no, he wouldn’t listen. Dang it all!”

Tom straightened up, sounding nervous now.

“What are you talking about, Marten? What other company knows about this departure? Tell me, I need to know how bad this is!”

There was a pause then Marten spoke.

“We have reason to believe that Ruler Tootles from Shark Inc. knows about our journey to the Island. We didn’t plan for anything at the time because we were not sure if he really did know. We didn’t want to drop any hint his way, but it appears that he might know somehow. This is bad news, Tom! If Ruler and Mr. Edmonds know, it’s a bad thing!”

Tom bit his bottom lip and looked out the window nervously. Everything they had worked so hard for was going to be compromised by another company. His breathing got quicker as he looked back over to Marten.

“Can this car move any faster? We need to get to Dock 49!”

    

*          *          *

Lee Foldings stood on the cement pier and watched as the workers loaded the last of the wooden crates into the S.S. O’ Malley. In his hands was a clipboard that held a list of all the things that needed to be taken care of and accounted for before they could leave port. He had been working all night trying to make sure everything was perfect for the voyage to Liroic’s Island. He had gas tanks stalked in the engine room, washed and inspected the hull for any cracks and checked all instruments for bugs. It was all in working order.

The ship is ready to go, Thought Lee with triumph. It might have taken every hour of my time and strength, but we’re ready to go. He checked his watch to see that the time read 7:05 am. He looked up from his watch to see that his crew was busy placing the last crates down into the hull; the men teetered back and forth as they disappeared into the belly of the ship.

Lee grabbed an FM radio from off his belt, held it to his mouth and pushing the button down, he spoke into the receiver.

“That’s good, Frank. Disconnect the cables and tell the crew to take a break; go get some rest. Go to lunch. All the major moving is done. We won’t be leaving port for another hour or so.”

He took his finger off the button and waited for a response. Static was heard on the other end and the speaker crackled.

“Go to lunch?” the man sounded puzzled “What are you talking about, Lee?  It’s only seven, why would we take a lunch break now? And aren’t we supposed to be leaving in like thirty minutes?”

 “Sorry about that, Frank. I have been working too much lately. What I meant to say was, go to breakfast… take the whole crew and go to breakfast.”

“Why would we do that? Don’t we leave soon?” asked Frank, still sounding confused.

Lee shook his head to communicate a negative but, of course, Frank didn’t see this.

“No. Mr. Runt has changed his mind about the departure time and maybe the date. He wants the ship to leave much later than planned. Now go do something with the free time.” The speaker cracked again.

“Why would he move the departure time? We completed everything… didn’t we?”

Lee was getting tired with all the questions. He just wanted his crew to obey.

“Frank, I don’t know why everything is all jumbled up now. All I know is that I received a letter from Mr. Runt telling me that the departure was being moved back an hour, or maybe even tomorrow… or next week. I don’t know why he did that, so stop asking questions. Just go home and say goodbye to your family or something. Get some rest… or go to breakfast… just go… and take the crew with you.”

“Okay, you’re the boss, Lee,” said Frank. “What time do you want us back?”

Lee thought for a moment. Then he pressed the button.

“I don’t know. But as soon as I do, you will be the first that I call, okay?”

“Okay,” grumbled Frank. “I guess… I guess just don’t want to go home to the misses just yet. She’s been in one of her moods again. I was hoping that we would be leaving today. You know, give her some time to cool down…”

Lee laughed aloud. Frank had been having trouble with his wife ever since he got married to her.

“You know you can’t run from your problems, Frank! You have to face them. You have to man up and face them!”

“I know. I just wish my problems didn’t have such an ugly face in the mornings!” said Frank with a chuckle.

Lee laughed back.

“You’re an idiot, Frank! Now get your butt off the crane and tell the others to go to lunch…” he paused and cussed loudly. “I mean breakfast! I hate early mornings!”

Lee waited patiently as his workers left the ship yard one by one. They looked tired and forlorn, like a bunch of starved prisoners. Lee didn’t blame them for being that way; they had worked all night to get everything ready for today. They deserved to go home and rest for a bit before the real journey took place. Frank approached Lee as the others left.

“Well, I am taking off. I told all the boys that I would inform them when the trip was back on. They’re really disappointed,” Frank said.

“Thanks, you’re a good foreman.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that a few times in my life. Let’s hope it’s true… but, hey!” said Frank and he looked Lee right in the face.

“What is it Frank?” Lee asked.

“You need to get some sleep… you look like the walking dead. You work too hard for your money. You have to occasionally stop and smell the roses.”

