the cliff opening, he went back into his houseboat, asking, “What did I miss, Gladys?”

Meanwhile...
Pirate Island

One hundred sixty degrees southeast of Cape Suzette, a mist-enshrouded volcanic archipelago arose from the placid Pacific Ocean. The volcanoes’ harsh, craggy dull brown were a severe contrast to the sparkling blue ocean surrounding it, but the ugliness didn’t matter to the fierce band of air pirates who had made this desolate spot their hideout.

Inside the largest volcano, there was a large harbor concealed from prying eyes by two massive stone doors. There, the pirates’ behemoth mothership, the Iron Vulture, was moored. In the gloom and shadow of the cave, it appeared to be a sleeping purple and black bird with its yellow beak floating on the dark water. However, the inside of this large ship of the air was teeming with activity.

At that moment, the pirates were gathered around the long tables in the Iron Vulture’sdining room, eating dinner and listening to the Series on a stolen radio.

Kit Cloudkicker, the smallest and youngest pirate, was crammed on a bench between Dumptruck and Gibber. The eleven-year-old bear cub was hunched over his plate in order to protect his food from the others. His ears strained to listen to the game amid the chomping, slurping, gulping, and smacking of the uncouth pirates.

The radio announcer was saying, “...Sox ahead 4-1. Lou Growling of the Pirates up to bat...”

Dumptruck, a grey canine named so due to his massive size, ripped a chunk out of his roll. “Are der Pirates losing?”

From across the table, Hal, a rotund orange feline, replied, “Yeah, but they’re pirates. They’ll do something sneaky and get ahead.”

A lanky ferret with long, limp moustaches called Mad Dog stealthily purloined a loin from Hal’s plate before remarking, “Like steal some bases. Pirates are good at stealing.”

The pirates all vociferously voiced their agreement, except Dumptruck, who was busy eyeing Kit’s chicken leg.

“Don’t even think about it,” Kit growled as his hand closed over it. He had had to fight tooth and nail to get that chicken leg.

Sneering, Dumptruck drew a pistol from his coat and pointed it at Kit.

“Okay, okay, take it,” the boy snapped, flinging it on the other pirate’s plate.

Dumptruck popped it - bone and all - into his mouth.

Under his breath, Kit muttered, “I hope you choke on it.”

Dumptruck spit the chicken bone onto his plate. In a thick Swedish accent, he asked suspiciously, “Did you say someting, little meatball?”

Despite the fact that Dumptruck could have killed Kit with one blow of his meaty fist, the boy stood up on the bench, looked him unflinchingly in the eye, and defiantly retorted, “Yeah, I said...”

Just then, their leader and captain, Don Karnage, strutted into the room and turned off the radio.

“Aw, Captain, we were listening to the Pirates,” Mad Dog whined.

“From now on, you will listen to thispirate!” the ruggedly handsome brown wolf said as he made his way to the head of the table. “I, Don Karnage, pirate extraordinaire, have come up with another stupendous plan to plunder Cape Suzette.”

“Anotherone?” Mad Dog whined.

Dumptruck stopped picking his teeth with his fingernail to ask, “Will dis one vork, Captain?”

Mad Dog added, “Yeah, I’m getting tired of getting shot at by those cliff guns.”

“It came from my wonderfully brilliant mind, so of course it will work!” Karnage shouted. He repeatedly thumped the table with his fist for emphasis, causing the dishes and cutlery to dance.

His curiosity piqued, Kit peered around his comrades and asked, “Well, what is it, Captain?”

Karnage’s face lit up. “I am so glad you have asked that, my boy.” His voice took on a mysterious tone as he described his plan. “Under the coverlet of darkness, we will fly towards Cape Suzette without any lights on. The gunners will not shoot what they cannot see. It is brilliant, yes-no?”

On both sides of the table, the skeptical pirates nodded and murmured their reluctant approval. In the back of their minds lurked the many previous failed attempts to plunder Cape Suzette.

Kit thought, It’ll never work. The gunners will hear the Vulturefor sure.

Don Karnage, who was not satisfied with his loyal lackeys’ less-than-enthusiastic response, menacingly drew his sword from its sheath. “Well...?”

Intimidated by their commander’s fierce expression and the fact that he was a master of torture, the pirates wildly applauded, cheered, and stomped their feet. Even Kit whistled half-heartedly.

Karnage beamed. “Thank you, thank you. No, stop it, you are too kind.”

Immediately, there was silence. The dim-witted pirates were merely following orders to ‘stop it’.

With a sigh of exasperation, Karnage said, “You didn’t have to stop so soon.”

