Tiger002:
Before this story begins, I wanted to give a huge thank you to everyone who helped with this story. I have seen some people write one-shots for friends for their birthday, but I wanted to do something a little bit more for Wyntirsno. She's a great person, and when I first started writing for Suite Life she was one of my first reviewers and has read everything I've written for the show, and even more. But I know she's not the only one she has encouraged with her reviews, at one time I think she read every story that was posted. And so I asked a few of those other authors to work with me to give her the best birthday present story to thank her for all of her encouragement.
Beyond just those who were able to write for this, who did a great job, I'd like to thank Elinanna22 and RegalBryantLover for their assistence in betaing this story.
Enjoy! Angie, this one is for you...
Chapter 1
By sol invictus
"Look at how turquoise the water is," Cody said as he and Zack stood on the SS Tipton's observation deck. "It's almost unreal." They were steaming through the calm waters off Jamaica's west coast on a beautiful Monday morning, and the view was something straight out of a travel brochure. Through his binoculars, Cody could see the palm trees gently swaying in the breeze, the sugar-white sands, and the rustic beach houses that dotted the coast.
"It's awesome," Zack agreed as he took his turn with the binoculars. "I can't wait until we dock. This vacation can't start soon enough."
"We'll be there soon. Another hour or so at the most and we'll be on dry land again."
"Beaches and babes, Cody, that's all I need," Zack told his brother as he handed the binoculars back. "At least until Maya gets here tomorrow evening. I'm going to find a chair with a great view of the surf, spread my towel on it, and watch as the scenery walks by."
Cody shook his head and patted Zack on the shoulder. "If you are anything, Zack, you are easy to please. As long as it doesn't rain you'll have the best vacation ever."
"You got that right." They fell quiet for a few minutes and listened to the other passengers' chatter as they rounded a point. The white central tower of the hotel complex came into view and more than a handful of their fellow observers let out quiet cheers.
"I probably should go pack my bag now."
"Zack? You mean you haven't…no, of course you haven't. Come on, I'll help."
"Actually, I'll do the packing if you do the looking for my passport."
Cody opened his mouth to mention that they could very possibly spend their entire time on the island searching for that little book but didn't bother. They'd find it.
Just over an hour later, they were on a small lighter crossing the two miles of crystal clear water between the large cruise ship and the resort's dock. Spray from the bow misted the twins, but they didn't care. Zack stuck his hand over the railing and let the moisture bead before rubbing his thumb and forefinger together. At the grin growing on his brother's face, Cody let the good mood infect him.
The lighter edged its way to the berth, and a group of resort employees dressed in blindingly white uniforms lashed it to the deck. Cody listened in as they talked and fell instantly in love with the accent. English, but not quite. He adjusted the strap on his shoulder bag and realized he was just as antsy to get on shore as Zack was.
Zack was...about to jump overboard and swim around the dock to the beach if it would get him off the boat any faster. He fought urge to shove his bag in Cody's hands and push his way through the crowd. He took a deep breath as the first of the passengers started debarking.
"Calm down, Zack, we're almost there," Cody told him as they approached the head of the line.
"I know, I know," Zack replied. He ran a hand through his hair as they walked up the steps and down onto the teak decking.
"Welcome to the Tipton Resort." A tall dreadlocked man, not much older than themselves, greeted them. "If you need anything, anything at all, just say the word." He put an arm around each of their shoulders and led them away from the boat. "We'll get you checked in and on the beach in no time, my friends."
Zack and Cody passed three sparkling pools and dozens of sculpted bushes to the front desk. From there, they could look back and see the waves crashing on the shore and Cody could already feel the sand seeping between his toes. Their guide left them, and the twins found themselves standing before a young lady at the reception desk. She smiled as she took their identification and issued them their room cards and sent them away with another smile, her patois ringing in Zack's ears.
"I'll tell you what, Cody," Zack said as they walked to their room, "we've been here for maybe five minutes and spoken to just two people, but I could get used to hearing them talk. I was going to try to see what it would take to get my own room but every time she said something, my brain emptied out and I forgot."
Cody laughed. "Maybe she's been talking to you for the last eighteen years then."
"Ha ha. But you know what I mean, right?"
"I do. They sound, I don't know, almost melodic. And what do you mean you wanted to see about getting your own room?"
