A Little Becky Will Do Chapter 10 A Reflection of Me, a tale spin fanfic

A Little Becky Will Do
By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl

This story and our other Sailor Moon stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com website. The complete story is available on ShoujoFiction as of 9/4/2010.

Chapter 10 "A Reflection of Me"

While early morning sunlight filtered in through the windows of Higher for Hire, Baloo stood outside the office door, coffee mug in hand, watching some dock workers go about their morning's work. The gray bear glanced to his left and slightly behind him as he sensed someone come up beside him. "Morning, Kit."

"Morning, Papa Bear," his protégé greeted, "What's up?"

"Not much," Baloo opined, "Just watching the ships." He gestured with his mug toward the big freighters and tankers that crowded the Cape Suzette harbor. He took a sip of his coffee, and then remarked, "Fine weather for flyin'. Not a cloud in the sky."

"Maybe... we could find some clouds?" Kit speculated, a wistful look on his face. When Baloo chuckled, the young man turned his gaze to his mentor.

"Maybe," the older bear said. 'I better let him or he might just burst at the seams!' "Maybe we'll take the girls with us and then swing by Louie's."

"So what happened with Shere Kahn last night, Baloo?" the young bear asked.

"Not much really, Li'l Britches," Baloo answered with a shrug. He turned and led the way back inside. He crossed the office and entered the kitchen where Molly still dressed in her pajamas was already eating breakfast. "Kahn just wanted to know whether we had gotten his gizmo back."

"Then why did he wanna see Mom... I mean Becky, Baloo?" Molly interjected around the jam-covered piece of toast that she was biting into. Sitting down, Baloo grabbed a piece of toast for himself and spread some strawberry jam on it. Kit followed suit and then headed to the cupboard to get a bowl for some cereal.

"That's the funny part, Pigtails," the big pilot explained. "He didn't say more than ten words to your mom." He frowned momentarily as he bit into his toast. "'Course that don't mean nothing. Kahn just doesn't do anything willy-nilly. Everything is planned out."

"Got that right," Kit agreed while pouring some cereal in his bowl. "Maybe he just wanted to see how she was getting by?"

"Maybe..." Baloo considered for several moments while Kit brought his cereal to the kitchen table and sat down. After finishing his slice of toast, the big bear continued, "There was a lady there who kept Beckers occupied while me and Kahn talked. Seemed nice enough. Maybe she was a teacher or somethin'." He shrugged. "Speaking of Becky... Where is she?"

"Asleep," Molly replied and then gave Baloo a serious look, "Baloo, when ARE you gonna get my mommy back?"

"We're working on it, kid," Baloo assured her.

"You ARE going to get her back, right?" the golden-furred cub prodded.

The big bear paused in spreading jam on his third piece of toast to frown at little girl for a moment. "We are gonna get your mom back as soon as we can, Molly. That I promise you."

Kit swallowed the mouthful of cereal he'd been eating and offered, "It's like that shrinking ray, Molly. We need to get it back so we can get Dr. Zivaldo to reverse the effects."

"But the pirates have it," she pointed out.

"Yeah, that is a problem. They aren't just going to give it back to us if we show up and ask nicely for it," the preteen remarked.

"So what ARE you gonna do? I don't like this game anymore." She wanted a reassuring hug at this point but she was a "big girl", so she wasn't about to ask for one.

'Poor kid.' Dropping his toast onto his plate, Baloo started ticking points off. "First, Pigtails, we're going to find out where the Iron Vulture is and then come up with a plan to get the machine back." He mentally added, 'If we can... It'd be easier if they dropped it on some island but even then, moving that thing will be difficult, not to mention the guards. We'll need time alone with it.' From his talk last night, it was obvious that Shere Kahn was having no luck in retrieving the machine even with the vast resources at his disposal. As always though, the tiger's intentions were hard to gauge.

Molly looked unhappy but didn't say anything. 'I want Mommy back!' the golden-furred cub whined. Tears were beginning to enter her eyes. It had been fun at first to be older than her mother and let her see what it was like to be treated like a baby. But it wasn't all fun and games. Baloo seemed to think that Molly should be the more responsible one since she was the older girl. 'Mommy doesn't even remember being Mommy anymore!' Molly worried grumpily. ''Becky' wants me to be her big sister. I want Mommy, not a little sister!'

