14
After explaining his plan to the two men, who agreed that it was "A marvelous plan, Tintin." "I agree, simply marvelous." Thomson and Thompson went off to do as Tintin had asked, using the information he had given them. They had to move to another building that had access to the materials they needed, so they gave up their hotel rooms to Tintin, Juliet and Haddock to rest there until they had tracked the signal and figured out its course. They had been told it was going to take the better part of the day, so Juliet thought it best to take a shower before they left, seeing as it might be a while before she had the chance to take it again. She had gotten Thompson's room, while Tintin and Haddock shared Thomson's. There was only one bed per room, which was fine, seeing as they weren't planning on staying the night. To pass the time as they waited for Thomson and Thompson to return, Haddock had thought it would be fun to play a few card games with Tintin. They had decided to use some bits and pieces of different things from around the room as gambling chips in order to play the 'good card games' as Haddock said. After going over the basic rules of blackjack, they started playing with Haddock as the dealer. Being in that position, Haddock had thought he would win most of the rounds, however…
"Blistering blue barnacles!" He slammed his cards down on the small nightstand he and Tintin were using for a table, "How does this keep happening?"
Tintin shrugged as he looked down at the ace, king, and queen he had been dealt. "I suppose I'm just lucky." He said, he looked up at the captain, "We could stop and play something else, if you like, before you start losing some clothing."
"Not on your Nellie." Haddock replied, he moved the deck of cards over to Tintin, "Here, you deal this time."
"Alright." Tintin reached out and started dealing the cards as Haddock wanted. He looked up when he saw the captain taking a sip from a whiskey bottle he had bought from the hotel service. He moved his head back as he drunk down the last of it. Once it was empty he shook the bottle, frowning at the lack of alcohol. Tintin almost thought he would have asked him to wait as he went to get another bottle, but instead the captain simply put it aside, focusing on the hand he was dealt. He seemed to be drinking a little less as time went on in their adventure, and he was glad for it.
Once he finished dealing, Haddock was quick to look at his cards, being careful to hide them from Tintin as he set out his own. He was about to glance at the hand he dealt himself when a knock at the door caught his attention. He turned around, "Yes?"
Juliet opened the door. Her hair was still wet from her shower. She gave him a small smile, "Tintin, could I speak with you for a moment?" She asked.
"Of course, come in." Tintin said, gesturing for her to join them.
Juliet hesitated, "…Actually, could I speak to you outside?" She asked.
"Oh… Yes." Tintin got up from his seat, leaving his cards on the table, not seeing Haddock grimace at the sight of his own hand. He watched Tintin getting up, looking over at the cards over on his side of the table. He reached over to get a little peek at them, but before his hand even touched the laminated cards, Snowy growled at him, making him pull his hand back. He scowled at the little dog, letting out a growl of his own before reaching for Tintin's cards again. Snowy let out a warning bark and Haddock jumped back from the cards. This was the scene Tintin left in the room as he closed the door behind him, standing out in the hallway with Juliet. She had dressed herself after the shower, wearing the same white shirt and trousers she had been wearing before, a small towel resting on her shoulders so as not to get the shirt wet. She gave him a small, tentative smile once the sounds of Haddock and Snowy were quieted. "Is there something wrong?"
"No, no." Juliet shook her head, "I just… um…" She took in a deep breath, "I just wanted to say… thank you."
"Thank you? For what?" Tintin asked.
"For… everything." Juliet said, "For helping me in the hall when I first moved in, for letting me be the one to take you to Marlinspike Hall, for giving me that tea, for not leaving me behind on the Karaboudjan, or making me stay at the outpost, saving me from drowning and… just… taking me on what has, without a doubt in my mind, been the greatest adventure of my life."
Tintin smiled at her, "I appreciate the thought, Juliet, but you shouldn't be thanking me. It's not over yet."
"I know, I know." Juliet said, letting out a small, nervous laugh, "But I… I wanted to show my gratitude for it while I… still had the courage."
Tintin's smile slowly fell into a confused frown, "Courage? For what?"
"To… thank you." Juliet said softly. She leaned up, pressing a soft, quick peck on his cheek. Tintin felt his face flushing as she quickly pulled back, her eyes shyly moving to the floor, her own cheeks very, very red. Tintin looked down at her, feeling his heart race and she shyly looked back up at him. "So… thank you, Tintin."
