dirty air filter.”

Kit, who had also heard the sound, looked at the cliffs over Molly’s head. The smile faded from his face. “Uh-oh!”

Without warning, a missile whistled over the cliffs and smashed into the hill that the park sat atop, causing the earth to shake.

“Wow-how-how! That was some kiss!” Wildcat exclaimed as the gazebo swayed beneath them.

“That was no kiss. That was a near-miss!” Louie cried, throwing his aunt protectively to the floor.“Everyone duck and cover!”

End of part 2

For Better or For Worse
Part 3

Highland Park

All watched, openmouthed, as the Iron Vulture leisurely drifted over the cliffs. Like bees swarming around a hive, a dozen CT-37s buzzed around the huge purple and black mother-ship. Simultaneously, the pirates’ single-man tri-wing planes broke rank and proclaimed open season on Cape Suzette. With a loud ‘ack-ack-ack!’ they riddled buildings and everything else in their path with bullets. Exploding salvo from the Iron Vulture continued to drop on the city and splash into the harbor.

“Who invited the pirates to the weddin’?” Baloo exclaimed, hugging Rebecca tightly. A wide-eyed Molly was sandwiched between them.

“Don’t look at me!” Rebecca snapped.

Kit frowned thoughtfully at the cliffs. He wondered what crazy scheme Karnage had up his sleeve this time. “Something must be wrong with the cliff guards. If they don’t do something, Cape Suzette’s gonna be blasted to smithereens.”

“I hate smithereens,” Wildcat commented.

Another earthshaking cannonball slammed into the hill close to the park, causing the wedding party to topple to the gazebo floor like dominoes.

“Man, that was too close for comfort!” Louie cried, scrambling to his feet. “Let’s make like a nose and blow.”

“They can’t get away with this!” Aunt Louise averred, stomping across the lawn to her plane. “Someone’s gotta stop ‘em.” She climbed into the Pink Piranha and adjusted her goggles over her eyes. “And that someone is me!”

“This ain’t a one-woman show, Aunt Louise. I’m comin’ with you. Scoot over, Rover,” Louie said, squeezing into the cockpit beside his aunt. As the engine started up, he muttered under his breath, “Oh, I’m gonna hate myself in the mornin’.” He knew, from experience, what a daredevil pilot Aunt Louise was.

“Looks like the party’s breakin’ up, Beckers.”

“And so is the gazebo,” Wildcat pointed out as chunks of roof fell in on them.

“Time for us to say our toodle-loos,” Baloo said. “Everyone to the car!”

Rebecca looked helplessly around at the park. All of that planning, all of that money wasted. “But what about the wedding...ah!” Baloo dragged her by the paw to the grey Chevrolette sedan.

The Higher for Hire gang piled in the car - Baloo and Rebecca in the front seat with Wildcat and the cubs occupying the back.

“Sign this!” Pastor Geoffrey said brusquely, shoving a piece of paper and a pen at the newlyweds through the car’s window. Baloo and Rebecca quickly scrawled their signatures on the marriage certificate. As he ran to the van, he shouted over his shoulder, “I’ll send you the bill!”

A brown CT-37 swooped over the park, machine guns blazing. A double line of bullet holes was tattooed onto the top of the caterer’s van just as it zoomed away from the park.

“I hope he’s not chargin’ us for damages,” Baloo murmured. He started the car, then stepped out.

“Where are you going?” Rebecca yelled out the window.

“Gotta get my record!” Baloo sped to the gazebo to grab the last copy in the world of ‘I Got Them Flat-Broke, Sticky-Shoed, No Banana, Boogie-Woogie Blues’ from the record player. On the way by the buffet table, he snatched up the presents and poured nuts and mints into his pockets. He looked longingly at cake as he passed, paused for a second, and seriously considered taking it. But he didn’t know how to transport it.

Rebecca backed the car up beside the table, leaving tire tracks on the neatly manicured lawn. “Get in, Baloo!”

“The cake!”

“Forget the cake! Get in, already!”

“Then scoot over!”

“No,I’m driving.”

“But...!”

“This is no time to argue, Baloo! Just get in the car!”

A spurt of gunfire whizzed over his head, missing Baloo by mere inches. The cake wasn’t so lucky. Gooey blobs of pink, yellow, and white splattered all over the front of his tuxedo. He dove into the passenger side of the car. “Punch it, Beckers!” After he scrambled into a sitting position, he scraped a glob of frosting from his jacket and licked it off of his fingers.