And while she adored Baloo, he was turning out to be far stricter parent than her mother had been; something Molly didn't appreciate in the least. For one thing, Baloo had a very definite idea of when little girls should be in bed. The problem was that his time was much earlier than she normally went to bed. Baloo also didn't put up with as much nonsense as her mother did. She definitely did not relish him becoming her father permanently.

There was another issue tormenting the six year old cub. 'What's going on with Mommy and Kit?' Almost since she first met Baloo and Kit, she assumed that Baloo was destined to be her mommy's boyfriend - and that was just fine with her. 'But Kit's supposed to be MY boyfriend!' In her opinion, she was in danger of losing him to her mother. Kit always seemed to side with "Becky", which the golden-furred cub couldn't stand. She could glean no other reason for Kit to side with the five year old other than she was just littler than she was.

However, that wasn't the case at all. Molly didn't realize was that Kit had the vague idea that his boss might remember her treatment after she regained her adulthood. Had she, she might have mollified her behavior towards her mother. Kit wanted to project responsibility and integrity in her mind. To see him as a young man, not a boy. Baloo had begun giving him proper flying lessons and he would need her support (as the owner of Higher for Hire) to continue them. He didn't want to consider the alternative of having two little girls aggressively vying for his affections for the foreseeable future. Molly was trouble enough by herself in his opinion. Not to mention, all the babysitting he would have to do would damage his reputation.

"Really?" Kit asked, drawing Molly out of her brooding thoughts.

"Sure, it'll give Wildcat a break and we can have some fun along the way. Also, we can let you get some flying in and maybe some cloudsurfing." Baloo grinned.

"I cloudsurf too!" Molly piped up, hoping not to be left behind.

Baloo shook his head. "That would be a treat and I don't think either you or Rebecca has earned that sort of thing." The large bear ignored the sulky look Molly gave him. "Anywho if we're going, I better go wake up sleepyhead so she can get some breakfast and get dressed."

"Right. I'll get started planning out our route!" the young navigator declared with a grin. 'I'll just make sure it's nice and long...'

# # # # #

While Baloo was rousing little Rebecca from a warm bed and a nice dream involving Kit and chocolate, Don Karnage, the feared Air Pirate captain, was sitting at the chart table on the bridge of the Iron Vulture. The wolf was busily composing a note. In the simplest of terms, the message was merely a counter to Kahn's latest ransom offer to get his equipment back intact. It was the latest round of their negotiations. 'Should I play hardball or lower it a bit?' The amount was still too low in Karnage's opinion but starting to get more palatable.

Of course, Karnage did not believe in writing such plebian things and sought to make the ransom demand a work of art. Unfortunately, this tendency to spend long minutes on written communications made most of the crew think that their captain was not as brilliant as he espoused. Unbeknownst to his men, Don Karnage was actually quite well-read. He actually had too much source material to draw from for his flourishes.

"Gibber!" Karnage called from his chair on the bridge of his airship. Almost instantly, the Air Pirate's chief spy appeared. "I want you to be sending a message to that thief Kahn!" Don Karnage commanded, "Here is the amount that I want him to be paying if he wants to see his machine back!" He cackled evilly. He had already decided that he would not keep the machine for himself. It was far too dangerous.

Gibber leaned in close and whispered something after reading the note. The wolf cocked his head and frowned. His henchman whispered a little more. "That is a wonderful idea! I am such a genius. Thank you for reminding me I had thought about it!" he chortled. He snatched the slip of paper back from Gibber. He then scrawled an addendum to the note and affixed another amount. "Let that cowardly tiger pay for the damage his men did to my ship!" The Air Pirate Captain signed the note with a flourish and then handed it back. "There, Gibber. Now see that Kahn understands that if he wants to see his machine again, he will pay my price!"

Despite his outward confidence, Don Karnage was feeling less than certain inside. 'Kahn is not playing this time... but why? We have always had good business dealings. And is it true?' According to his men, the mercenaries that Kahn hired only ran away because they thought the Cape Suzette Air Force was headed their way. The wolf scowled in thought. 'If that is being true, why is the government coming after us when it didn't before?' That bothered him.