"I— uh—" He was at a loss for words, he cleared his throat, "Y-You're very welcome, Juliet."
They were still standing so close together, Tintin couldn't help it as his eyes trailed down to her lips, the ones that had just kissed his cheek, and he didn't realize Juliet was also looking at his lips. He looked back up and their eyes met. The awkwardness and nervousness was suddenly gone as he stared into her brilliant green eyes and he found himself leaning forward slowly, giving her a chance to pull away if she wanted, and pressed his lips to hers. Juliet closed her eyes and returned the kiss. Tintin gently moved his lips, hearing his heart pounding in his ears as he kissed her, this amazing girl who had come so far with him in such a short amount of time. He knew so little about her, but he found that he didn't care as her hands slowly moved up to his shoulders. He found his own hands moving down to her hips and resting there. Her kisses started becoming a little more fervent as her arms started to move up around his neck, pressing her body closer. Tintin's hands moved to wrap around her waist. He felt as if his body was on fire as he shared kisses with her. He hadn't felt like this before. Sure, there had been beautiful women he had seen on his adventures, and perhaps he had a small attraction to them, but it had never gotten far enough for him to experience the feelings he had now. He didn't know if it was because he had never been a part of such a passionate moment, or because it was Juliet he was having this moment with, but he knew didn't want it to stop any time soon.
They had to pull away for breath and Tintin found himself looking back into those beautiful emerald eyes again. They were both a little out of breath and Tintin was tempted to move back and press his lips to hers again, when they heard the loud barks of Snowy from the hotel room. The sound seemed to shatter the moment and Tintin realized that he had just snogged Juliet out in the middle of the hall of a hotel room. She realized the same thing, and their faces flushed as they moved away from each other.
She nodded towards his room, "I-I think the captain might be causing a little trouble…" She said quietly.
"Yes… It seems that way." Tintin muttered as he turned towards the door, but didn't take his eyes off of her.
Juliet stepped back, "I think I should… get back to the room. Make sure I've got everything before we leave."
Tintin nodded, "Of course, and I'll just…" He pointed to the room and Juliet nodded, knowing what he wanted to do.
"I'll see you in a bit, then." Juliet said as she started to make her way to the room just across the hall.
"Yes, see you…" Tintin said quietly, putting his hand on the doorknob, but not letting his eyes stray from Juliet, giving her a small smile. She mirrored his smile as she opened the door, stepping inside. Before she closed it, she waved at him, and he returned the gesture as the door shut.
He heard Haddock let out a yelp and he looked back at the room. Shaking his head to try and clear his mind of what had just happened between him and Juliet he opened the door to see that the captain was trying to get Snowy off of his pant leg. He went over, scolding Snowy for biting the captain like that before he sat down, planning to return to the card game. "So, where were we?" His voice cracked and he cleared his throat.
"We were just about to start." Haddock said, giving Tintin a curious look. Tintin turned his gaze to the cards, trying to focus on that rather than the memories of what had just happened. "Hit me."
Tintin took a card from the deck and laid it down in front of Haddock. He grinned as he looked at how the cards added up, "So, what did Juliet want?" He asked casually.
"She just wanted to… say thank you." Tintin replied, feeling his cheeks flush.
Haddock's grin grew wider, letting out a knowing hum, "Oh, did she now?"
Hearing that sly tone in the captain's voice, Tintin looked up at him. "Yes, she wanted to say thank you for all the help we've given her." It wasn't a complete lie, but there was no way Tintin was about to admit what had just happened to Captain Haddock. He may a good man, and he trusted him, but not with that kind of information.
"I see, I see…" Haddock said, that sly tone still in his voice, "Hit me again." Tintin reached for the deck and put down another card, "So… How did she thank you?"
Tintin was sure there was no way to hide his flushed cheeks now, and he knew the captain was teasing him. "She just said thank you." He kept his gaze down on his cards, reaching from the deck to get another to add to his bunch.
"Uh-huh." Haddock replied, he leaned forward a little, "So, did she use her tongue when she kissed you?"
Tintin felt his face explode in warmth from his embarrassment and he put his cards down on the table, using his other hand to cover his face, "Captain!"
