“What - do ya think Karny’s gonna wear it? I’d sure pay two hundred shaboozies to see that!”

Hands on hips, Rebecca retorted, “If I go with you, the dress goes with me.”

“You’re the boss, boss lady,” he sighed, wishing that she wasn’t so stubborn about a dress. Clothes were clothes to him. He handed her a burlap sack. “Bring it along.”

Rebecca snatched up the clothes and pulled the curtains across the cargo hold for privacy. There, she wriggled out of her dress and put the baggy beige shirt on over her slip. She pulled on the faded pair of khaki pants that were at least five sizes too large. To make the pants fit better, she knotted a length of rope around her waist and rolled up the cuffs. She then carefully folded her dress and placed it in the sack.

On the other side of the curtain, Baloo exchanged his tuxedo for a pair of dirty brown overalls; he had to suck in his ample gut to get it zipped up. He tied a red bandana over his head. The crowning touch was an eyepatch.

When Rebecca stepped from behind the curtain, Baloo plumped a leather flight cap complete with goggles down over her head, causing her to wail, “Oh, it took the hairdresser two hours to get my hair to look like that.”

“Good thing we got pictures of it.”

She peeked at her reflection in the mirror that hung on the inside of the storage closet door. What she saw made her want to weep. “For the past six months, I’ve been looking forward to how beautiful I was going to look today, and now look at me!”

“You’re the cutest pirate I’ve ever seen, Rebecca.” Baloo kissed her tenderly. “For luck.”

She returned his kiss, saying emphatically, “And we’re going to need it!”

Using the handkerchief from his tuxedo jacket pocket, he wiped off lipstick. Then, he smeared a greasy rag on her cheeks, saying, “Gotta put your pirate makeup on now, honey.” For good measure, he rubbed it on his cheeks, too.

Baloo tossed the burlap sack containing Rebecca’s dress to the ground. He climbed down from the Sea Duck and lifted Rebecca down, whispering, “Remember that you’re a rough, tough, burly pirate.”

“Grr,” Rebecca growled feebly. She shouldered the sack, and they got in step behind a passing mob of pirates.

The motley crew were gloating about Karnage’s latest, successful plan.

“This is the best plan the captain’s ever had,” Hacksaw said. A green safe with ‘Cape Suzette National Bank’ stenciled on it in yellow lettering was slung across his back.

“Yeah,” Baloo agreed. He nudged Rebecca’s elbow, prompting her to say something.

“Yeah, right,” she grunted sarcastically in an affected bass voice. Under her breath, she muttered, “Stupid Karnage. Had to spoil our wedding day. If I get my hands on him, I’ll wring his neck!”

Baloo nudged her again and shot her a warning look.

The Sea Duck’s Cargo Hold

When the pirates’ voices faded, the hatch that allowed access to the water tanks slowly raised. Molly, who was sitting on Kit’s shoulders, peeked out. She flung a sock aside that was dangling in her line of vision. Her eyes flitted around the cargo hold.

Kit whispered, “What do you see, Molly?”

“Lots of Daddy’s stuff.” Spying a red blanket, she squealed happily, “There’s my Danger Woman cape! I was looking for that yesterday.”

The young navigator sighed in exasperation. Jeepers, Molly. Focus! “Is anyone there?”

“Nope.”

“Let’s pull chocks.”

They were about to climb out when the Sea Duck lurched violently to the left. Someone heavy had just boarded. That someone was a hulking buffalo. With him was a short tan dog with spiky hair. Both carried bulky sacks crammed full of loot.

“Pirates!” the little girl shrieked.

The cubs fell in a heap, and the manhole cover clanked shut.

The pirates ransacked the Sea Duck, looking for treasure. Clanging and banging around, they opened the storage closet and sifted through the objects that littered the cargo hold.

An excited snort came from the buffalo. “Look what I found! Bottlecaps!”

“I got a pogo stick.” The canine held up the toy that was taller than him.

“Neato,” the buffalo replied, impressed. He shoved his treasure into his sack. “The captain will be so pleased with us.”

After the pirates had gotten off the plane, Kit and Molly cautiously crawled out of their hiding place. Kit picked up a blue trench coat and a straw hat. He draped the coat around them both. “Keep close to me, Molly.”

“Are you sure this is gonna work, Kit?” Molly asked skeptically, hanging onto the back of his tuxedo jacket.

“Can you think of anything better?”