It was true that Cape Suzette (and other governments) offered rewards for the capture of him and his crew. But rarely were any large forces sent after him. Don Karnage didn't like big military forces that could do things not only to his Iron Vulture but also to himself. Luckily for him, such forces were expensive, difficult to maintain long in the field, and had better things to do. Moreover, his intelligence network and expertise in tactics and evasion nearly always kept him out of harm's way yet allowed him to plunder profitable targets with minimal risk. The wolf admitted only to himself that his criminal activities were more of an annoyance than a true threat to world governments or corporations. In fact, he sometimes allowed his Air Pirates to be used for certain "activities" that might cause a government embarrassment if it were known. So there was a balance. If the balance was lost because of this one machine... 'I must get the machine off my hands.' The tricky part was doing it so that he could save face in front of his men.

Standing, he said, "Scotty, steady on course. I will go and see if those nitwits have nitwitted themselves into inaction!"

Jock sighed, not even bothering to correct his captain. "Aye, steady as she goes." 'He's gettin' loopier every week,' the helmsman decided.

# # # # #

The mid-morning sun shown down on the tiny figure being pulled along by the yellow seaplane. The cold crisp air rushed past Kit Cloudkicker as he dipped and weaved, expertly guiding his airfoil through a set of motions to carve an elegant swath through the puffy white clouds seemingly mere fractions of an inch beneath his feet.

'I'm out of practice,' the preteen thought, 'Maybe after me and Baloo fix Becky up, we can go on a real vacation. Just us guys... Definitely, no girls allow!' That thought brought a smile to his lips. 'Maybe I could invite Cindy to watch...' He felt his face heating up and he shook his head. 'What am I thinking?'

The young bear considered whether to try something dangerous and then decided against it. If it had been only him and Baloo, he wouldn't have hesitated. 'But if I do it with Molly and Becky watching me, they'll want to do it too.' Both had made it clear they expected to be taken for a ride soon; thankfully Baloo wasn't convinced they had earned such a treat so he had some breathing room. Bobbing to his left so Baloo could see him, he signaled that he wanted to come in. Seconds later, he felt the towrope slowly begin reeling him into the plane.

"RAMP CLOSED!" he shouted to Baloo after the rear ramp of the Seaduck had closed behind him. Almost instantly, two little and extremely excited girls came rushing out of the cockpit and glommed onto him nearly bowling him over.

"That was so awesome!" Molly declared. She was dressed in her typical everyday wear, i.e. blue overalls.

"Yeah, Kit, it was super awesome!" the younger Cunningham agreed jumping up and down. She was dressed in a set of pink shorts and a T-shirt. The five year old hadn't been happy that Baloo had decided on the outfit - a more practical outfit for a cargo run her uncle had said. Rebecca had complained about it until Kit had said he liked it. That had earned him a scowl from the elder girl but a sunny smile from Rebecca.

"Thanks, girls. That was just basic stuff." He tried to sound humble.

"Kit, when are you taking me out?" Rebecca asked. "You promised."

"Me too!" the golden-furred cub piped in.

"Later... maybe... BUT no promises!" Kit answered. "I need to rest my arms." Rebecca and Molly frowned. He started forward but each girl clamped onto an arm. Thankfully, they didn't try to go through the doorway with him and he managed to make to his seat and hangers on.

"Buckle up, ladies," Baloo told them. "We're coming in to our last cargo stop for today and then we can head to Louie's for a late lunch before we head back home." They let go and went back to their seat as told. The pilot looked towards his navigator. "Think you're up to another landing, Li'l Britches?"

"Sure!" Kit chirped with a grin.

"Now this'll be a little trickier than the last one. We got a ten knot crosswind out of the southeast."

"How can you tell, Baloo? There's no windsock?" Kit wondered impressed.

"See that tall grass beside the field?" his mentor asked, using his right paw to point at the indicated direction.

"Yeah."

"Well, I know which way we're flying, and the grass is generally bending northwest. Now a steady crosswind ain't too bad but we're getting gusts." Baloo smiled. "I can also feel the wind hitting the 'Duck. If you know your plane well enough, kid, you can tell all sorts of things."

"You can do it, Kit!" Rebecca gushed from her seat behind the pair. Neither male saw the scowl Molly was giving her young mother. The six year old was a little put out that she hadn't been the one to offer her boyfriend encouragement first.

"Thanks," the preteen said as he took the control of the Seaduck.

"When I grow up, I wanna be a pilot too!" Rebecca declared before asking, "Will you teach me to fly too, Uncle Baloo?"

"You already have flown, sweetie," Baloo reminded her, "Remember?" When a response didn't immediately come, he turned and found the five year old with her face screwed up in concentration. "Becky?"

"I think I 'member..." The frown lines deepened on the little girl's forehead. "Was it winter time? I remember snow and stuff..."