Captain Haddock let out a loud laugh, slapping his knee, "Oh, you may be a good reporter Tintin, but you're a terrible liar! Look at your face!" He kept laughing, rocking in his seat.
Tintin sighed, dragging his hand down his face, "Yes, alright. We kissed. There."
"Aye, and a sweet pair the two of you make." The captain said, starting to calm down. He glanced down at Tintin's hand, seeing that his cards numbered up to nineteen. Haddock glanced at his own hand and saw that he numbered up to 21 exactly. "Ah-ha! At last!" He put his cards down on the stool, "I got blackja—!"
"Tintin!"
The door was suddenly pushed open and Thomson and Thompson came running into the room, holding out a slip of paper, "We got his heading and coordinates!"
"You did?!" Tintin asked excitedly, jumping out of his seat and going over to the two men, taking the paper they held out.
"Yes, it took a bit longer than we expected." Thomson said.
"But it was only a matter of time before we figured out his destination." Thompson said.
"Shall we get the plane up and going?" Thomson asked.
Tintin looked at the coordinates, seeing the port they had named and his brows furrowed, "Are you sure this is the port he's heading for?"
"Positively." Thompson said.
"Not a doubt about it." Thomson agreed.
Tintin wasn't about to argue with Interpol resources, although he was very confused about Sakharine's destination. He sighed, deciding that he would find out when they arrived and handed the paper back to the two men.
"Go and get the pilot, then. We'll meet you at the docks." He said.
The plane ride took the better part of the night, which they all spent sleeping away. When they awoke, they were only a few minutes from their destination, and the morning sun had already risen. They got to the port a day ahead of Sakharine, the location taking Juliet and Haddock by surprise, seeing as they had returned home. Thomson and Thompson left their group to round up as many policemen as they could so as to be prepared for Sakharine's arrival. Tintin tried to think of a way to trap Sakharine, a way that would easily put him in the hands of the police officers without even knowing they were there. He eventually concocted an idea, but in order to perform it, they would need help from someone Sakharine trusted, and there wasn't really anyone they knew of on land that was on the same side as Sakharine. Then Juliet remembered Sakharine's butler Nestor. At the mention of the name, Haddock started speaking, saying he was amazed the man was still living at Marlinspike Hall. As it turns out, Nestor was about twenty years older than the captain, and had started working there just as Haddock had started entering the stages of manhood in his life. He was an old friend.
This connection was something Tintin thought would help, so he called up Nestor, letting Haddock speak to him for a good while. Juliet and Tintin only heard half of their conversation, but it sounded like they were reminiscing about better days in Haddock's youth. It didn't last as long as they thought and Haddock soon handed the phone over to Tintin, who relayed his plan to trap Sakharine and asked for Nestor's help in doing so. The man said he would be more than delighted.
So, after night had fallen on the harbor, the Karaboudjan made its way into the docks and anchoring there. Nestor waited outside in a luxurious car, dressed in a chauffer's uniform as Sakharine made his way off of the boat, with Tom and Allan behind him.
"What are we doing here, boss? I don't get it." Tom said, a confused whine in the undertone of his voice, "We're right back where we started!"
"You're to speak of this to no one." Sakharine said, ignoring Tom, "Keep your mouths shut."
"Don't worry, as long as we get our share." Allan said, putting a hand on Tom's shoulder to remind him to stop speaking.
"Oh, you'll get your share!" Sakharine snapped in annoyance as he made his way over to Nestor and the waiting car.
"Where are you going?" Tom asked.
"Just guard the ship." Sakharine ordered.
Allan directed Tom towards the boat as instructed, although Tom was still confused about it all, "Where's the filthy moola?" He asked, and received no answer from Allan.
"Good evening, sir." Nestor greeted him as Sakharine opened up the door of the car's backseat, "I trust you had a successful trip abroad?"
"Do I pay you to talk to me?" Sakharine snapped as he stepped into the car.
"You don't pay me at all…" Nestor muttered to himself as he reached over and shut the door. Only a moment after, the car was lifted up by cables Sakharine didn't realize were attached to the front and back wheels of the vehicle.
"What the blazes? Nestor!" Sakharine stuck his head out the window as he was slowly lifted up, looking down at the butler, "Nestor!"
The man simply shrugged as he watched Sakharine get pulled higher and higher by one of the dock cranes, currently being operated by Captain Haddock.