The cheering recommenced, louder this time.

“Ah...that is more like it,” the pirate captain said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

That Night
Iron Vulture

The night was as black as coal as the hulking Iron Vultureflew towards Cape Suzette like a shark stealthily gliding towards its prey. It seemed that even Mother Nature was cooperating with Don Karnage in his plan to sneak by the cliff gunners unnoticed, for the cloud cover was heavy, blocking even the slightest trace of the moon or stars.

The pirates scurried around the huge hangar as they prepared to attack. Don Karnage paced the upper deck above them, impatiently watching the reddish glow in the sky over the city grow steadily closer. Also on the upper deck was first mate Gibber.

Mad Dog snapped the barrel of his pistol shut. “Remember when the captain had us paint the ship blue so we would be invisible?”

“But then it rained,” Hal reminded them as he handed out gunny sacks, “and all of the paint washed off and the guns shot at us.”

With a coil of rope slung over one muscular shoulder and a rifle slung over the other, Dumptruck remarked, “And den he dressed da ship up like a boat and tried to sail it between the cliffs.”

“Oh, yeah,” Mad Dog said. He slipped his pistol and a handful of extra bullets into his pockets. “But we hit a reef and the disguise fell off.”

“And the guns shot at us,” Hal added.

“Shut up with the tripping down memory lane, you flea brains!” Karnage shouted, leaning over the bannister, causing all of the pirates to stop in their tracks. “This time there is no paint, and there is no rain to wash the paint away.”

“Und ve don’t have to vear dose skimpy bathing suits,” Dumptruck said in a not-so-quiet aside to Mad Dog.

Mad Dog winced. “That thing chafed.”

“That plan would have been very successful if it had succeeded.” Breathing heavily with rage, the Captain clenched his hands around the railing and glared down at his minions.

Kit, who had climbed the ladder to the upper deck in order to get a better look at where they were going, ventured quietly, “Uh, Captain, why don’t we try to plunder a different city? One that doesn’t have cliff guns?”

Karnage whirled around, ready to vent his anger on the handiest target. “Because Cape Suzette is the most spectaculous city around here. The trading hubcap of Usland. It is the center of everything there is to be in the center of. When we plunder Cape Suzette, we will have hit the jack-in-the-pot, the bulls in the eye. And it is the closest, you estupide, little, no-nothing boy!”

“Yeah, but it seems that...”

“Are you the captain?” the wolf asked, giving the boy a rough poke in the chest with his forefinger.

“No, but...!” To Kit, it seemed pointless to continue their futile quest to try to plunder a city as well-fortified as Cape Suzette. It was as stupid as repeatedly knocking your head against a wall.

“Whois the captain?” As he waited for the obvious answer, Karnage polished his fingernails against his immaculate jacket.

Kit sighed in resignation. It was frustrating to be right, yet know that he couldn’t win. “You are.”

“Of course I am!” Karnage drew his sword and swung it through the air to emphasize each ‘I’. Kit had to duck in order to keep his head intact. “I am the captain. Imake the decisions. And right now, Iam deciding that we need to turn off all the lights.”

All over the Iron Vultureswitches were flipped, plunging them into total darkness, save for one small lightbulb at the far end of the hangar.

“If anyone so much as utters one pipping-squeak, he will suffer the wrath of the dreadful pirate, Don Karnage!” At the top of his lungs, he commanded, “Turn off that light!”

“Yes, sir, Captain,” Hacksaw said, flipping a switch.

Ka-boom!went a cannon as it exploded from the Iron Vulture’sprow and flew towards the cliffs.

“Oopsy!” Hacksaw whimpered. “Wrong switch.”

Suddenly, there was a multitude of ear-splitting explosions all around them. The Cape Suzette cannoneers were returning fire with a vengeance, trying to blast the pirates out of the sky or at least drive them away from the city. The behemoth airship rocked from side to side as firework-like bombs pierced its skin and knocked out its topside propellers. Chaos ensued as the pirates hurried to extinguish fires and repair electrical damage.

“HACKSAW!” Karnage roared.

“B-but, Captain, I-I thought it was the light switch. Honest.”

“I will deal with you later,” Karnage said between clenched teeth. “But for now...retreat!”

As the wounded airship turned around, the pirate captain took one last look at Cape Suzette. “I willget in somehow if it is the last thing I do,” he muttered determinedly under his breath.

Khan Towers
Downtown Cape Suzette
The Next Day

Sunlight poured through powderpuff-like clouds onto the city of Cape Suzette, warming the harbor, dancing on rooftops, and glinting off windows. The largest window in the city was located at the top of ninety-story Khan