“Thanks for the advice,” said Lee with sarcasm. “You should write the little messages for the fortune cookies! I am sure they would sell!”

Frank gave a laugh, turned and started walking down the dock. Lee watched him go with weary eyes. The scruffy man got about halfway to the shore and stopped, turning around to face Lee once more.

“Hey, Lee. I forgot to tell you… a man came by the other night wanting to look at the engines and the control room. He said you hired him to fix things up around the ship. I let him have a go at it for a bit… I didn’t think you would mind, but I thought I should tell you just in case…”

Lee nodded his head as his eyes ran down his list of things that needed to be checked.  

“Yeah it’s okay, Frank. Just go home to your misses!”

“Yes, sir.”

Frank made his way across the dock and was out of site before Lee was done looking over his list. He walked over to a crate and sat down heavily, slowly pulling out the letter he had received from Runt. His eyes read over the words slowly. He was about halfway into the second paragraph when it hit him. I didn’t call for anyone to come look at the engine room. No one is to even be in the engine room without my approval!

Lee looked over to the ship and stood up quickly, his heart racing.

Who had been in the engine room? There was nothing wrong with the engines… they were fine! I checked them myself! Thought Lee frantically.

He was about to run to the ship when someone called his name. Lee looked down the dock as his eyes landed on Tom and Marten. They both looked frantic.

Something isn’t right, thought Lee. He was about to yell back to them when an explosion sounded from behind him and he felt heat on his back. The ship had suddenly exploded into a ball of light and sound and Lee was thrown twenty feet down the pier. His arms and legs flailed wildly as he was thrown into the air and came crashing down onto a wooden shrimp cleaning stand. The structure collapsed on top of him in a giant heap of wood and tin. Quite suddenly, Lee’s world went dark.

Chapter Three: One Month Ago

Tom Hoffman stood outside the Sturgeon Café waiting for his friends to arrive. He wore a nice blue pullover sweater and some slacks, wanting to be semi-professional for the business to be attended to tonight. He leaned against the rough brickwork of the establishment and watched as people bustled back and forth on the busy street; the city seemed more alive tonight than he had ever seen it before. People were pouring out of their high apartment buildings to witness the wonderful sights of Aggerton City Park.

Tom didn’t care for the whole metropolis scene; he was more of a rural kind of person. He enjoyed wide open spaces with no noise whatsoever. The only time he ventured into the city was when he was forced to because of school board meetings.

Tom had been on the board for over four years and had not seen much progress in the school in that time. The meetings seemed redundant and evasive and they always seemed to lead back to the same place; dealing with unhappy parents. This had to be Tom’s biggest aversion to the meetings; parents would always asked him questions about how he could better the curriculum for their so-called ‘genius’ sons and daughters. To Tom, it felt ridiculous. All he wanted to do was teach the children the basics; they didn’t need to be history and geography masters. They’re kids for heaven sakes, Thought Tom. They can learn it all in-depth in college, like I did!

Tom shifted on the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, breathing out a heavy sigh and changed his thoughts to better things. Tonight was going to be different than his usual visits to the city. Tonight he was here on his own accord. He had found an old star map buried in the basement of his grandfather’s house. The poor old man had passed away recently from a sudden heart attack and Tom was the only person living within a hundred miles that could actually claim he was related to the old man. Grandpa Hoffman had left nothing of worth behind; he was a washed-up engineer, who had prided himself on fixing old appliances and VCR’s. He hardly ever came out to see the family when he was alive, or the world for that matter. He had become a recluse in his old age. 

Tom decided to put the whole house up for auction. But before he could do that he had to make sure everything was clean, that’s when he had found the star map resting on top of an old record player. It seemed like the genuine article; at least it had all the signs of being the genuine article. It had ancient writing on the back and the numbers to coordinate direction.

Tom was here tonight on a mission to authenticate it with some old friends he knew in the city. If the star map was really what it looked like, he would not put it up for auction with the rest of the junk inside the house. Star maps were rare in today’s society and could land a humble man, like himself, into a treasure trove beyond his wildest imagination. There would be people willing to give him half of their livelihood just to take it off his hands, and yet, Tom wasn’t interested in money. He wasn’t even interested in the fame and praise it might bring. He was interested in actually finding the legendary island that it claimed to lead to; the island that had disappeared so long ago from history.

He was looking across the street now at a lively jazz band that was playing in the city park. The tall street lamps were illuminating the pathways and the people as they passed, one person occasionally dropping a coin into an open saxophone case. Tom glanced beyond the band for a moment into a thicket of trees, and for an instant, he thought he saw a glint of light which looked like two red eyes, as if a cat was perched on one of the branches and was watching the evening events, just like Tom was.