"Tom! Allan!" Sakharine called out for his lackeys, who came back out as they saw his car being lifted up higher and higher into the air, "Don't just stand there, you blithering idiots! Do something!"
As Captain Haddock heard Sakharine's calls for help, he couldn't help the smug grin that made its way onto his bearded face as he maneuvered the car over to the roof where Tintin, Juliet, the Thom(p)sons, and the police were waiting for it. Tintin was dressed in his signature blue sweater and khakis while Juliet had changed into a light blue dress with a white collar and sleeves that traveled down to the bend of her elbows, her skirt resting at her knees.
"Ha! Caught him like a rat in a trap." Thompson said as they watched the crane pull the car closer to them.
"Congratulations, gentlemen." Tintin said, "He's all yours."
"Yes. We also have an arrest warrant issued by both Interpol and the FBI." Thomson said.
"Your friend who got shot…" Thompson trailed off at the man's name, so Juliet supplied it to him.
"Barnaby Dawes."
"Yes. He was one of their agents. Hot on Sakharine's trail from the start." Thompson went on.
"Well, I imagine the FBI will be happy to know Dawes' killer has been caught." Juliet said.
"It still doesn't make sense." Tintin said.
"Eh?" Thomson looked at him in confusion.
"He has the key to the treasure of the Unicorn, which is sitting somewhere on the ocean floor." Tintin explained, "Why would he come back home?"
"I'm sure he'll have an answer for us when we ask." Juliet said, moving forward as the car was lowered down onto the roof. Sakharine was no longer in the backseat, so it was assumed that he was hiding down on the floor. Juliet, Tintin and the Thom(p)sons all moved around so they could find the man.
"Right." Thompson and Thomson went over to the backdoor and opened it up, "Sakharine?"
Sakharine appeared in the front seat, pointing a gun at all four of them. "That's Mr. Sakharine to you." Everyone put their hands up as they looked at the barrel of the gun. He glanced ahead of him, seeing a police officer making his way over to the front car and he turned the gun to him, "Ah-ah! Hold it!" The officer gasped, putting his hands up.
The captain, seeing all that was happening, knew that this wasn't going to be as easy as they had hoped. His hands still rested on the controls and just before he had a chance to use the crane to lift Sakharine away from his friends, he looked up, seeing Allan's reflection in the window with a gun pointed at him. With a grunt, he jumped out of the way, yanking on one of the levers to make sure he didn't fall over entirely when Allan fired. The glass cracked as the bullet went through it, and the captain shot up, heading over to Allan and starting to wrestle him for the gun as the crane rotated.
Below, Sakharine's car was pulled with the crane and everyone jumped back to get out of its way as it was pulled forward into the wall of the building in front of it, slamming its side against it, knocking off the top. The car was dragged up the bricks as Haddock fought against Allan in the operating room. Allan landed a solid hit against the captain, knocking him out the door and flipping him over the railing. The captain let out a yelp and hung on as he turned over and Allan was about to go over and let him fall when he heard Sakharine screaming at him. "Allan! Allan, get me down!"
Not one to disappoint, Allan went to the controls, sitting down and pulling on the levers, reversing the direction of the crane so that the car went over the roof where Tintin and the others were waiting for him. "What?! Not that way!" Sakharine glared at his accomplice, "Not that way, you fool! The other way!"
The captain, having managed to pull himself back up onto his own two feet, moved over the railing and went back into the operations room as Allan pulled on the levers that would reverse the direction of the crane again, but also make it higher so that the car wouldn't hit the roof again. The captain came in, grabbing Allan by his shoulders and pulled the man out of the chair and over to the door, throwing him out over the railing. Allan let out a cry as he fell to the earth, saved as a car carrying large bags of flour rode by, landing in the bed of the truck.
Haddock moved back to the controls, pulling it so that it would direct the car back to the rooftop. Sakharine wasn't about to be caught so easily and he stood up in the car, looking around. He saw there was another, unmanned crane just a few feet from the rear of his car. He climbed out and jumped out, landing just in front of the door. He walked in, flipping the switch that activated the crane. "Right." He went over to the controls and moved the crane forward towards Haddock's. The captain, not about to let the man get to him so easily, pushed one of the levers forward so that the long metal neck of his crane would crash against Sakharine's, forcing it to move to the side as a loud, deep dong sounded from the hit. Sakharine growled as he reached out and moved his crane so it would smash against Haddock's forcing it to the opposite side over one of the docked ships. The cable holding Sakharine's car snapped over the ship and it fell into the water. Haddock reached out with a snarl, pushing his crane back against Sakharine's. The metal neck veered to the side, smashing onto the building just beside where Tintin and the others were standing.
