Chapter 3: A Would-be Hero


The pirates wasted no time in rounding up as many people as they could as hostages on the Sky Deck. They barked orders in a language that Cody assumed was an Arabic dialect, probably Somali. There were about fifty of them in all. Ten stayed with the hostages on the Sky Deck. The others disappeared into the ship. Cody was unsure how much time had passed since the men boarded the ship, but he figured it had been at least an hour, maybe even longer. He also noticed that the ship had changed directions. They had originally been heading northeast toward their scheduled destination, Dubai, but were now heading almost due south.

Three of the men were standing around a laptop computer at the smoothie bar whispering to each other and looking back and forth from computer to, what Cody assumed had to be either London or Marcus. He hoped the men didn't recognize either of his friends. Another three of the men had set up another laptop on the counter where Cody normally folded towels. They had connected a very small device that looked like a miniature satellite dish and a video camera to the computer. A fourth man, who Cody had determined to be the leader of the men was shouting in his foreign language into the video camera which was being held by a fifth man. The man with the camera would occasionally pan across the hostages. Cody figured they were making their demand video. The remaining two men silently patrolled the deck with their weapons in hand, stopping occasionally to yell at one of the many crying hostages sitting around the Sky Deck.

None of the hostages dared say a word. They had learned very quickly that trying to resist would earn yourself a beating. Cody glanced at Zack to his right. Zack had a sad look in his eyes, but gave Cody a small, reassuring smile and nod as if to tell the younger twin everything would be okay. To Cody's left, Bailey had tears running down her face and she was quietly sobbing. Cody could tell that she was afraid, as was he, and he would have given anything to have his hands free to hold her or to be able to talk to her and tell her that everything would be okay. That they would make it out of this together, all of them, even if he didn't really believe it himself.

One Hour Later...

"We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news. NBC has just learned that the SS Tipton, a cruise ship owned by billionaire Wilfred Tipton, has been taken hostage by a group of pirates calling themselves 'The Hand of Allah.' The group uploaded a video to internet just about thirty minutes ago that was quickly forwarded to federal intelligence agencies and the media. In the video, a man claims that the US was holding members of his group that had been captured in Afghanistan and Iraq as prisoners of war. He demands the release of those prisoners in exchange for releasing the hostages aboard the SS Tipton. No one from the US government has commented and we are still awaiting word from Tipton Industries about how many people may be aboard the cruise ship, which was scheduled to dock in Dubai at around midnight local time. Some have suggested that there may be upwards of 1,000 passengers on board, including, we are hearing, Tipton's own daughter, London Tipton. What you're seeing now is footage from the terrorists video and in the background, a young woman who some have identified as London Tipton herself, others speculate that it may not be her. At this point, no one really knows for sure..." Matt Lauer continued the breaking news story as a young, teenage boy called his family's attention to the television.

"Guys, look," the boy said. "That's definitely London Tipton."

"How can you be sure? The video is kind of choppy," the boy's older brother asked skeptically.

"Because... just LOOK. You of all people should be able to tell. You went on a date with her," the boy pointed out.

"He's got you there," the boys' sister said as she passed by. "You were in looooove with her," she teased with a laugh.

"I was not," the older boy said.

"Guys... that IS London. Who else could it be?" the younger boy asked.

"Well, you're probably right. I mean... it IS the SS Tipton and we all know that London was staying on that ship," the older brother said.

As the video continued to play, panning across the various hostages faces, the younger brother suddenly hit pause on the Tivo. "And look... that's Zack and his brother and his brother's girlfriend!"

"You're right. That's them. I recognize the country girl. Bailey, I think it was. And Zack... well... who could forget him? I knew him for five minutes and he was already practically trying to sleep with me," the girl said.

"Oh... my God... they're being held at gun point..." the older brother said.

"Guys... we HAVE to do something. The guy on tv just said the ship is lost, they can't find it on radar. The bad guys turned of its bacon," the younger boy said.