“Excuse me, sir! Do you have the time?” said a voice abruptly, bringing Tom back to reality.

Tom came out of his wandering thoughts and looked up. Standing before him was a very tall man with light brown hair and deep green eyes. His lanky frame seemed to shoot skyward, and block out the streetlights as he wore a pinstriped suit with a red tie that came to the middle of his belt buckle, a mild grin crossing his face as he waited patiently for recognition.

“Runt! Is that you?  How long have you been standing there?”

Runt pulled out a white handkerchief from his coat pocket. He wiped his pointed nose and cleared his throat.

“Only for a few seconds, Tom; I spotted you as I crossed the street from the park, over there.” He tilted his head slightly in the direction of the Aggerton City Park where Tom had just been staring. “Why are you here so early? You haven’t been waiting long, have you?”

“No, I wasn’t waiting long.” Tom shook his head. “You’re fine. But I’ve been studying a lot lately and I think we need to be more careful with our meetings... If someone were to find out that we have a star map it could be…” he paused and looked around quickly. “Well, it could be bad. Did anyone follow you here?”

Runt smiled at Tom’s nervous behavior and looked around at the busy street behind him. People were shuffling back and forth, meeting with their friends. In the distance, beyond the jazz music coming from the park, could be heard the sound of car horns blearing at reckless taxi drivers and street venders yelling at passerby to buy their merchandise. Nothing looked out of place tonight; everything was how it should be.

“Not that I know of, Tom. As a matter-of-fact, I don’t think anyone knows about the star map you found except for me and a few colleagues at Scar Co. The contract you signed stated that we would be discreet and we intend to keep it that way.  The knowledge of the maps existence was only shared with a few trustworthy souls at the company. No one outside of it could possibly know about its existence.” 

Tom felt a little better as he said this. He pushed off the wall and straightened up.

“Do you have the map with you now? Do you know if it’s genuine?”

Runt chuckled slightly. He was amused at Tom’s persistence to conduct business with him on the sidewalk.

“I don’t have it on me, Tom. I am having Marten from the research department bring it over to give us the diagnosis on its authenticity. Our department had run extensive testing on it and we’re just now getting the data back. These things take time, as you very well know.”

Tom nodded his head. He understood the reasons for the apparent delay.  Scar Co. was a very big company that had hundreds of outlets outside of Aggerton City. They were known worldwide for being the leader in finding ancient artifacts and funding expeditions. Scar Co. probably received well over a thousand requests each year to verify antiques from all over the world. Tom was hoping that tonight they might sponsor his journey to find the ancient Island of Liroic. That is, if the star map was what Tom suspected it to be.

“Does Marten know that we are meeting here at the Sturgeon Cafe? Did you tell him it’s just outside the park on the east side?”

Runt nodded his head.

“I did inform them of the proper meeting place. They should be here really soon. I would suspect within the hour, since that’s what we agreed on.”

Tom looked suddenly reluctant. His didn’t like Runt’s indication of multiple people coming.

“How many people did you inform of our meeting? I thought you said in your letter that is was just Marten that was coming. You said nothing about a group.”

“Oh my! So I did! I am sorry, Tom. I informed only two others, one is Marten Soyer who you already know and the other is Lee Foldings. He is the main docking manager at Scar Co. He helps pack and ship rare goods over the three seas, so you can see how it is imperative to tell both of these men about the maps existence. They would know in time anyway. But they are trustworthy men; have no fear!”

Tom smiled uneasily and walked around the president of Scar Co. He didn’t feel like arguing with him about who he had told.  It would be pointless to do so; Runt was a trustworthy man. He wouldn’t tell anyone else about the map unless he had to.  

“Okay, let’s get out of the cold then and find a place inside to sit and get warm. My legs are killing me!” Runt laughed cheerfully at Tom’s words. His prior suspicions about Tom waiting had been correct.

“So you have been waiting out here for some time then. Very well,” he said with a smile. “Lead the way, Tom. I think I shall order a nice chamomile tea and get comfortable before the whole meeting takes place. I have had a very busy day and would like to warm up and relax as well.”

The cold from leaning up against the building had seeped through his clothes and chilled his skin. The winters in the city were always frosty, and a hot coffee sounded really good right now. He headed up the stone steps to the green doors of the Sturgeon Cafe. Runt followed closely behind him. They were both careful not to slip on the icy steps as they made there way up the front doors of the café.