"Look out!" Tintin shouted as the crane came crashing down just above their heads. If they hadn't ducked, there was a good chance someone would have lost their head just then.
"We need to get to lower ground!" Juliet said as she saw Sakharine moving his crane around towards them.
"Couldn't agree more!" Tintin said, grabbing her by her wrist and running off, the police and Interpol agents following. Sakharine used the load of flour that was still on his crane and flung it into Haddock's operations room, smashing it through the windows. Thankfully, it was only flour, so it didn't do anything more than get over his coat and in his eyes. Haddock coughed as he tried to wave the white powder clouds away. He looked up, seeing the end of Sakharine's crane pointed right at him. He let out a yelp when it suddenly came through the smashed window and if he hadn't jumped to the side, it would have impaled him. He ducked down as it hit the back of the wall of the operations room. He stayed down until it had been pulled back completely, making sure he wouldn't give Sakharine the chance to slice off his head with it.
As Sakharine moved the crane back, preparing to launch it at the captain again, he drove it through a large pile of cargo that had been resting in the path that Tintin and the others were taking in order to find somewhere safer.
"Good lord!" Thompson cried when he saw it bust through the wooden crates like they were nothing. They heard sirens wailing nearby and they started to run towards the sound of it.
Sakharine, either by coincidence or by plan, smashed through the car with the crane, breaking it in half and having it spit out all of the police officers inside. Seeing this, the group turned around, making their way underneath Haddock's crane, wanting to hurry and get to safety.
With a grunt, Haddock pushed down on one the levers and watched as his crane arm went swinging towards Sakharine, breaking through the front of his operations room. At first, it seemed that he had got him and he had won, but Sakharine jumped up a moment later with a triumphant grin.
"Close, but no cigar!" He shouted, before yanking on a pair of levers and using his crane arm to swing up the large hold of cargo to slam against the bottom of the captain's operation room. The man was sent up from the hit, knocking his head against the ceiling before falling back into his chair. Because Sakharine's cargo had broken through several parts of Haddock's crane in order to swing that high, many parts broke off, just over the heads of Tintin, Juliet, Thomson, Thompson, and Snowy. They quickly moved out of the way, trying not to get hit by anything while Snowy cowered inside a fallen tire. Unknown to the others as they ran, Tom had come up, ready to shoot, but three more tires fell on top of him and trapped his arms against his sides.
The little dog heard shouting, hearing bullets going off and he looked up to see three men from the crew firing on Tintin and the others. He saw them running their way and he looked around. He saw a large crate that had been marked with a painted crab and he ran over to it, pushing against it, making it fall open and spill its contents of canned food just in time for the three men to run over it and fall to the ground. He let out a victorious bark before running over to where Tintin and the others were heading.
Up above them, Haddock and Sakharine were still fiercely going at it with their crane battle. Haddock's had taken a lot of damage, but he wasn't about to stop now. He started to have the crane rotate so that he could use the arm against Sakharine, but his opponent had already thought of the same plan, and slammed his crane arm against Haddock. The man let out a cry as the crane tipped over, unbalanced, resting on the side of a ware house. He still wouldn't stop, forcing the crane to move forward on its only two wheels, bringing his crane arm up to bang against Sakharine's. However, because of all the abuse it had gone through in the past few minutes, the metal of the crane couldn't take it, and it snapped off as Haddock managed to right it. It crashed to the ground as he kept pushing the crane forward until he slammed into Sakharine, the small bend of his crane arm being the only thing keeping Haddock from jumping into that man's operating room and strangling him.
He looked up, Sakharine glaring at him from those few feet away and Haddock scowled back.
"Red Rackham!" He growled.
"That's right. My ancestor." Sakharine confirmed his suspicions, "Just as Sir Francis was yours."