Baloo shot Kit a look and then gave Rebecca a radiant smile. "That's right!" The little girl beamed.

"I flew on the Snowduck!" Molly stated loudly, not wanting to be left out.

"Really, Big Sis?" Rebecca asked, her eyes wide, "When?" She didn't miss the suddenly nervous look Baloo got.

'She would bring that up! I just hope Beckers forgets that or she'll skin me alive!' the big pilot hoped and then returned his attention to the young man beside him. "That's good, Kit. Now I'll work the throttles. You just concentrate on keeping us straight and level."

# # # # #

Louie's Place was renowned for the parties that it hosted. Most of the time the parties were planned for, it was the unplanned parties that tended to cause its owner problems. Louie let out a moan as he tossed yet another broken chair into a depressingly large pile of damaged goods.

'Man oh man,' the orangutan thought, 'I don't mind the profits but the expenses...' He looked distastefully at the pile of damaged goods. 'I'm just glad whoever hired those guys is covering my costs!' He glanced up at the sound of a plane approaching. His other staff members stiffened some looking as if they were about to bolt. Several seconds passed before Louie could make out the plane through his binoculars. "Baloo!" he declared with relief obvious in his voice. 'He'll be mad he missed that party last night.' Louie considered that. 'I just don't know if that's a good thing or not...'

Shaking his head, Louie went in to alert his kitchen staff - when Baloo showed up, he was normally hungry. After getting the cooks ready, the orangutan settled himself behind the bar and waited. He didn't have long to wait but was a little startled when two children came bursting through the doors, not Baloo.

"Now just hold your horses, girls!" Baloo's shout floated in from outside. The big bear sounded both amused and exasperated.

Louie stared at the two children who rushed up to claim stools at the bar. One, he recognized immediately. "Hi Molly."

"Hi Louie!" Molly greeted with a big grin on her face, "I want a Krakatau Special please!" Her big blue eyes sparkled in anticipation.

"Me too!" Molly's younger companion seconded with a large grin on her face.

"Rebecca?" Louie guessed while reaching up to remove his hat.

"Becky!" Rebecca corrected.

Louie scratched his head and regarded the cute little brunette with big brown eyes carefully. 'She can't be more than four.' The child definitely shared traits with the adult businesswoman he knew. 'I know Baloo told me but I thought he was pullin' my leg! Why do these things happen to them?' The ape mentally shrugged, replaced his hat with his foot, and asked, "Well now, Becky, how old are you?"

"Five!" Becky squeaked. She held up all five fingers.

"We're pretending, Louie," Molly said in a stage-whisper, "Shere Kahn wants us to or something stupid like that."

"Don't be mean, Big Sis," Rebecca scolded causing Molly to wince.

"Whose being mean?" Baloo questioned. The trio turned to find the large bear coming into the main room; Kit trailed behind him.

"What's you do, what's you say, fuzzy?"

"Not much, Louie, just stopped for lunch and some gas." The gray bear pointedly looked at the two little girls. "Which will NOT consist of only ice cream."

"But Ba-Daddy!" Molly protested.

"Please, Uncle Baloo?" Rebecca pleaded. Their titles for his longtime friend made Louie's eyebrows sweep upwards in surprise.

"We'll see how you do with your lunch first. Growing girls need their vitamins so you'll finish everything on your plate first," Baloo announced. The thought of food made his stomach grumble. "And the 'Big Guy' says it's definitely that time."

"Hey Louie," Kit greeted as he slipped onto a barstool on the other side of Baloo. Both girls gave their presumptive boyfriend a disappointed look but it didn't last long.

"Hi Kit. What's it like having two beautiful young ladies around?" Louie asked the young man. "I bet they keep you hopping." He gave the cub a knowing wink.

"You could say that," Kit said without going into detail.

"Well, Baloo, whatcha want for lunch?" 'My staff's prepared... I hope.'

His friend grinned. "Well, barkeep, we'll get Molly and Becky settled first, then Kit, and then we'll can take care of me."

Louie blinked. 'Baloo? Being mature? The world IS coming to an end!'

# # # # #

While Louie was taking Baloo's lunch order, Shere Kahn was reading a short note. 'I'm very pleased the Colonel's men enjoyed the party last night. They may still be needed.' The tiger smiled slightly. 'Baloo should be stopping by Louie's... who will likely tell him about the party. If that doesn't get that bulbous bear moving... I can think of some other ways.'

