“I hear the captain. I’ll let them dig up some old bones while I open this… Oh hello…” Mia said. “It may be too dark for you to see, so I’ll describe her. There is a beautiful, dark-haired woman sitting on the top of what looks like to be a chest of some kind. There are other chests behind it. She seems rather angry, speaking in a rapid-fire mix of English and French. Now she used the ef word. Remind me to ask Cid when they first started to use that colorful euphemism. ‘Listen, Lady - and I’m using that loosely - there is a horde of pirates upstairs. Do you want to tell me how you found yourself in such a predicament?’” Mia asked.
The team watched as Mia listened to whom they all assumed was Rosa de Familiare explain herself.
“But, Rosa, you did keep the treasure safe for George. So, it’s not all here. He had to have expected you to have some expenses.”
Mia lifted up a small chest and said, “This one? K. Now you sit there pretty, and I’ll handle everything.”
Mia took the camera and pointed it at her and warned, “Watch the audio. I’m going to whistle.”
Mia whistled and shouted. “GEORGE WALL! COME AND SEE WHO I FOUND GUARDING YOUR TREASURE!”
“They are moving into the crevice. Ted, I think we need to get Mia out of there,” Cid said, worried.
“Give her a moment,” Ted said, spellbound by what Mia was doing.
She walked up to the pirate. Mia put her hand up to stop the angry captain from advancing on Rosa. “She died guarding the treasure. The Americans had landed, and her lover’s ship never came for her. Be nice,” Mia said as she squeezed by the crewmen and climbed out of there. She stopped to pour a generous supply of salt to cover the exit before she waved at the camera and jumped out of sight.
“I still have her feed. Wow. Maybe we can say this is a drone video,” Ted said.
“I don’t know if you can hear me, but I’m flying around the island heading for the sailboat. It’s a beautiful night for flying. Over there, I can see the Peacock. A few new friends of mine have taken the ship. And just entering the GSD is the Devil’s Pride. I’m extremely happy to see the back of that ship. Rounding the island, there are a few lights from some freighters. I’m seeing the harbor now, so I’ll sign off. This concludes the PEEPs adventure of Big Turtle Cave. Adios.”
The sound of feet dropping on the deck above them and Mia cussing as she tripped over something in the dark, brought Ted to his feet. He ran over to the stairs and gathered Mia in his arms as she descended. She was dragging a very heavy backpack.
“Here you go, Patrick. Don’t say I’m not a team player,” Mia said.
“Minnie Mouse, you stink,” Ted said, holding her an arm’s length from him.
“Is it the pirate smell or the fried ATzxes? Come on, be honest,” Mia said. She looked around. “Where’s Fergus and Kevin?” she asked.
“I thought they were with you.”
“Nope, I couldn’t find them,” Mia said.
“Jesus Mary Joseph,” Patrick exclaimed, opening up the small chest. Jewels of every sort spilled out on the table as he sorted through it all.
Ted put an arm around Mia. “You did good. Burt’s happy with the film, and Patrick is going to be busy trying to fence what was found on State of Michigan parkland. Rosa?”
“I expect, once the morning dew melts the salt, she will be joining the crew of the Peacock. I told her about how she could eat and drink in the GSD. I didn’t tell her she would age. But she did give me the jewels as a thank you for saving her bacon with Wall. Wall isn’t going to be too happy with me though because, while he was in the cave, the birdmen took his ship. But Wall finally has the rest of his treasure. It will probably weigh the boats down and end up on the bottom of the lake about fifty feet offshore if you’d like to return for a salvage operation.”
“No, I just want to go home,” Ted said.
“Me too. Our treasure is returning from Wyoming soon, and I haven’t finished with my honey do list yet.”
“I’ve done mine,” Ted said.
“What was on that list? I forgot.”
“It said, ‘Don’t bother Mia when she’s napping on the couch.’”
“And what did you do?”
“I bothered you on the couch when you were napping.”
Mia kissed Ted. “I want to be on the first ferry out of here. Let the rest of them clean up.”
“In the meanwhile, you will not believe what happened while you were playing pirate.”
“What?”
“Burt tossed a hundred-dollar bill on the table and paid for our drinks.”
“And I missed it!” Mia exclaimed. “Not fair!”
“Little Bird,” she heard in her head.
“Excuse me a moment. I’ll be right back,” Mia said, leaving the others as she climbed up on deck.
Angelo stood on the dock and helped her disembark. They walked for a while through the silent town before he spoke, “I don’t know how to get you to understand that, no matter what happens, what you or I do, that I have your best interests at heart?”
“I believe you, Angelo. I just don’t want you to be tainted by what I’ve become.”
“You fought it for your whole life. You resisted and tossed away relationships to do things your way, but you ended up an assassin all
