Chapter 1. Kidnapped

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Jim watched his partner move slightly, shifting in his sleep. Artemus lay on the hard floor a few feet from him. Suddenly Artie's breathing became a low cough and his eyes fluttered open. He looked around, finally seeing Jim sitting on the wooden floor nearby. "You alright?" Jim's voice was low and even but it echoed oddly in the wooden room.

"Mostly," Artie said, slowly pushing himself to a sitting position. "Where the hell are we now?" His eyes moved around the small room, looking from one wooden wall to another, to the wooden ceiling and then around the floor where they sat, their bare feet almost touching. "Did someone put us in a box? And where are my boots?" He moved his arms, stretching, and looked down at his stomach, "and my coat and vest too," he growled.

Jim started to answer when the floor tipped slightly, almost swaying. Artie put both hands on the floor to steady himself. His dark eyes shot up to Jim's, exchanging a hard look. Jim took a deep breath and hissed out, "we're on a ship."

Artie closed his eyes and swallowed, "tell me we are not kidnapped. We can't be kidnapped. This is embarrassing. And I have a date tonight with Christian." He opened his eyes to look at the door, which was just a rectangular break in the wooden wall. "No door lock? No hinges? Damn," he breathed. "Anyone been in?"

"No," Jim said, as the floor tipped the other way now. "I woke up a while ago and haven't heard a thing; no voices, no one walking nearby. It's like they threw us in here and forgot about us." He nodded toward a corner of the room, "remember those two?"

"What?" Artie said, "Who?" He followed Jim's gaze to two men lying in a heap on the floor in the shadows. "Oh, we're not alone then." He leaned closer, palms on floor to steady himself, and looked at the men's faces. "No, I don't think I know them. One is young and the other is maybe our age?"

"The older one was sitting at a table, alone, in the back of that saloon we were in," Jim said, "and the younger one was going up the staircase with a bar maiden." He tipped his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "They must have put something in our drinks, something strong and fast acting. I am trying to remember who else was in the saloon; the two women with us, that guy in the back corner, and kid who went upstairs." He paused, his fingers tapping on the floor by his hips. "There were two men in dark knitted caps near the other end of the bar. They were very quiet. Maybe they were waiting for the women to do their work of spiking the drinks."

"They were the body carriers?" Artie shook his head. "We must be more used to being drugged. We are wide awake now but they could sleep for hours. So what's the plan?" He wiggled his bare toes and smoothed his crumpled shirt across his chest. "Our boots are gone, coat, vest. I don't have a lot of tools available for one of our usual escape plan."

Jim's eyes opened to stare at Artie, "we are on a ship, probably out to sea by now. Where would we escape to? And I seriously doubt anyone knows where we are. We are stuck here until we can get off at a shoreline." He took another deep breath and let it out slowly, "We're going to have to just fit in, live the life of a sailor for a while." He kept his gaze steady, as Artie's mouth opened to protest. "Don't rock the boat, don't protest, don't argue, and don't cause any trouble. Just fit in. If we cause a problem, they could just dump us overboard. Understand?"

Artie took a long breath and nodded, keeping Jim's gaze. "It will be like being back in the army; Yes, sir and no, sir. Stand at attention. Don't speak until spoken to." He snorted, "well, I never served on a ship before. Maybe we will learn more life skills and see some fantastic tropical islands."

Jim grinned, relieved that Artie seemed to understand the situation. "Ya, we will be hip deep in exotic women any time now. You will forget all about Christian."

"I doubt that," Artie growled. "But Jeremy, and Colonel Richmond, will be looking for us. And our families will wonder what happened." He shook his head worriedly. "I think we solved Jeremy's case for him; we know what happened to the disappearing men."

"That's right," Jim said, "when they finally let us out of this room, we'll just put the Captain under arrest and order him to take us back to America." He smiled, gritting his teeth. "Poor man doesn't realize what trouble he's in."