"Cody, we're on vacation. On an island full of hot girls just like those over there." Zack pointed, and the two of them watched as a trio of twenty-somethings wearing next to nothing walked down a nearby path.
"Wow." Cody moved his bag slightly so it hung over the front of his shorts instead of on his hip. Now that he and Bailey had broken up, he was perfectly entitled to look at other girls—to look at them whenever he wanted.
"See what I mean? And, I mean this with no offense, but um, it's hard to tell a girl that you're sharing a room with your brother."
"Sure of yourself, aren't you?" Cody shook his head as he examined his card.
"Just thinking ahead. You never know what might happen. It's like what happens in Vegas staying in Vegas—but better."
"We'll work something out."
"I know we will. Isn't that our building right there?"
"Yes it is," Cody said as he looked up and saw their room number stenciled on the wall above an arched doorway. They walked through and into a tiled space with four doors. "Here we go," he said as he slid the card into their door's reader and pushed it open.
Two large beds sat against one wall facing two dressers with a flat screen on the wall between them. A table with a crystal vase of fresh flowers sat near the patio door, and a hallway led to a small kitchen and the bathroom. Paintings adorned the walls, and the marble floor had an intricate inlay of mosaic tiles. Cody was sure that this room alone cost as much to furnish as an entire floor of the Tipton Hotel in Boston.
"Wow," was all Zack could say.
"No kidding. Don't break anything, or we'll be washing dishes for the next thirty years."
"If that meant staying here, it might be worth it," Zack said as he headed for a small refrigerator.
"What are you doing?"
"Checking the mini-bar, of course." He squatted, opened the door, and let out a disappointed sigh. "Well, if I wanted a soda, I'd be set for the next few days," he said as he stood and pushed the door shut.
"Did you really expect it to be stocked with alcohol, Zack?"
"I thought it might be. I'm pretty sure the drinking age here is eighteen."
"Googled it, huh?" Cody smirked. "It is, but we're also Americans, technically on a school trip, and I'd bet anything that Moseby made sure all of our rooms were emptied of alcohol."
Zack frowned as he leaned against the counter. "It's almost like he doesn't trust us."
When Cody allowed that comment to go by without replying, he added, "That's okay. There are tons of little bars all over this resort. I'll just get my drinks from them."
"Yeah, assuming they don't all have your picture framed on the wall with 'do not serve this boy' written under them."
"Oh, he better not have or I'll—" Zack's plan for possible revenge was interrupted by a knock at their door.
Cody opened it and in walked a steward. He deposited their bags next to the beds and left.
"You were saying?"
"It doesn't matter now. It's time to go to the beach." Zack flung his suitcase on the bed and dug through it until he found his suit. He disappeared into the bathroom and was back out, racing for the patio, before Cody could do more than heave his suitcase onto the bed.
"Come on, already, Cody," Zack said as he leaned against the glass door. "Daylight's wasting." Cody shook his head as he calmly walked to the bathroom to change.
Four hours later, the sun was beginning to set and the twins were sitting in the soft sand outside their patio in their swimming trunks. Zack's nose glowed a brilliant red in the dying light, and he liberally applied aloe to it every few minutes.
"So what do you think about Jamaica so far?" Cody asked as he put his cup of Coke back down in the sand. He wiped the bubbles from the fuzz on his upper lip.
"In one word? Perfect. This place is completely awesome." Zack took a sip from his Coke bottle and dusted the sand from its bottom with his shorts. "Like this bottle. Mom talked about having bottles back when she was a kid, but I'd never seen one. Now I'm drinking from one."
"It's like we went back in time," Cody agreed. "What do you want to do tomorrow?"
"I figured I'd wake up about noon and come back out to the beach. Maybe take a nap about two or so and then hit the beach again and find one of those jerk chicken stands I smelled earlier. Dinner around six and then more sand. Another nap and then party all night. What about you?"
"There's a tour group going to town in the morning. Do a little sight-seeing and then they're going to the market. From what the brochure said, there's tons of deals there. I talked to one of the people at the front desk and he said there's always tons of tourist girls shopping there," Cody added, knowing that would all but seal the deal with his brother.
"That sounds interesting and hey, what Maya doesn't know won't hurt her. What time?"
"It leaves at ten. I know that's early, but you could always rearrange your nap schedule a little. What do you think?"