*          *          *

The smell of cinnamon and fresh cream filled the atmosphere in the cozy little building. People were seated all around the room talking and eating pound cake. Their cheery voices seemed to blend together as they laughed and told stories. Tom had always loved coming to the Sturgeon Café because of its pleasant atmosphere. It was like entering a second home. He felt safe here, which was one of the main reasons he chose it as the meeting place for tonight.  

“Hello, and welcome to the Sturgeon Café, my name is Ronda, and I will be your hostess for this evening. Would you be liking a bar seat or a floor seat for tonight?” She paused and studied their faces. “Or would you like to order something to go?” A black apron with a green fish printed on its front was tied around her slender waist and she was holding a few plastic menus and\ standing behind a small wooden podium.  

“Hello, Ronda. My friend and I would like a private table for four please, if you can spare it.” Tom said, indicating to the already very full cafe.

“It is very busy tonight but we should be able to fit you in.” Ronda smiled. “It usually gets this way after seven. People come in after work for a quick pick-me-up before heading to their homes. It’s like clockwork the way they pour in here, but what can you do?” She said with a slight shrug and looked down at the podium, studying a white piece of paper for a minute.

“We do have one floor seat available. It’s by the window over there. I think it’s the closest thing you’re going to get to privacy in here, sir. Will that work for you?”

Tom looked over to Runt. The business man was looking at all the nostalgic paraphernalia mounted on the red brick walls of the establishment. He had not heard the question asked by the lady. Tom reached over and nudged him.

“Hey, Runt all they have is a window seat. Will that be good for you?”

Runt turned and looked at Tom as if he hadn’t heard him either.

“What was that Tom? I didn’t hear what you just said. I was looking at this antique tricycle over here on the wall, and was wondering how old it was. I had one as a child and thought the world of it. I would ride that thing up and down my neighborhood feeling like I was on top of the world!” Runt said smiling nostalgically. “You just don’t see them anymore. They’ve become very rare.”

Tom looked over to the wall and studied the old red tricycle. It had a shiny brass bell with tassels that stuck out of the handles. It was resting on steel pegs ten feet off the ground. He looked reluctantly back over to Runt. This is what you get when you bring the president of an antique company to a nostalgic café, thought Tom, maybe this wasn’t the best place to meet; too many distractions.

“Oh that’s nice, Runt, but the lady here wants to know if we would like to sit by the window over there. Would that be all right with you?” asked Tom. “We could go somewhere else if not.” Runt smiled at him and looked over to Ronda.

“A window seat will be fine, thank you!”

Tom shook his head at the imagery and chuckled.

“Okay, right this way sir’s” said the hostess. She led them across the boisterous room to a little booth in the front of the café. Tom was careful not to bump into the people sitting at the tables as they went.

When they were seated comfortably on the rustic leather benches of the booth, Ronda spoke up.

“Your server is Dan and he should be right with you. Will you need anything else from me? Anything I can get for you?”

When there was no response, Ronda turned to leave when Runt called out to her.

“Wait just a moment!”  

The hostess turned.

“Yes? Did you think of something?”

“I did. We have two other people coming tonight and their names are Lee Foldings and Marten Soyer. Could you direct them to this table when they arrive? They are very good friends of ours and we would like for them to come sit by us.” said Runt politely.

Ronda pulled out a pen and paper from her deep apron pocket. She took off the cap with her teeth and mumbled.

“What did you say their names were again?”

Runt leaned over to her and looked at the notepad.

“Their names are Marten Soyer and Lee Foldings. Marten is spelled with an–”

Runt didn’t have time to finish before someone called out to him from across the cafe. The voice sounded excited and out of breath. Runt shifted in his seat to see who it was that had spoken to him and he spotted the person instantly and smiled. It was Marten!  

“Runt old boy... I tried to catch you… before you and Tom… walked in… we were just in the park when we spotted you! We ran like a couple of scared school boys at recess!” panted Marten as he straightened up and took in a deep breath. He lifted a plump hand and brushed off his white polyester suit. He was standing by the front door with Lee, the dock worker Runt had mentioned to Tom earlier. Lee was quite the opposite of Marten – he was thin and lean, with a young, yet rough face. He looked like someone who was used to difficult labor. Marten, on the other hand, was heavy-set, short and carried himself with an air of superiority. Tom had met Marten briefly when he had handed the map over to Scar Co. to be examined, and he had soon discovered that Marten was rather pompous in nature.

“Come over here, and have a seat! We were just telling Ronda about you two. She was going to inform us when you arrived but it doesn’t look like she will have to do that after all,” said Runt cheerfully as he lifted up a hand and waved them over. Ronda put her notepad away and headed back toward the entrance and her podium, a little annoyed.

Marten let out a jocular laugh.

