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| motion. Not more than twenty minutes later his Auntie was out cold, mumbling something about having tea with the Queen of England on Tuesday. Satisfied that she wouldn't wake up at least until he was already on the family yacht, Alex gathered his gear, which included his air rifle, as well as a box of pellets. He knew as well as anyone that all his small round pellets could do was break the skin, but it was better than not having a weapon at all. By the time he had all his gear together, the taxi had arrived, and after taking a few pounds from his Aunt's cookie jar in the kitchen, he left prune haven, for the smell of fresh England smog, then stepped into a musty smelling cab. "To the Docks mate," he said, a little two jolly. The driver of the cab, a fat greasy little man gave a snort. "You sure you got money for that Junior?" he asked. "Yes, you get me there and I'll pay you fifteen pounds," Alex said. He had taken fifty pounds, and considered that more than enough to get this guy to drive without any more hesitation, which it did. ~*~*~*~*~ When Alex arrived at the yacht, he found everyone skirling about the docks, and made an easy entry. He knew that he had to find a good hiding spot, and also knew that his parents would likely thump him a good one if they found him before they left, and send him back to live with the Prune Queen, and that was a fate even worse than getting thumped, at least in his opinion. Having spent a lot of time on the yacht on family outings prior to his own adventures in Egypt, Alex knew every hiding spot there was, and decided that hiding in the row boat, harnessed to the side of the ship was his best bet at not getting discovered. Knowing that it would be a long trip, he made a quick run to the kitchen and grabbed a few apples, and a loaf of bread, figuring no one would miss it, and was about to leave when he heard his mum's voice. "Cripes, if she finds me," he said looking around. He quickly dove into a cabinet where his dad stored a few pots and pans and prayed that no one was going to use anything, then waited. His mum had been looking for her purse, and when she found that she left, leaving Alex feeling more than a little relieved. Once he knew the coast was clear, he ran out of the kitchen, taking the far side of the ship, the side not dockside, and quickly slipped into the eight man rowboat, and promptly felt a hand slip over his mouth. "Beat it kid, I found this place first," came a voice from a boy who couldn't be all that much older than he. When the hand left his mouth, Alex rolled over and squinted his eyes trying to see who this person was. "This is my dad's boat, and if you want me to stay quiet you'll share," Alex said. The young man seemed to consider this. "I'll take a guess that your no better off than me, that your old man don't want you here, and if you snitch on me, you'll be in just as much trouble. If you don't want any trouble you will find yourself another place to hide," he said, and held his fist to the boys nose for emphasis. Having been beat up enough times in his life, Alex reluctantly left the boat, and knew he would have to risk trying to get to the one tied to the other side of the yacht. As he slipped out he realized that they were no longer at the docks, and gulped when he heard his fathers voice approaching. "Damn," he swore softly as he ran up the ship, and hid under a pile of nets. There was at least an inch of dust under the nets, and Alex had to hold his nose in effort not to sneeze. He heard foot steps approaching, then saw a shadow of a tall man and knew it was his father. Alex shut his eyes and said a quick prayer, and for several uncomfortable moments he waited, then his father left, obviously satisfied with what ever it was he had come to this part of the yacht to find. Once the coast was clear, Alex slipped out from beneath the salty, nets, and safely made it to the other row boat. Once inside he breathed a sigh of relief, and settled in for a long cramped Journey there, satisfied that they couldn't get rid of him once they reached Egypt. Christopher, looked at the three additional adults in front of him, and the old man who still had his big ugly hands on the front of him, then glanced about the small room he was in, trying to find a means of escape. Rick seemed to know what the kid was thinking and threw him a warning. "Don't even think about it." Always a fast thinker and especially of late, Chris allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction. "I suppose you wouldn't be interested to know the whereabouts of another stow away, say a little scrawny chap, whose just as ugly as you are?" he said. Evelyn glanced at the boy, wondering if he was just trying to get them to let down their guard long enough so he could get away. "Rick why don't you let the young man go," she said. An unapproving stare her way, let her know that her husband had no intention of letting him go, so she tried another tact. "Christopher..." "Hey lady, no one calls me by my name unless I give them permission, and the other person aboard this ship is your kid," he said. "Jonathan, Evelyn, go see if what he says is true," Rick said as he stood up still keeping a hold of the boys shirt as he pulled him to his feet, then pulled him to a chair, where he pushed him to a sitting position. "Now I want some answers," he said. "You first," came Christopher's reply. ~*~*~*~*~ The cover over the boat he was in being pulled away, and his mothers irritated voice, calling him by his full name woke Alex fully, and he quickly got out of the ship, wondering if she would personally row him back to England. "I don't believe you Alexander Jonathan O'Connell," she said as she grabbed a hold of his ear and began to pull him with her. Jonathan noticed Alex's baggage and his Air Rifle and gathered that up for him, wondering if this trip could get any more bizarre, then followed his sister back to the interrogation room, interested to see how things would be handled now that added complications had arisen. Rachel ([email protected]) December 22, 2002 "...How stupid could you possibly be?" were the last words Alex heard before all of the emotions inside him fumed to the point where he was trembling with frustration and anger. He dare not say anything, however, Alex was always like his father with his emotions, he never voiced them. He thought of every possible phrase and contradiction he could use to his mother. Some of them were half good, if he did say so himself. However, he didn't say anything. He just sat on the bed (that was evidentially his, now). "You DO NOT leave this room, you do not cause any more problems on this boat, do you hear me?" Came Evelyn�s low growl. Alex didn't answer. Evelyn slammed and locked the door behind her. ~*~*~*~*~ Christopher, was put into a room across the hall from Alex for the night, Rick and Evelyn had gone to bed, Jonathan was in his room reading a book while Ardeth sat at the wheel. ~*~*~*~*~ It really wasn't that hard, all Alex had to do was lift himself onto the window sill, slide open the glass pane and drop neatly onto the floor on the other side. 'Thank God for mom's taste in bright large windows.' He thought to himself. Shuttering to think what squeezing through one of those portal windows would be like. The boat where (as Alex believed) all of his stuff was still stashed, was right down the length of the boat, at the stern. Alex was very quiet about his feelings like his father, but he was also very stubborn like his mother, and still believed in the welfare of his family. Being 13, he felt he needed that air rifle, just in case there was any trouble. Alex found the small life boat, and pried the tarp off the side, the tarp was held down by bungee cord, so Alex decided to |