# # # # #

About an hour later, Baloo was leaning back against the bar while he watched Molly, Rebecca, and Kit eat their way through Krakatau Specials at a nearby table. Molly and Rebecca had initially protested about sharing one of the massive ice cream treats. That was until Baloo said it was the only way they'd get one. The large bear was still surprised at Rebecca's appetite for such a small body. She definitely didn't eat that much as an adult.

'And I knew Kit had a sweet tooth but he was just as anxious to get one as the girls!' That brought a smile to his face. Turning his head slightly, he observed, "Looks like there was some soiree here last night, barkeep."

"It was a bit impromptu, cuz," the ape said sourly, "Or I would've told you about it."

"No worries, Louie. Couldn't have made it no ways. Not with deliveries today, not to mention Becky and Molly."

"You? Miss a party?" Louie questioned. "Fuzzy, what's going on? I know Becky's little now but you'll get her set right in no time."

Baloo turned fully and eased himself onto a barstool. "If I knew that fer sure, it wouldn't matter but I don't." The big pilot shook his head. "If it's like what happened to Molly and that silly machine of Zivaldo's, we'll need the doohickey that zapped Beckers before we can do anything." He grimaced and glanced at the three children. "Problem is them pirates have the machine."

"Pirates?" Louie prodded. "How do they figure into this?" Baloo had only briefly sketched the story out. Now that they were the only ones present at Louie's and had more time, perhaps the gray bear would be willing to elaborate.

"Well, let's see... It all started a few days ago with a cargo run for Kahn," Baloo began. As he continued his tale, Louie's face took on a myriad of expressions. When he was done with their escape from the Iron Vulture, his longtime friend could only shake his head.

"Cuz, we've gotten caught in some wild scrapes in our time but that has to be the wildest!"

"No kidding, Louie," Baloo agreed. He interlaced his fingers and stared down at the bar counter. "I just can't hope that we'll get the machine back. If we don't, I'll have to be ready to raise them." 'I owe it to them.' The pilot glanced back over at the table as the two girls started to giggle at something. He felt a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he saw Kit's muzzle covered in ice cream. 'What is that boy up to?' Turning back to Louie, he admitted wistfully, "Sometimes... sometimes Becky reminds me of my baby."

Louie's eyes widened slightly. "She's not," the orangutan pointed out gently, quietly.

"I know, Louie," Baloo responded with equal softness, "But sometimes..." He shrugged. "Anyways, I just couldn't up and leave 'em. Maybe if this had happened when I first met them... but they're my family now." Her friend nodded. The large bear shrugged again. "Well, I might catch a break and find out where them pirates have that machine before it's too late."

Louie blinked and then grinned slightly. "I think you did, fuzzy."

"What?"

"Last night... That party..." He made a sour face at the memory, "It was a bunch of mercs blowing off steam after a raid. At first, they didn't say anything but as the night went on, their lips got a little looser." Louie glanced around and then leaned in closer to Baloo. "Apparently, they were hired to look for something on the Vulture."

"The Vulture?" Baloo queried, "As in the Iron Vulture?"

"Yeah," the ape agreed. "Now listen here, Baloo. I don't know if it's the machine you're looking for or not but apparently, it wasn't on Karnage's airship. Some of them were really grumpy with the pirates and wished they'd been allowed to slit some throats."

Baloo folded his arms and frowned. "I don't suppose they said who hired them?"

"Who has enough money to hire mercenaries and then send them after the Air Pirates?" Louie offered.

"Kahn," the bear grumbled the obvious answer. "I knew that mangy tiger was up to no good. He called me and Beckers into his office last night. He said to see how Becky was but he was awful interested in Pirate Island."

"So the tiger sends out the mercs, they don't find anything, and so he tries to pump you for info so he can send them after it again?" the bar owner speculated.

"Exactly," Baloo agreed. After a moment, he suddenly smiled, "Things just got the tiniest bit easier, my friend."

# # # # #

While Baloo and Louie were talking, Shere Kahn was sitting in his office conducting a meeting of his own. The businessman sat in his comfortable high-backed chair tapping slightly with the fingers of his right paw. Before him stood two people. One was Zivaldo's chief assistant; the other was a panther, a rather short and scraggly-looking fellow. Despite that, he was dressed in a business suit, not as nicely tailored as Kahn's but still serviceable. Kahn had wanted a "non-entity" to do a little quiet work and this fellow happened to be available for the job.