"It's BEACON and there's nothing we CAN do," the older brother corrected.

"Why not? Our friends are in trouble. If anyone CAN help them it's us," the boy said. "The ship is lost and the military doesn't know where they are so they can't help."

"He's right," the girl said. "It would be the right thing to do."

"Since when do YOU care about doing the right thing?" the oldest boy shot back. "Besides, it's forbidden. You know that we'll lose our powers if we use them to interfere in world affairs."

"I don't care if it's forbidden, they're our friends," the younest teen said. "We HAVE to help them."

"I WANT to, I really do, but... we just can't" the oldest said, unable to find any fault in his little brother's argument.

"It's just too dangerous... we'll get ourselves killed," the girl added.

"I'm going to talk to dad. He'll tell you. We HAVE to save our friends. If you guys won't go with me, I'll go by myself!" The younger boy got up and started heading downstairs from the loft apartment to the sandwich shop below where his father was working. His older siblings followed.

"Dad! Our friends are in trouble! We have to help them!" the boy said excitedly. The boy spotted his father in the kitchen of the sandwich shop and ran toward him talking frantically. "Zack and his brother and London are on the SS Tipton and it's been taken over by pirates and they've turned off the ship's bacon..."

"BEACON!" the boy's brother and sister both corrected at the same time.

"BEACON... whatever... they've turned it off and now they don't know where the ship is and our friends are being held at gunpoint and we have to save them! We're the only ones who can!"

"Woah, woah, woah," the teens' father said, "Slow down. Calm down for a second, son." The man turned to his oldest son, "What's going on?"

"The SS Tipton was attacked by pirates. Everyone on board is being held hostage in exchange for the US government releasing some prisoners of war. The pirates have switched off the ships beacon and GPS locators so the military is unable to find it on radar or by satellite and they're not responding to any radio transmissions. I tried to explain to him that it is forbidden for us to interfere since it's a political issue, besides being VERY dangerous, but... well... they ARE our friends..." the older son explained.

"I don't CARE if it's forbidden. We HAVE to help our friends. I'm going whether you guys come with me or not!" the younger boy said.

"Son, you can't go. It's too dangerous, not to mention the fact that interference in world affairs is forbidden. You'll lose your powers," the father explained.

"I don't care about that. I'm going to lose my powers eventually anyway. Why can't I use them to save my friends while I still have them?" the boy asked. No one had an answer for that. "I'm going. By myself if I have to." He pulled out a wooden stick from his back pocket.

"Son, I'm asking you... please don't go," his father said.

"Dad... I HAVE to. What good are these powers if we can't use them to help people? If we can't use them to do the right thing and save the people we care about? If that's forbidden, then maybe I don't want them anyway," the boy said. "I'll be okay. I promise." He looked his father in the eye and saw tears forming. "I'll be back." Then, he waved the stick above his head and vanished into thin air leaving his father, sister, and brother standing in silence.

"We can't just let him go by himself," the oldest boy said to his sister. She didn't say anything, but nodded her understanding. "Dad... we have to go help him."

"I... I know," their father said. The two remaining teens gave each other knowing looks and pulled wooden sticks from their own back pockets and held them over head. As they started waving them, their father spoke, "Alex... Justin... please be careful. Bring your brother back safely and... and no matter what happens... I'm proud of all of you. Make sure Max knows that."

"We will, dad," Justin said.

"We love you, daddy," Alex said. Then the two teens disappeared like their brother before them.

(Author's Note: SURPRISE!!! The Russo family is here and Alex, Max, and Justin are on their way to the SS Tipton to try and save their friends. With danger lurking around every corner on the ship, what lies ahead for our three would-be heros? Keep reading to find out! And leave a review while you're at it! I also want to thank everyone once again for making this story a success. Even if you don't review, I can see how many people are reading and I'm very proud. Hopefully the trend continues!)