“Uh...nuh-huh.”

Kit plunked the straw hat over his baseball cap, saying resolutely, “Then it’ll have to work.”

Khan Towers

Baloo and Rebecca trailed after the group of pirates into Khan Towers. Just inside the revolving door, the two bears stopped to take in the chaotic scene.

The normally peaceful and well-ordered building was now anything but peaceful and well-ordered. The air pirates, giddy with their success, were running rampant. Some were driving Khan’s employees from the building. Some were acting like curious children - pressing buttons, opening every door, trying out machines. Some pirates, like the ones Baloo and Rebecca had followed, staggered to the twin elevators on the far side of the lobby laden down with stolen treasure.

“Now what?” Rebecca whispered out of the corner of her mouth as a pirate roughly pushed past her, empty sack in hand; he was intent on his quest to retrieve more loot.

“Keep a low profile, an’ maybe we can sneak past ‘em to the elevator. I bet ya dollars ta donuts that Karny’s in Khan’s office. We gotta get up there.”

“And then what?”

“Dunno.” Baloo shrugged as they started across the crowded lobby. “We’ll hafta make it up as we go along.”

“The story of our lives,” Rebecca whispered.

“Hey, you!” Mad Dog’s nasal voice rang through the cavern-like room.

“Keep walkin’,” Baloo mumbled to Rebecca.

“You with the eyepatch. I’m talkin’ to you, Cyclops!”

“So much for the low profile,” Baloo murmured as every eye in the room turned towards him.

The two bears were accosted by Mad Dog and Dumptruck.

“Wha...?” Baloo squeaked nervously. He cleared his throat. In a deep, gravelly voice, he growled, “Whattaya want?”

Dumptruck reached into his brown coat. “Der captain vants...”

Rebecca’s pulse beat rapidly. She pressed closer to Baloo. It looked like their gooses were cooked. Their disguises weren’t good enough after all; they had been found out. This was the end.

The hulking canine pirate shoved a slip of paper at Baloo. “His lunch. Take it to him.”

Relieved that it wasn’t a gun, Baloo and Rebecca let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Get everything on the list, and don’t screw it up,” Mad Dog added.

“Yeah, the last guy who screwed it up got a real close shave, if you know vhat I mean.”

“Lost his head.” Mad Dog made a slashing motion across his neck.

Baloo gulped as Mad Dog and Dumptruck sauntered away, laughing raucously.

“Do you know what this is, Baloo?” Rebecca whispered excitedly as they headed for the elevators.

Baloo looked down at the scrap of paper in his hand. “Uh, a list?”

“No, this is our ticket into Khan’s office.”

Understanding dawned on the big bear’s face. “Hey, yeah.” Then, a perplexed frown creased his brow. “But what are we gonna do when we get there?”

Rebecca smiled up at him. “We’ll think of something, like we always do.”

They stepped into an elevator where two pirates were arguing.

“I wanna push the button!” cried an elderly brown bear clad in a long blue coat and yellow shirt. His white beard quivered with indignation as a middle-aged grey shrew garbed in a ragged red vest and a white turtleneck shoved him away from the column of elevator buttons.

“It’s my turn! You pushed it the last time!”

The old bear ground his wooden leg into the shrew’s foot, inciting a high-pitched squeal of pain.

“Ow-ow-ow-ow! I did not!”

“You did, too!”

The pirates’ skirmish evolved into a violent pushing and shoving match. Baloo and Rebecca pressed against the back of the elevator, trying to keep out of the fight.

“Baloo, do something!” Rebecca whispered urgently when the grey shrew snatched the sack from her hands and began swinging it around.

Without further ado, Baloo picked both pirates up by the scruff of their necks and bonked their heads together. They slumped to the floor.

“Take my dress, will they?” Rebecca said, umbrageous.

Baloo retrieved the burlap sack from beneath the pirates’ limp bodies and handed it to his wife with a grin. A chuckle escaped from his throat, and he began to laugh in earnest. He laughed so hard that tears of mirth flowed down his cheeks. The entire predicament was hilarious to him. Here it was - their wedding day; and they were disguised as pirates with two unconscious pirates at their feet, on their way to rout a pirate captain from Khan Towers. It was so abnormal that it was normal - for them. When he was able , the big bear choked out, “One thing’s for sure, Becky - we’ll have buckets an’ buckets of rip-roarin’ stories ta tell our grandkids.”

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