"Report," Kahn requested of the panther while making his fingers still their drumming.

"Sir, the homing device is ready to be planted." The panther looked nervous but his tone didn't show it.

"So that means that you have not been able to ascertain the exact location of Pirate Island?" Kahn asked neutrally.

"No, Mr. Kahn. Don Karnage has always had exceptional security where his secret base is concerned. Also, we did not locate any charts showing it at the address you gave us."

"Disappointing... Thank you. You may go." The panther nodded, turned, and walked out of the office. Kahn waited until the door was closed. "How is Dr. Zivaldo?"

The tigress' face was marred by the smallest of frowns before her features smoothed into professional neutrality. "He claims that any device to progress a person in age is impossible." She considered for a moment. "Mr. Kahn, I believe that he adamantly holds to this position because he didn't come up with the idea himself."

"Do you have any evidence to support this belief?" Kahn asked her.

"Yes sir. In questioning the doctor regarding Cloudkicker, it appears there was an incident involving a shrinking ray some months ago. Dr. Zivaldo claimed that the effects could not be reversed but the kid somehow convinced him that an enlarging machine was possible and together they were able to modify the machine. Unfortunately, that machine was destroyed during its last use."

Kahn steepled his fingers together in front of him as he considered that information. 'A shrinking ray? I do believe the good doctor has been holding out on us. ' He had not heard about that invention. After several seconds, he lowered his hands and nodded. "It appears that Dr. Zivaldo's activities bear closer inspection. Please see to it that a discrete inventory is done of everything he is working on."

"Yes, Mr. Kahn," the putative scientist assistant replied. "What if the kid attempts to contact Dr. Zivaldo?"

"Permit it. If the young man can get us what we want..."

"Understood sir," the tigress agreed.

"You may go," Kahn replied and with a dismissive gesture. He returned to stare out over the City of Cape Suzette.

# # # # #

Don Karnage stood before his mirror in his cabin aboard the Iron Vulture. Late afternoon sunlight poured through the large windows, providing, what the Air Pirate considered, exquisite lighting for his wonderful self.

"Ah... You are a marvelous and dashing fellow! Yes/no?" he asked his reflection. "Such a handsome, and yet imposing figure. Something to make the men quiver in fear and the ladies..." A knock at his cabin door interrupted his self-aggrandizing monologue.

The flamboyant wolf frowned at his cabin door. The frown deepened as the knock sounded again. "Capt'n?" It was Maddog's reedy whine.

"You had better be having the good reason to be disturbing me. I am thinking!" Don Karnage snarled while stomping over to the door and opening it. "What is it?"

"Capt'n, Gibber's come back," his whiny subordinate informed him.

"Ah... Well then, I shall go see what that mangy tiger has said for himself! Out of my way!" He pushed past the pathetic dog, strode down the corridor, stopped, and came back. He pointedly locked his cabin door and glared at Maddog until the morose pirate slouched away. Grumbling about untrustworthy souls, the Air Pirate Captain stomped down the passageway and up the ladder.

Upon reaching the bridge of his airship, he immediately spotted Gibber. Crossing over to the spymaster, he asked. "Now, Gibber, you are having a message for me?" Gibber nodded and held out an envelope. Taking it, Karnage opened the envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper it contained. 'Hmmm... That tricky tiger says I should bill the mercenaries for the damage?' He started to crumple the paper and then stopped himself. 'Ah, so Kahn makes a counteroffer... Better... 'Though not as much as I would like.'

Don Karnage considered for several seconds and then nodded to himself. "Well done, Gibber! You have proven yourself as one of my loyal men." He strode over to the chart table and checked their current position. He then considered the charts for several moments. He then looked back at mumbling cohort. "Go and rest, my loyal minion, for I will have a counteroffer to his counteroffer."

The Captain turned back to the charts. He regarded them and the note as he thought, 'So he wants me to drop the machine off here and then, he'll send the payment in gold bullion within twelve hours by special courier... Well, I will not be moving it myself. For he is likely planning on sending those mercenaries after me again and keeping MY treasure. I am not so stupid as he thinks.' The wolf considered a solution. His relationship with Shere Kahn was based on mutual benefit, definitely not mutual trust. 'I know... We will ship via a third party who will bring me my ransom.' He tapped his chin. 'Now how can I convince that conniving tiger to use the third party of my choice?'

Coming next in Chapter 11 "A Plan in the Making or A Puppet on a String"