"Unfinished business." Haddock said, telling Sakharine that he knew the entire story now, about Sir Francis and Red Rackham. How the pirate had sunken with the Unicorn's blasted remains to the bottom of the sea.
"Oh, I'm glad you know the truth, Haddock." Sakharine said, "Until you could remember," He pulled back on a pair of levers, "Killing you wouldn't have been this much fun!" Although the man spoke of having a good time, an angry scowl still rested on his face as his crane moved back. It started to spin around and Haddock saw that he was planning on slamming it into him again. He wanted to do the same to try and fight him off, but he realized he had nothing to fight back with. Before he could come up with a plan, Sakharine's crane crashed through the side of the operating room, the sound echoing through the docks as it knocked him down. With a loud laugh, Sakharine pulled and pushed on the levers, making the crane slam into him again.
The sound of the captain's scream reached Tintin and Juliet who slowed down, turning to see Haddock's almost destroyed crane tip over completely, landing on the deck of the Karaboudjan.
"Oh, no…" Juliet murmured, fearing for the sea captain.
Tintin's eyes darted around, searching for some way that he could help the captain, but it seemed there wasn't any at the moment. He grabbed Juliet's hand and started heading for the boat. "Come on, we can't let him face Sakharine alone." Juliet nodded, running with Tintin towards the boat, Snowy quickly running behind them as Sakharine lowered his crane, making something of a walkway for himself that led to the deck, only a few yards away from where Captain Haddock had landed.
The man looked up at Sakharine, glaring at him as he calmly walked towards him. He reached out, grabbing the handle of a bladed line cutter, which had fallen beside him in the crash. "Who gave you permission to board my ship?" He snarled as he pushed himself to stand.
"I don't need it." Sakharine said as he unsheathed his rapier from the cane. "I've never needed it."
Haddock ran forward to the deck where Sakharine was walking and charged at him with the line cutter. Sakharine took the stance of an experienced fencer and easily maneuvered himself around the captain, slapping a hit to his rear end for good measure. The captain turned around, seeing Sakharine take that fencing stance again. He knew he was outmatched in terms of a fencing battle, but he wasn't about to let Sakharine get away with all he's done. He charged at him again, the blades of their weapons clashing against each other. When the captain got too close for Sakharine's comfort, he stomped down on Haddock's boot, making him lose his stance for a moment and Sakharine took advantage of it, knocking him back. Again, the captain charged, and again their blades clashed. But, once he got too close, Sakharine made work of him, knocking the blade from the captain's hand and kicking him back onto his stomach.
The captain watched as the line cutter slid away out of his reach, and he slammed his hand to the deck in frustration. He wouldn't let himself lose now. He looked to see Sakharine had turned his back. Haddock assumed he must have thought the battle was over since he lost his weapon, but he wouldn't let him get away. With a cry he pushed himself up and ran towards Sakharine.
Sakharine had grabbed a net and threw it over the captain. He let out a cry as he gripped at it, trying to pull it off. Sakharine still hung onto the other end and he used the net to his advantage, pulling on it to launch Haddock over to a small pile of cargo, making him crash into it. All around the captain were whiskey bottles, and knowing his affinity for alcohol, Sakharine considered their match finished, but he wouldn't let his guard down yet. He turned his back on the captain, swishing his blade back and forth, looking out for Tintin or Juliet, certain that one of them would come to try and stop him. Suddenly, something smashed against his back, breaking apart and covering his coat in wetness. He let out a cry and turned around, raising his rapier just in time to stop another bottle from hitting him. He then did the same with a second bottle, and a third, and the fourth bottle hit his knuckles, making him drop the rapier.
He was amazed that Haddock was standing, let alone chucking whiskey bottles at him. He kept walking back on the deck as he kept throwing them at him with great ferocity. He threw another and another, until he lost his footing and Sakharine fell on his back on the deck. Haddock was down to one last bottle, and he was more than happy to use it against Sakharine. He was about to throw it down, but stopped when he saw Sakharine holding the three scrolls over the flame of a lighter.
Sakharine smiled when he saw that his ploy had worked and the captain had stopped, "The legend says only a Haddock can discover the secret of the Unicorn." He grinned, "But it took a Rackham to get the job done. So, you've lost again, Haddock." Haddock glared at the man, but he knew he was defeated. As the familiar feeling of failure started to fill him up, he glanced at the remaining whiskey bottle in his hand, "That's right. Why don't you have a drink? It's all you've got left, isn't it? Everything that was rightfully yours is now mine. Including this ship."