“I hope you were saying good things about me! A man has to keep up with his golden reputation around here! I wouldn’t want any poison to seep into the social waters of life, if you know what I mean!”

Lee rolled his eyes at the overly dramatic wording; Marten was totally putting on an act for the president of Scar Co. He had been kissing up to Runt ever since he had come into the company six years ago and it still hadn’t gotten him anywhere because Marten was still stuck in the research department.

`Marten started forward toward the table where Tom and Runt were seated. His big frame swayed back and forth knocking into the seated costumers as he went along. Customers grunted in protest at the man’s thoughtless action. Lee followed closely behind him, apologizing to all the angry people in Marten’s wake. Runt stood up as they got close, greeting them with a hand shake and a big smile.

Tom was watching quietly as the whole scene unfolded. He was rather disgruntled by Marten’s carelessness.

“Marten, you really should be more considerate of other people!” said Tom rigidly as he came to his feet. “They’re trying to enjoy their food and good company without interruption. Think before you act!”

Marten looked over to him with puzzlement at being chastised, raising his brown eyebrows in protest. He glanced back at all the perturbed people he had jostled on his way over to greet Runt and Tom.

“Oh, they’ll get over it, Tom. A little push never hurt anyone, besides these city cafes are way too small. They need to make them bigger to accommodate the more hefty gentlemen, if you know what I mean.” He said with a jovial laugh that did not spread to his companions. “It’s the café’s fault that they’re angry, not mine. If they want happier customers they need to renovate and maximize!”

Tom let out a frustrated sigh; Marten was always trying to avoid accountability for his actions. When he made a mistake he would merely blame it on the next guy. He was the king of passing the buck around and the sultan of procrastination. It was amazing to think that he had even got the research done on the star map.

“Please, let’s be seated, we have a lot to discuss,” said Runt, changing the subject. He motioned for the booth, and in a few minutes they were all seated. Ronda, who had left at Marten and Lee’s arrival, returned with two more menus for Marten and Lee. 

“Your server should be with you in a short moment. If you need anything else from me just give me a call,” said the hostess as she turned and weaved through the crowded restaurant back to her podium. After a few minutes of waiting the server came and collected everyone’s orders. Tom and Lee requested the café coffee, Runt ordered his chamomile tea, and Marten asked for a large steak dinner with a cold malt beer.

After everyone had made their orders, they watched the waiter take the menus and turn to put down their orders with the chef.

“Why, Runt, wherever did you find this humble place? It’s absolutely charming! I would have never guessed a café could be so homey and fun, especially with a name like “sturgeon” in it. I mean isn’t that a deep sea fish? Why would you name it after a deep sea fish? It gives me the impression that this place is a sailor’s establishment, if you know what I mean!” Marten shuddered with disgust as he thought about his own words. The cafés name seemed like some kind of dirty joke. “I don’t like seamen, they’re dirty little buggers. I hear they never wash, or even brush for that matter!”

Lee looked over to him now with astonishment.

“Marten, I’m a sailor, and I am not a dirty little bugger! You need to consider others before you start throwing out opinions like that. For one thing the sturgeon is a very noble fish. It’s a wonderful resource of caviar and meat! Some of the men on my crews used to be fishermen. If they knew what you were saying about sailors, you wouldn’t want to be around to see their reaction!”

Marten fluttered his hand at Lee in disagreement. It was obvious the dock worker couldn’t take a joke at all. Lee was always uptight about his work friends.

“I am sure they wouldn’t get violent with me, Mr. Foldings. If anything I could just hold up a mirror and they would all agree that they looked filthy. I also don’t believe that a sturgeon can be a noble fish either. Just because something produces something good doesn’t make it high class. It’s a fish for heaven’s sake! Its only concerns are eating and staying alive! As a matter-of-fact, I believe I could–” Marten was cut off suddenly by Runt.

“Yes, yes, I’m sure there are both good and bad sides to your argument, Marten, but let’s not do this here gentlemen. Let’s just relax and settle down! It’s been a very long day for all of us, a very long day indeed!” Runt never liked confrontations between friends. It made him sick to his stomach. He always tried to stop the quarrelling before it got out of hand, and most of the time it did when Marten was around. The man didn’t have a sense of social limits or boundaries whatsoever, let alone common courtesy. Lee was on the edge of getting violent with Marten, and the man seemed completely oblivious to it.

“You’re quite right, Runt! Sorry about this shameful display, it won’t happen again, you have my word. But I did mean what I said a few moments ago, about this being a nice little place to eat and talk! You did a great job!” said Marten. “A really fine job!” Runt smiled politely.