"Let me think about it for a little bit. Actually, I think I'll be right back," Zack told Cody, his mind abruptly flickering to the earlier image of Moseby blacklisting him across the entire resort. "I have to find something out."
"Where are you going?"
"I'll be right back," Zack repeated. "Just sit here and enjoy your Coke for a minute."
Cody watched as his brother set his bottle in the sand, twisting it a few inches in so it didn't fall over, and got up with purpose. Zack brushed the sand from his shorts and walked a few dozen yards before turning left and disappearing behind a building. Cody shrugged, took a sip from his drink, and relaxed. As he listened to the gentle rolling of the waves, a sense of peace fell over him. "It doesn't get any better than this," he said as he shifted in his chair.
Nearly five minutes passed, and Cody finished his drink. He leaned forward and looked down the beach, wondering where his brother had gone. He was just about to head back to their room when he saw his brother sauntering his way in the last of the light. Zack carried an object in each hand, but Cody couldn't discern what they were.
"Turns out that the bartenders don't know about me." Zack laughed as he shoved a hurricane glass full of multicolored frozen something in his brother's hand.
"You didn't."
"I did."
"How did you pull it off?"
"It was easy, Cody. I just walked up to the bar and saw a girl walking away with one of these and told the bartender I'd take two of them." Zack took another sip from a straw, and Cody noticed that his brother had already put a sizable dent in his drink.
"What is it?"
"I'm not sure. All I know is that it looked cool and he poured it from three different blenders. And three blenders means more alcohol than one. Probably, at least."
Cody looked at the glass like it was an alien artifact, tentatively putting the straw between his lips and taking a small taste.
"Well?"
"It's...actually very good." Cody took another sample. "Pineapple, banana, and something else I can't figure out."
"Probably rum."
"Yes, there's that, too." Cody rested the glass on his knee and looked his brother in the eyes. "You're not planning on getting drunk the entire time we're here, are you?" His tone left no mistake that his question was more than just a question.
"Of course not, Cody. It's our first night here and I wanted to celebrate a little. Plus, I won't lie, I wanted to see if I could."
"Now we know. And we'll have to hide the glasses or take them back to the bar in the middle of the night."
"Or, I could just walk to that little gazebo over there," Zack nodded toward a small wooden dome set amongst a variety of native flowers, "and leave them on the table. No harm, no foul."
"I guess. As long as you don't make a habit out of this."
"I'm not, trust me. I don't want to spend my entire vacation passed out or hung over."
"Good." Satisfied, Cody changed the subject. "Did you think about going into town tomorrow?"
"As a matter of fact I did." Zack took a long nip from his drink.
"And?"
"I think I'll go with you," he said with a smile after he'd dragged out the pause to almost ten seconds. "It'll be interesting to see the real Jamaica."
"And the throngs of female shoppers there is just an added bonus, right?"
"Naturally," Zack said with a smirk.
The next morning, Cody snapped awake shortly after the sun began to rise over the mountains behind the resort. He crawled out of bed and stretched, looking at his brother and debating whether or not to wake him for breakfast. No, he decided, Zack would be okay if he missed the meal. They'd gone searching for a snack after hiding their glasses and returned stuffed to the gills from a visit to the late-night burger bar. Although Cody was barely hungry now, he was a creature of habit and breakfast had to be eaten.
He dressed and strolled to one of the large dining areas. It was already slowly filling with fellow early-risers. Delicious smells found their way to his nose, and he felt his stomach rumble. Bacon, sausages, eggs, pancakes, fruit by the ton, and other scents he couldn't immediately name. Cody picked up a plate and helped himself from the many hot plates and bowls.
He sat at an empty table, watched the crowds while he ate. A young couple sat near a window, sipping coffee. A man tried in vain to feed a pancake to his young son who was more interested in the flowers at the center of the table. A few of his shipmates sat at a table near the door.
Cody finished in ten minutes and pushed his plate away. It might take me until the bus leaves to waddle my fat self back to our room, he thought as he stood. He waved at the young boy who was now busy trying to shake the life out of a stuffed frog. The boy smiled and shook the frog at him. The room had filled while he ate and as he walked out, Cody heard snippets of languages ranging from the common English and Spanish to Russian, Portuguese, and possibly Dutch.