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Later…

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The big man stomped past them, stepping over Artie's out-stretched legs with his big, hairy feet. He huffed and threw his arms out to the sides as he turned and stomped back. Jim gritted his teeth as the man paced back again. He pulled his feet closer, bending his legs and sitting with his elbows on his knees.

"Look, buddy," Jim snapped out, "why don't you just relax. You won't get out of this room any faster by getting all worked up. Besides, you might not like what's on the far side of that door."

"But I need to leave here, I tell you," the man yelled, waving his arms again. "I need to go home. I need to go to my job. I can't stay here. I won't stay here." He stomped between the two agents again as the men exchanged a look.

"What will they do to us?" The younger man asked timidly. He sat, bent over, almost curled in a ball in the corner. His voice shook and his eyes were wide with terror. "Will they kill us?"

Jim looked at his partner briefly but Artie was leaning back against the wall with his eyes shut now. Jim wasn't sure if he was listening intently to something outside of their room or trying to steal a nap. He turned back to the kid, "it depends on who is running this ship. It could be a merchant from England or a pirate vessel from the Caribbean." He paused as the kid winced. "What's your name?" He softened his voice, feeling bad for the kid. "How old are you?"

"Name's Blaine Foster," he whispered. "I think I'm eighteen, not real sure."

"Do you have parents?" Jim asked again. The young man shook his head no. "What do you do for work? You live in Washington?"

"I live wherever I can find food," Blaine said, shrugging. "I was stocking shelves in a store for an old man. He won't miss me and won't miss feeding me, neither."

Jim took a deep breath and continued, "What I am going to say might sound crazy to you but you are exactly what these ships, whether it's a merchant or a pirate ship, are looking for. A young man with no ties to life on land. This actually could work out for you." Blaine's face tipped up, brightening, "you just have to do what they say, no questions asked. If they say jump, then jump. You will learn their trade and see the world." He waved a hand, motioning the boy closer to him.

"I guess," Blaine said, sliding his butt closer to sit next to Jim. "Have you worked on a ship before?" He leaned closer now, his face eager.

Jim shook his head no, "I was in the war but I know the army life. This won't be that different, I suppose. I would rather get back to my own life in Washington, and I will, eventually." He nodded toward Artie, who was now quietly snoring, his chin touching his chest. "As you can see, my friend Artemus, is deeply concerned with our predicament. But we could be in here for a few hours. Getting more rest might be a good idea." He stopped as the pacing man stepped past them again.

"You shouldn't be filling the boy's head with crazy stories of hope," he snarled, "they will have to bring us all back to shore, any shore. This is kidnapping, I tell you, and I won't put up with it."

"Well I'm sure if you explain your situation to the Captain, he will concede to your point of view," Jim snapped. "Just don't stand next to me while you discuss it, in case he shoots you with an old blunderbuss."

"What's a blunderbuss," Blaine asked, looking from Jim to the pacing man.

"Shotgun," Jim said, irritated as the man walked past the end of his nose. "Wishing I had one myself." The man turned to shake a finger at Jim, opening his mouth to snarl something back when keys jangled outside the door. "Show's on, Artemus, break a leg." He reached out to smack his friend's feet, knocking him sideways slightly. He jumped to his feet and stood in front of his partner, as Artie yawned and slowly climbed to his feet. "Stand next to me, Blaine, and do exactly what I do." He stole a quick look as Blaine nodded; the younger man's face had gone white. Jim sensed Artie standing just behind his back, as the door opened.

"Pirates would be exciting," Artie whispered in Jim's ear.

"Don't cause trouble," Jim growled over his shoulder as a young man stepped into the room.

The man's loose and non-descript clothing offered no clue as to the ship's purpose. The sailor's eyes darted around the room, noticing all four men inside. He stepped back into the hall, beyond the door, and barked out, "On your feet and move topside, on the double! Captain's waitin' on you!"

tbc