“Oh, it wasn’t I who found this place, Marten. It was Tom here who did. So he disserves the praise! Not I.” Marten looked surprised.

“Really!” He turned to Tom. “You have great taste, my boy, and a keen eye for nice cafes! It’s a rare gift to have. I think they call it “the ability to spot greatness’! Yes, that’s it! The ability to spot greatness.” He cleared his throat and smiled.    

Tom wanted to laugh at the pompous statement. It sounded completely silly that he should be praised for something so simple as a place to eat. Marten was just trying to get on his good side.

“Thank you Marten… I guess? I used to come to this cafe after my school board meetings in the city. I found it by accident, actually, but I love it still the same.”

“Well, a wonderful accident it was, my boy! You really should start making more accidents if you know what I mean!” said Marten with a wink. “It could prove your success one day. Some people just have that sort of blind luck! They go to bed as poor a dog, and wake up as rich as a king! ”

Lee rolled his eyes. Pretty soon he would have to put on his wading boots to get through all of the garbage being spouted from Marten’s mouth.

“Can we just get on with the meeting already? I need to get back home and sleep. I’ve been hauling wooden crates all day and my back is killing me and I still have to make a few phone calls.”

Tom looked over to him and studied his face. The dock worker truly did look tired and fatigued and he sympathized with him.

“Good idea, Lee!” Tom turned to Marten and whispered. “Did you bring the star map with you? Is it really what it says it is! Can we use it?”

Marten perked up at the hushed question, his mouth developing a sly curve and his teeth began to show as he leaned in.

“Why yes, I do have it with me, Tom. I must say, I think you are going to be pleased with the test results. Everything came back positive!”

Tom’s face lit up with excitement at his words. He felt like shouting till his lungs were sore but he refrained from doing that as he continued.

“So, it’s the real thing then? It’s a star map? I was right all along!”

“Yes, my boy it is, but it’s not just any ordinary star map that can navigate the globe. It’s different from any of the ones that I have seen… It’s, well, really peculiar I would say! It’s got some properties that we have never seen before in anything!”

“How is it different from any other star map? It looked like a regular map to me. What did your testing discover?” asked Runt with wonder in his voice. He was getting into it just like Tom was.

Marten looked around the room cautiously. He reached into his suit coat pocket for the star map.

“Our research department found out a lot of thing that were interesting. First off the map dates back eight-hundred and twenty years ago, back to the time of the old world when the large land mass disappeared.” He said in a whisper. “You know when the nations were fighting with each other. So it’s pretty old, by our dating!”

“What else did you find?” asked Tom impatiently. He was fidgeting his legs up and down with excitement. Marten pulled the map out of his pocket and set it down on the smooth wooden table and it was folded into a neat little square. Ancient lettering could be seen shimmering on its threaded fabric.

“Another thing we found is that the language on the back is different to any other language in our archives at Scar Co. The way the whole thing is structured and punctuated is absolutely amazing. It’s almost a perfect language; or I mean, by our understanding, it’s almost a perfect language. The people who made this star map were very good at saying what needed to be said in just a few words. They express whole thoughts and ideas in a single paragraph using only a few characters! We have been working on just a few – two, maybe three – symbols written on the back and wound up with a whole sentence from it. It truly is amazing!”

“What does the back say?” He lifted a hand and placed it over his mouth so that his words were hidden. “Is it anything important?” Marten shrugged his shoulders slightly.

“The department is really not sure yet, Tom. The back seems quite jumbled in certain areas of its script. But the gist of what we have received is remarkable… Stupendous! It talks about how the island was cursed and a king that must cross the sea for salvation. It’s all very prophetic, but in the end there’s not too much to glean from it, only that someone will return to the island one day to redeem it.”

Runt lifted a hand and rubbed his chin.

“Amazing… Absolutely incredible! What else have you discovered Marten? You spoke of properties? What properties are these?”  

Marten nodded his head. He reached into his suit coat pocket again and pulled out a golden lighter. He opened it up and lit it quickly with his thumb. The company watched quietly as the white flame danced back and forth in his hand.  He reached out and picked up the star map, his chubby hands trembling as he brought it closer to the flame. Tom could feel his heart sink into the pit of his stomach as he did this. Marten was going to burn their only hope of getting to the island! Runt spoke up quickly as the flame approached the ancient map.

“Marten what are you doing? Stop this at once! That’s our investment you’re playing with!”

“Another interesting thing we found is this,” said Marten pointedly, looking at his companions over the map as he put the flame beneath the map and held it there. Tom’s jaw dropped at the blatant action. His hands shot up from under the table in protest. He reached over for the map quickly. Marten saw Tom coming and retracted his hands so that he could not get to the map. He continued to hold the flame up to the fabric.