"Okay, Zack, it's time to get up," he said as he shook his brother's shoulder. He'd returned and hopped in the shower to give Zack every last second of sleep he could. "You've got ten minutes to get ready if you still want to go." He shook a little harder.
"I'm awake already," Zack grumbled. "I heard you when you came in."
"You could have said something. I wouldn't have had to wake you up that way."
"I was hoping you were just the maid." Zack rolled over and sat up against the headboard.
"Sorry. But I have to say that I probably look better than some of the maids I saw this morning," he said with a laugh, and Zack groaned.
"I specifically asked for a hot one," Zack told him as he got up and pulled on some clothes. "I'm kidding by the way," he added when Cody seemed ready to give him hell for it.
"I hoped you were." Cody retrieved two bottles of Coke from the fridge and popped the tops on both. "You about ready?"
"Now that I have some caffeine, yes." Zack quickly drained half the bottle and finished it after he located his sandals. "Let's go see your town."
The twins walked to the main lobby and joined the rest of the small group that was going on the excursion. They traded small talk with the strangers, Zack doing his best to get Cody to tell a girl he thought she was beautiful in Spanish. Cody shook his head and told Zack that he should have paid more attention in class.
The bus arrived and they filed on, Zack naturally choosing a seat across from the Hispanic girl. Cody rolled his eyes as his brother attempted to talk to her in broken, halting Spanish. The girl laughed while Zack looked perplexed.
"I think you should know that you just told her you used to eat ponies and garbage. What were you trying to say?"
"I was trying to tell her that I thought she had a pretty smile."
"Yeah...not even close. " Cody kept his eyes on the window so Zack wouldn't see him laughing. As it turned out, the girl's English was astronomically better than Zack's Spanish, and they chatted while the bus completed its journey.
Zack and Cody looked out the window as the bus pulled into an open area in what had to be the market area of the town. Vendors had set up countless stalls and tables, and dozens of the small shops lining the streets had their doors thrown open. Their bus pulled to the side of the road, and the driver advised the group that he would return at noon and leave at a quarter after before pulling the handle and opening the door.
Cody led the way with Zack close behind. They stepped down and into a sea of people and voices. Almost instantly, calls from all directions assailed them, urging them to come to a particular stall and browse the wares.
"I don't even know where to start," Cody admitted as they took in the scene.
"I don't either. I'd say we should follow that girl but we've already lost her." Zack turned and looked around, giving himself one last chance to find the most beautiful girl he'd laid eyes on so far that morning.
"Left or right then," Cody asked.
"Right," Zack replied and led his brother off in that direction.
Racks of necklaces and bracelets and seemingly millions of t-shirts all vied for their attention. Zack paused to look at one stall, and Cody grinned as the owner pounced on him in a split second, telling him how much of a deal he would cut.
"Wow," Zack said as he finally escaped, "I think these guys could put used car salesmen back home to shame. I'm not sure exactly what it was he wanted me to buy, but it was dirt cheap."
"Get used to that. This is what they do and they're obviously good at it."
They walked a bit further and this time they stepped into what seemed to be an interesting shop. Carved wood and shell decorations lined the walls and shelves. Cody picked up a turtle shaped from some dark wood and turned it over in his hands.
"You going to get that?" Zack asked as he saw Cody reach out to put it back, only to start looking at it again.
"I might. It's nice." He showed it to Zack, who merely nodded. "Think Mom would like it?"
"I'm sure she would. She's said how she's always wanted a driftwood turtle to put on the shelf a hundred times."
"I'll take that as a 'no'then" Cody said as he put it down. "But I'll find her something while we're here."
They left the store and continued their walk. In half an hour, they'd made it nearly five blocks and still had plenty of time to peruse. The crowd had thinned to a third of its earlier size as the shoppers went their different ways and moving around became easier. Zack's nose alerted him to something spicy and delicious cooking nearby, and his stomach reminded him that he'd slept through breakfast. They'd definitely be stopping here on their way back, he told himself as he spied a large grill with chicken roasting on spits. Oh yes.
They walked a bit more, and the brothers agreed they'd go two more blocks and turn around. Zack slowed to allow an elderly woman to pass between the two of them and he saw a girl about his age standing before a display of bracelets and nearly fell over. If the girl he'd talked to on the bus was beautiful, this girl was angelic. Zack called to Cody and pointed before wandering over. The girl smiled at him, and he knew he'd be buying whatever she wanted him to.
