Matthew started back down the tunnel with his twenty men, with three of them being Gibber, Stephen, and Buffy. Ace followed close behind them as he was last one going down the tunnel. It was a long crawl back to the cave, Matthew had to put up with a lot of complaining from the men following him and it bothered him that they wouldn't shut up, but he just kept quiet.
When they reached the cave, Matthew was met by Lotta. The princess had in her hands the new outfit for him, it was red vest made with the finest silk on the island.
"Alright, take a brake, five minutes." Matthew stated, he took the outfit and left to go change. When he returned, everyone could see that the vest suited him perfectly, it brought out the best of him. Matthew smiled. He loved it.
"You look good, Matthew," Stephen clapped, "it makes you look like a real captain."
Gibber agreed, "Yes, he does."
Buffy however didn't want to comment on Matthew's outfit, instead, "Shouldn't we get on with the plan?" he asked.
"You're right, Buffy, we should!" nodded Matthew. He quickly picked out his weapons of choice and took everyone to where the Thunder Hawk was docked.
The air ship sat docked on a lake, surrounded by guards. Each one armed with a deadly submachine gun, the MP28.
Matthew and his strike squad crouched behind a woodsy ridge overlooking the docking site. Lotta viewed the area with a spy glass.
Two cargo planes were being off-loaded on the runway. Several tanks were parked nearby. Troops stood around, helped with the cargo, kept watch, executed two prisoners who had been caught trying to escape. The air ship floated calmly on the water as the sun beat down on it.
Lotta put down the spy glass and scuttled back to the others. "The main entrance to the Thunder Hawk is on the far side of that dock, beside that crane near the edge of the water. This isn't going to be easy."
"Yeah, those guards will rip us apart if we get spotted," Ace agreed.
"Oh, come on, Ace." Matthew gave the showoff a pained look. "When I flew with Karnage, we got into places more heavily guarded than this-"
"Then name one," Ace countered, with a dismissing gesture.
Matthew thought for a second. "Well, the gold vaults of Bradville Island, for one."
"Wait, are you sure about that one?" Stephen asked.
"Of course I'm sure-now if only I could remember how we did it..." Matthew scratched his head, poking his memory.
Suddenly a pirate named Bill Stokes spoke up. "I have an idea," he said. Matthew and the others listened in on it.
But back in the prison camp, things were already heating up. "Where are they!" a guard shouted, bringing the cane down on Will's back. The fox would not give in, his will was too strong, but his voice wasn't. Screams filled the air as Khan looked around at the prisoners.
He stopped right in front of Kit and smiled. "You can stop this, Kit," he said, then checked his watch. "You have thirty minutes to tell me where my slave/workers are or I'll have Will put down."
Kit tried to hide his agony. "No, never." He though desperately of Matthew. There was no way he was going to rat out his friend.
As if in answer, Shere Khan leered, and held the watch in front of Kit's eyes. "It is inevitable that you will break," he said quietly. "You, like your friends, will soon...die."
No matter how much they hurt Will, he begged Kit not to talk. Then after a long time, Kit watched as Shere Khan put his hands to Will's neck. His dark eyes looked at the teen.
"This is the last chance you have at saving his life," he warned.
Kit felt his mouth turn dry, he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
"So be it," Khan frowned and with a mighty twist, the old tiger snapped Will's neck. Killing him quickly. Shere Khan then pointed to Ratchet and Hotspur. Four guards took hold of them, dragged them out of the crowds and had them get down on their knees.
"Take aim," a guard shouted, as other guards lowered their weapon on the two prisoners. And Like before, Shere Khan offered Kit the chance of saving their lives, but only if he told him where the others were.
"Christopher Baloo Cloudkicker von Bruinwald, you have a strong heart, just like Will, who is now rotting in hell," Shere Khan declared in a fashion which suggested he was anything but charmed. "You have no idea how much I hate putting you through this test of will power." His expression changed to one of mock sorrow. "Of course, had you cooperated by answering my question, Will wouldn't be dead now. So his blood is now on your hands."
"You killed him!" Karnage shouted, two guards pushed him back into the crowd. "You, Shere Khan, took the life of my second mate, not Kit."
Shere Khan smiled a death's-head smile. "Since no one is going to tell me where my other slave/workers are, I will have to resort to an unspeakable thing." the old tiger walked over to Molly and grabbed her by the throat. He quickly jumped back as Baloo lunged at him, he was fast for his age. Kit looked at his sister, helpless now.
"No! You can't! Molly is only six. You can't..."
Shere Khan's eyes gleamed. "You will now talk, perhaps? We are agreeable...tell me where they are." He shrugged elaborately, as Molly tried to breath. "I grow tired of such games. For the last time, Kit, where is the prisoners that escaped?"
"Gone to steal the Thunder Hawk," he whispered, staring at the ground, all pretense at defiance gone now. "Matthew is leading them there."
Shere Khan let out a slow sigh of satisfaction, then let go of Molly, who ran to mother and father. "There, you see, Kit? You can be reasonable." Turning to his men, he smiled. "Kill the-"
BOOM! An explosion rocked the area, knocking down guards, prisoners and even taring a roof off of a shed. Waves of dust blanketed the prisoners, obscuring the guards' view. It was chaos. No one could see a thing.
"Mom! Dad! Molly! Where are you?" Kit cried as he stumbled around in the dust. He could see a guard here and there, a few prisoners were also around him, but then someone grabbed him from behind. Kit looked up to see his father looking down at and the Thunder Hawk hovering above them.
"Hurry, get everyone on board!" ordered Matthew. His strike force quickly helped the prisoners up the ramp and had them move into the hanger bay. A bullet struck the wall beside Matthew, he ducked and saw a guard firing at them. MacNee raised his rifle and fired. At first, the guard stood there for a second, appearing to alright as if the bullet had missed him, then he fell.
In just three minutes, all the prisoners were now on board the Thunder Hawk. Matthew looked around as bullets shot past his body, then in the corner of his eye, one prisoner that had been over looked was lying there on the ground dead. It was Will. Matthew didn't want to leave anyone behind on this island, so, he ran at full speed to his dead crew member.
More and more gunfire erupted around him. Matthew was afraid, but he kept repeating Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. that was all he could think about.
Shere Khan got up in time to see Matthew running up the ramp of his air ship as it was closing. No way was he going to let them get away that easy. With blinding speed, the tiger sprinted through the incoming bullets and jumped for the ramp.
As the Thunder Hawk unleashed hell on the camp below, Matthew sank to his knees, still holding Will's body. The plan had been a complete success. No one was left behind.
It didn't take long for the Thunder Hawk to reach the clouds and disappear. At last they were free.
But still, Matthew knew it was best to make sure the island's prison camp was never again going to be used, so giving his very first real orders as captain, the camp was bombed. Smoke rose up from the burning camp. The crew cheered and Matthew prayed and gave thanks to God.