“What are you doing!? You’ll burn it!” yelled Tom frantically as he swiped for it again. He was rattling the table now in his attempts to get the map. People sitting in close vicinity began to look over at the display.

Runt was about to interject and stop the whole thing when Marten spoke up.

“It’s not going to burn, Tom. That’s the amazing thing about this particular star map. It’s made of something more resilient than canvas. It’s absolutely indestructible!”

Marten stopped holding the flame under the map and tossed it over to Tom. Tom grabbed it quickly and examined it for any damages. To his utter amazement, Marten was right; the thing was completely intact. There wasn’t even a brown spot where the flame had been dancing on the maps backside!

“Remarkable!” said Runt bending in close for a better look. Tom was rotating the thing now in his hands, feeling the smooth, sturdy cloth.

Lee sat up and suppressed a yawn from his throat. He had gotten bored with the magical display quickly. He spoke up sarcastically.

“That was amazing Marten, simply amazing. You are truly a magician if I ever did see one. Now tell us the secret so that we can go home. Why didn’t the fabric burn?”

Marten ignored Lee’s apparent boredom. Lee had no taste for ancient history or art for that matter. The dock worker was so uncivilized, just like any other seaman in their society.

“Well, Lee, if you are truly dying to know, which I can see that you truly are not,” said Marten, narrowing his eyes at the man for a moment. “The reason the thing didn’t burn is because of the fibers holding it together; they are made up of a super-strong thread that resists aging and everything else under the sun. The thing is indestructible I tell you!”

Tom stopped studying the map in his hands as he glared at Marten for a moment. The relief that had showered him upon realizing that the map was not damaged had left him quite quickly.

“What else did you do to the map? What other tests did you run?”

“Well, we did a lot of thing to the star map. We tried burning it in an oven, we tried shooting it with a gun, and we tried dipping it in harsh chemicals. The thing is absolutely impervious to everything. You’re a lucky man, Tom! Finding that thing like you did in your grandfather’s house. You’re going to be rich!”

But Tom was not as pleased as Marten had expected. He was horrified at what Marten had just told him about the testing. It sounded completely unprofessional. If he had known that company was going to try and destroy the star map he would have never given it out to them. He wondered whether Marten’s realizing the map could not be destroyed had begun as a test or an accident.

“You did all of those things to it? What were you thinking?” said Tom looking over to Runt for an explanation. The president was shaking his head at Marten in frustration.

“Marten, I wanted you to authenticate the star map, not figure out a way to get rid of it! Did you ever once consider the possibility that you might succeed in destroying the thing? Where would we be then? That was a very foolish thing you did! Tom trusted us with this and you go and shoot at it! Our investment… your investment!”  Runt spluttered with anger. He was trying to calm himself down; he was typically a peacemaker and a diplomat, but Marten has gone too far. Nevertheless, the last thing they needed was to make a scene in the café.

Marten shrugged his shoulders arrogantly. He was determined not to be the bad guy in this matter. He did what was necessary.

“I can reassure you, Runt, it was done in the most professional way possible. We didn’t leave anything to chance when it came to the testing process. I had my best men study the thing under a microscope for weeks. They studied the fibers, the ink… everything! They then informed me that the fibers that composed the star map were completely impervious to harm. The stuff is lighter and harder than titanium, not to mention it bends like normal linen. It’s weird stuff; it’s like some kind of super blanket!”

Lee laughed sarcastically at the ridiculous comparison.

“Yeah that sounds professional, Marten. A super blanket? What were you thinking, man?”

Tom and Runt were not amused at the choice of words used by Marten, either. He was taking this very lightly.

“So, what does this mean for us now? Are we going to fund this little trip or not? I would like to know before I go home, so I can get started on the supplies,” said Lee dryly. He cracked his neck. “It’s not an easy task to organize and order supplies. It’s a pain in the butt! What with the calling and the moving… So, what’s it going to be?” His light brown eyes shifted back and forth between Runt and Tom. He waited patiently for his answer.

“I think we should give it a try, Runt. All the information lines up. This could prove a very good investment for you and your company!” Tom said and Runt nodded his head.

“I think you’re right, Tom. I’ll do it!” He turned to Lee. “Can you have everything ready to go in a month’s time? I don’t want to delay this trip any longer than we have to. Scar Co. might be renowned for its expertise in finding things, but we’re not the only company that does this kind of work. We have enemies that would do anything to get their hands on this particular map. I don’t want a word of this getting out to anyone. The last thing we need is espionage before the trip! So, the sooner we get out on the sea the better!”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Lee lifted a hand and checked the date on his watch. He whispered as he spoke.

