Click chk. The magazine clicked into Jay’s valued Desert Eagle. He slowly peeked his head above the enormous crate. There they were. Two thuggish pirate sentries patrolled the deck. The combination of heavy rain and the fact that it was almost midnight made it nearly impossible to see anything. Jay was on the Nicaragua, a ship that was delivering weapons, ammo, and explosives to their headquarters. They had to be stopped immediately.

Jay slowly got into prone position. He crawled on knees and elbows to a small area between a building and a huge barrel. Sssink. The sleek black silencer slid on his handgun. He stood up, as soundless as a mouse. He bent around the corner, his targets getting ever closer to being in his sights… Two pops were barely audible, followed by two distinct thuds. Coast clear, Jay thought.
Silently, with gun at the ready, he scouted out the rest of the ship. No one. He reached some metal stairs leading to a leader’s cabin. On the stair below him, he took out a spider web-thin string out of his tight pack. Jay strung it from one side of the stairs to the other. At one end, the invisible string was neatly tied. At the other, a flash grenade was hanging, concealed in the night. Jay’s thoughts were that this would give him a few seconds time ahead to disappear if somebody caught him unawares. He then continued his way up.
Jay sneaked a quick look over the top stair. What he saw amazed him- the captain’s control room, so close. The treasure may be real... if it is, I can guarantee it’s in that room. A silhouette suddenly appeared in the window. Jay silently raced to an opening next to the cabin. His heart felt like it was drumming in the national marching band. He prayed no one had noticed his dash. The buzz of voices was suddenly more audible. “…the Master will have both of our heads if we are not there by noon tomorrow.” The door slammed in a man’s sullen face. The second-in-command slowly trudged to the railing. Jay thought fast. If he saw the dead bodies on the deck, the alarm would be raised. The pirate peered over the edge of the wet metal bars. “What the…” Jay got to him before he managed to speak anymore. The body slid and fell down the stairs. Time



slowed down.
The commotion was tremendous.
First a thud, then a wire being tripped. The grenade seemed like lightning and thunder being fully unleashed. Jay whipped around to see the captain’s face frozen face. But he was not quick enough to prevent the leader from squeezing the alarm trigger. Jay lunged at him. A quick elbow had him dazed, then the pop of a Desert Eagle. The pirate captain slumped and hit the slick ground, but Jay was already inside the quarters. In one swift motion he grabbed some maps, a leather book, random unmentioned documents, and another pistol. With another pistol in his hand, he threw everything in his pack and darted to the edge of the ship.
Voices from below were heard, followed by gunshots and ricochets all around him. The next moment he was soaring in a swan dive, bracing himself to be enveloped by the bitter dark sea. His scuba gear was waiting for him, attached to the ship by a fine cord. A split second later his shoulder exploded with a wave of pain. One of the bullets had found their mark.
Jay swam like an injured duck, deeper and deeper. His left, unaffected arm reached down and pressed the button at his waist. Tick…BOOM! Shockwaves were sent through the water in every direction. Shrapnel from the ship was soaring into the ocean all around Jay, everywhere. He had made a good decision in wiring C4 all around the explosives cargo on the ship. The blast left hardly anything left of the ship. Jay neared the dark outline of a speedboat above him. The pain of his wound and strong arms pulling him out was the last thing he remembered before blacking out.
Jay woke up with the sun’s rays glaring in his eyes. One by one his muscles collaborated, straining to sit up. The pain nailed him like a train going full speed. Gasping, Jay remembered everything. The ship. The gunshots. The pain. The water… “I took the liberty of bandaging up your shoulder,” a rough voice said. The voice belonged to the leader of the mission, and Jay’s friend, Sgt. Kent Maltas.
“Thanks,” Jay managed to get out.
“Are you feeling any better?” Kent pulled out a 3 inch bullet. “This is the source of your pain. I injected some painkiller into your shoulder.” Jay could already tell. Already the relief of pain started to spread throughout his body. “And I found this in your pack.” Kent held up a leather notebook.

“I didn’t know what it was, but the strange runes on the cover caught my eye,” Jay explained.
Kent had a smile up to his ears. “This is something that will make us rich, Jay. If we follow this, I think we will be probably $40,000,000 richer.”
“We’re going on a treasure hunt?” Jay’s heart fluttered. A giant grin lit up Kent’s face again.
“Exactly.”