Cody saw this and waved his brother off, genuinely surprised it had taken as long as it had for him to be seduced. He kept walking and browsing, quickly passing through one block and coming to the end of the second almost before he realized it. The street had narrowed considerably. He looked up from a shop window to see a small group of men clustered around a van barely ten feet away from him. His feet walked another three steps before his mind screamed out for them to stop.
Something was wrong, very wrong.
He knew this instinctively and it was confirmed when he saw boxes of small white plastic bags inside the van.
The men's attention centered clearly on him as he came to a halt, swallowing hard as he saw what could only be the outline of a gun beneath the t-shirt of one man. Cody turned to run, but the metallic click of a pistol being racked froze him in place.
"That's far enough," one of the voices said to him. "Why don't you turn around, my little friend?"
"He saw everything," another voice said, speaking rapidly. "We need to put him down and get out of here."
"No I didn't," Cody answered, his bladder suddenly heavy. "I didn't see anything."
"Nice try. Now come over here and we'll talk about what you did see," the first man told him as he made a move for the pistol under his shirt.
Cody spun and ran. He made it five feet before he was tackled from behind. The cool metal of a gun barrel pushed against the back of his head. The voices argued.
"Do it. We have to get out of here unless you plan on killing every last person on this street. Shoot him already." All sets of eyes peered up the street, noting the crowd's attention slowly turning their way.
"He's American. We could ransom him like before."
"Too much trouble. Shoot him and be done with it. We have more deliveries to make."
Cody zoned out and the voices ran together as he expected every second to be his last. A decision must have been reached as he was roughly yanked by the hair and the back of his shirt. He screamed as the men muscled him into the back of the van.
"Zack! Zack, help!" he yelled as loudly as he could, struggling against the hands gripping him. Once he was inside that van he would be as good as dead. An elbow caught one of the men squarely in the nose, and seconds later he was clouted on the side of his head. Cody saw stars and his neck flopped, head drooping.
Zack had left the girl and was looking over his five new bracelets as he walked when he heard his brother scream. He looked up and saw some sort of commotion taking place at the end of an alley. He picked up his pace to a trot as he tried to make out what was happening. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end just as he noticed Cody in the middle of the commotion.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Zack bellowed as he saw his brother go limp in one of the men's arms. He broke into a dead run as Cody was dragged toward an idling van. When his brother was tossed unceremoniously into it, he roared with rage.
"Cody! I'm coming, Cody!" Fists balled, he was ready to do whatever he had to do to get his brother free. He was near enough to see the crow's feet around one of the men's eyes as one half of the rear door shut. Zack was a step away from launching himself through the other half of the door when his eyes registered movement from the side.
Time slowed and the fuzzy form condensed into a second man stepping from behind the other door. A slow-motion fist looped from the man's left side, and Zack watched as it flew at him. He ducked his chin just in time to dodge a knock-out blow. The punch caught him on the side of the head.
He had coiled like a spring to jump through the door, and the strike knocked him flat on his belly. His head slammed into the patched concrete and bounced. Zack's vision doubled and trebled before clearing.
Zack let loose another battle roar as he tried to pull himself together. When he raised his head, there was Cody sprawled in a corner of the van, eyes wide and a gun rammed against his temple.
"Let him go!" Zack yelled.
"Zack! Help!" Cody screamed, seeing his brother mere feet away.
"Come on! We got to go," a voice blared from inside the van, and Zack saw the man holding his brother at gunpoint motioning with his free hand. "Get in now or we're leaving you."
Zack had gotten to one knee and had one hand on the door frame when a grimy boot sailed in and struck him just above the temple. He collapsed to the ground a second time and rolled over onto his back.
"You should have just stayed down, pendejo," the man who hit him said as he launched another kick at Zack's head and a third into his ribs. "Been easier on you that way."
Zack groaned and tried to cover up. The driver gunned the engine. The man inside the van gave one last warning, and with that, Zack's attacker turned, forgoing another kick to hop into the van and slam the door.
Zack twisted his head enough to watch the van as it took off, his eyes zeroing in on the back of the vehicle amidst the cloud of oily exhaust. He squinted and focused on the license plate as his vision blurred and finally went dark.