Rebecca put the automobile in gear and drove as she had never driven before. The car careened down the narrow, winding gravel road that led down the side of the hill towards Cape Suzette, wildly swerving left and right as cannon fire exploded in front of them. Clumps of dirt and rock pelted the car.

“Watch out!” Baloo bellowed, bracing himself against the dash. “Go that way! The, uh...” He put his right hand over his heart. “I pledge allegiance to the flag...the left! Go to the left!”

When she was on the left, he complained, “What are you doing on the left side of the road?” He grabbed for the steering wheel, and Rebecca promptly smacked his paws away. “Get over on the right! Sheesh, Becky! Where’d you get your license? In a Cracker Jax box?”

“Stop being a backseat driver!” Rebecca said testily, yanking the steering wheel to the right. The car skidded around a newly-created crater on two wheels.

“But he’s sitting in the front seat,” Wildcat said wonderingly as he and the cubs slid back and forth on the rear seat.

It was a bumpy ride, but they finally, miraculously arrived at Higher for Hire.

Everyone piled out of the car, which now sported a few new dents and dings. Wildcat hurried to his houseboat. Rebecca and the cubs made for the safety of the building with Molly chirping, “Can we do that again, Mommy?”

Baloo ran towards the Sea Duck, shouting over his shoulder, “Becky, get the kids to the basement!”

Hand on the doorknob, Rebecca asked, “Now where are you going?”

“Someone’s gotta stop Karny. Aunt Louise an’ Louie can’t do it by themselves.”

“I’m going with you.”

“What? No way, José!”

“I may be your wife, but that doesn’t mean that you can tell me what to do!” She stomped her foot angrily. “I’m going and that’s that.” Tears welled up in her eyes. Quietly, she said, “I can’t lose you, Baloo. Not today.”

Baloo glared fiercely at her, but his expression softened when he saw her tear-filled eyes. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was seeing a woman cry, especially this woman. With a sigh of resignation, he said, “All right, honey. C’mon.”

Rebecca knelt down and hugged the cubs. “Go to the basement and stay away from the windows. Take care of each other.” She kissed both on the cheek, threw her train over her arm, and ran as best as she could to the Sea Duck in her heavy skirts.

“No way am I staying here,” Kit said determinedly when Rebecca climbed into the cockpit. He rushed down the dock to the seaplane.

“Me neither,” said a little voice from right behind him.

“No, Molly!” Turning around, Kit put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her towards the building. “You stay here with Wildcat.”

“That’s my mommy and my daddy, too!” Molly cried stubbornly. In imitation of her mother, she stomped her foot. A sly look passed over her face. “Besides, Mommy said for us to take care of each other. That means we gotta stick together, and if we don’t, I’ll tell.”

TheSea Duck’s engines started up. Kit, wanting to make a run for it, felt like he was trapped between a rock and a hard place. Inching down the dock, he pointed out, “It’s gonna be dangerous.”

“Goody.” She giggled. “Danger Woman lives for danger.”

“Molly, this isn’t a radio show. This is real life. Real pirates with real guns. Bad things can happen. You could get hurt.”

“I know,” she said scornfully, arms folded across her chest. “I’m seven, not stupid.”

Kit made a hurried decision. A few more seconds and the Sea Duckwould take off without him. “Fine, you can come only on one condition - you have to do exactly what I say, no questions asked.”

“I promise, big brother.” Molly crossed her heart.

“Then step on it, Short Stuff.” Kit grabbed her paw and tugged her along towards the Sea Duck. They leapt into the cargo hold just as the plane was pulling away from the dock.

A short while later, Wildcat walked into Higher for Hire with his pockets crammed full of graham crackers, a bag of marshmallows, and chocolate bars. He drug the acetylene torch behind him. He looked around the empty office in confusion. “Hey, where’d everybody go?” Unfazed, he sat down on the sofa, speared a marshmallow with his screwdriver, and began toasting it over the acetylene torch.

Downtown Cape Suzette

When the Iron Vulture entered the city, Don Karnage screamed, “Attack!” into the microphone.

Approximately fifty pirates strategically interspersed throughout the crowd whooped and shot their guns into the air. They grabbed anything they could get their grubby hands on - purses, wallets, jewelry, lollipops, etc. The citizens of Cape Suzette scattered, screaming.

Amidst the chaos, Detective Thursday signaled for all of the police officers to capture

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