Suddenly, something swept out in front of Sakharine and Haddock and swiped the scrolls from his hand. He turned to see the something had been Tintin hanging onto one of the ship's ropes. He landed safely next to the searchlight, looking down at the scrolls in his hand, seeing that he had all three, and that his on-the-spot plan had been successful. Sakharine turned to where Tintin had come from and saw Juliet standing in his way, her arms crossed over her chest, smirking smugly at him. He couldn't run away now.
"Thundering typhoons." He looked up to see the captain mirroring Juliet's smirk, suddenly much closer to him than before, "Nobody takes my ship." He brought his fist up and landed a hard hit to Sakharine's face, knocking him over the side of the Karaboudjan and into the waters of the dock below. With a satisfied grin, he heard Sakharine splash into the water, and as he turned, he saw a whiskey bottle resting just on the edge of the boat, it was one that he had dropped. He went over and kicked it off the ship, not knowing that it hit Sakharine in the head before landing in the water.
He chuckled, looking over at where Tintin stood. He smiled back at the captain and glanced over at Juliet as she approached her two companions wearing a happy grin of her own. Snowy walked up beside his master with a small bark. Off on the horizon, they could see the morning sun starting to break through, spreading light throughout the city.
Down below in the water, Tintin could see Thomson and Thompson pulling Sakharine out and although he couldn't hear what they were saying, he knew that they were placing him under arrest.
The captain and Juliet came up to where he was standing, all of them letting out tired sighs, glad that the entire bout with Sakharine was over. Juliet came up beside Tintin, glancing at the scrolls.
"So, Tintin," He looked up at her, "Did we ever figure out the secret of the scrolls?"
"Not quite yet." Tintin said. He looked out at the rising sun and held up the three scrolls to the light, lining them up so he could see all the markings on it as they started to form different letters and numbers. Juliet and Haddock came up on either side, watching as they were able to make out what it said. "Do you see?"
"Blistering barnacles, they're coordinates." Haddock gasped.
"To form the numbers, it took all three scrolls." Juliet breathed in awe.
"Latitude and longitude. That is it!" Haddock said, a wide grin growing on his face, "That is the location of the treasure!" He started chuckling and Tintin and Juliet did the same as the realization that they had won started to come to them. Tintin turned to the captain, holding out his hand for him to shake. Haddock looked down at the hand, and then wrapped his arm around Tintin's shoulders, pulling him in for a tight embrace. Juliet let out a happy squeal as the two of them started to bounce around in joy.
"We did it!" Tintin shouted as he and the captain separated. The captain started doing a little jig in happiness as Tintin turned to Juliet. She ran over and embraced him, and Tintin wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her up and spinning her in the air, much to her delight. Her skirt flowed out around her as Tintin held her up. They were all laughing like they had gone made and Snowy was barking at them in his own happiness.
Tintin put Juliet down and looked directly into her eyes while she looked into his. She blushed when she realized she was in Tintin's arms, and he did the same. They both sobered up a little bit and separated from each other with small laughs. They were still smiling at their victory, but also at each other. Juliet let out an excited giggle and Tintin let out a small chuckle of his own.
"Oh, c'mere you two!" The captain said, bringing his arm around Tintin and Juliet's shoulders, hugging them both tightly. He pressed a kiss to Juliet's cheek, and another one to Tintin's, he was so drunk on his happiness. Juliet laughed at the captain's sudden display when he took his arms off and continued to dance around Snowy, who got up on his hind legs to join him.
"Oh, what the hell." Juliet said before she reached out and grabbed Tintin's collar, pulling him in and planting a kiss on his lips. Tintin was a little startled at first, but he put his hands at her waist and let them rest there as he returned it.
The captain saw their kiss and laughed aloud, continuing to dance with the little dog on the deck of the Karaboudjan.
Ta-da! The longest chapter yet! For this story, anyway. A good ten pages. I hope it was all worth it, you guys! Next is the final chapter, and then the sequel (Which will take place in between this Tintin movie and the next one that comes out in two years). I might write a little something more if I get the chance, but no promises. I hope you liked it!