“I think I can do that, Runt. But I will have to delay certain projects we’re working on to get everything in order before the deadline. Will that be a problem, sir?”

“No, I don’t think so. Do what you must to get things ready. I want a ship out of port before the middle of next month arrives. Let’s find this island and claim the fame from it! Scar Co. will go down in history as the first company to set foot on the distant shores of Liroic!”

Marten let out a loud laugh and patted Lee on the back. The dock worker was lunged forward by the powerful blow from the hefty man.

“Then it’s settled. We will leave as soon as everything is ready. I can’t wait for the adventure to begin. Look at me, I am all worked up. Where has that waiter gone off to? Where is my food?”

In a few minutes the server came back holding a tray of their orders in his hands. The company sipped their drinks – all except Marten, who enjoyed his large steak dinner thoroughly – and talked about what needed to be done for the voyage, their voices never rising above a whisper.

*          *          *

Bob Morgan sat on a wooden stool at the bar across the crowded cafe. He was tapping his finger lightly and grumbling to himself as he stared at the small company seated by the window. He watched as they talked and laughed and drank their drinks.

What are they hiding, thought Bob. Why are you being so secretive? Ruler, Bob’s boss, had heard wind that Scar Company had in their possession an ancient star map. He had sent Bob to trail the employees of the company ever since. So Bob had been following them for weeks, attempting to glean any information that might be useful to his boss’s company – Shark Inc. which just so happened to be Scar Co.’s rival.

Could it be that the star map is real? Oh, yes it most certainly would have to be for this meeting to take place and for them all to be so happy! It’s like they’re celebrating a victory that isn’t their’s. Bob took a long swig of his drink and drained his glass and he stared at the laughing men in the booth. Tom had found it, Runt’s company had confirmed it, and Bob’s boss wanted it. So as far as Bob was concerned, they could celebrate now, but their joy would be short-lived.

“Are you finished with your drink, sir?” an uninterested voice asked from the other side of the table, interrupting Bob’s scheming thoughts. Bob took his eyes off the people seated across the room and looked at the bartender. The man was holding his empty glass, staring at Bob with bored eyes and waiting for an answer.

“Yes, I’m finish with it. I should never have more than a few beers; I wouldn’t want to be known around here as an alcoholic!” He laughed slightly, awkwardly to himself. “After all, I’m walking home!”

The bartender nodded, unamused at the awkward laughter of the man at the bar, and walked over to the stainless steel sink at the other end. Bob regarded him closely for a minute as he washed out the cup he had been drinking out of. He wanted to see if the bartender was going to actually use soap to clean it. Most bars in the city didn’t care about hygiene. They only did a quick rinse with the scrubbers and then it was back on the shelf, which is just what the bartender did.

“Well, it’s time to go!” said Bob picking himself up off the stool and onto his unsteady feet. He lifted his wrist and checked his watch to find that the short hand was on the ten. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a crumpled up twenty and set it on the bar. His legs wobbled a bit as he headed for the door. 

“Have a good evening, sir!” said the hostess from behind. Bob ignored her cheery voice and opened the door. He walked down the frozen steps and started into the cold, dark street. When he was a good distance away from the café, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. The speaker rang a few times then someone picked up.

“Hello?” said a very unpleasant voice.

“Hey, boss I have some great news for you,” his words slurred. “The star map that that one guy found is the real thing, I am guessing they will be planning to leave really soon. So, we have to act quickly if we’re going to be the first. We need to organize things. What do you want me to do?”

“I want you to stop them! They must never be allowed to leave the port, and I want that map too… get that map for us! I will call Prune and tell him to start planning for the trip. I want everything to be perfect. No mistakes!”

There was a pause and Bob listened quietly as his boss breathed in and out. Bob’s slightly blurred vision fell back across the street toward the café. In the shadows, next to the trashcans Bob thought he saw two red eyes staring back at him. He gave his head a short, quick shake and looked back to the same spot near the trashcans. The red eyes blinked. Bob was suddenly pulled back to the phone conversation.

“Do you hear me, Bob? No mistakes!!”

“Yes, sir! I hear you. Everything will be taken care of.”

“Good…”

The phone went dead at that moment. Bob placed the device into his pocket and glanced one more time toward the shadows near the café. The red eyes were gone, and Bob was so drunk he probably imagined it anyway. He lifted his hand and yelled for a taxi. He had to pick up some very important supplies before he went home. He was going to make sure Runt’s ship would never leave the port.