The Family Business

12

When our plan was fully developed, Blake told us we could share one of the two available rooms on his ship, and Will and Sam could have the other. He sent one of his men to release them from the cells and show them to their room.
"Your room is downstairs, first door on the right. Theirs is right across the hall," he said.
"Thank you," I replied, and Jefferson gave a polite nod. We stood up to leave his office and see our friends, and Blake shook Jefferson's hand again, thanking him once more. Jefferson then turned, his long coat creating a slight breeze as it whipped around him, and walked out of the room. I grabbed Blake's hand for a moment and gave him a reassuring smile, and followed my brother out the door. Instead of taking the stairs to the cells, we went down another flight of stairs that I had not noticed earlier. We came to a narrow hallway, lined with doors. Jefferson turned to the left and knocked on the door. A moment later, the door was opened and Will pulled Jefferson inside, wrapping him in a tight hug. He then turned to me and grabbed me up in a hug as well. Then Sam appeared and the hugging continued. We all sat on the bed and Jefferson told them of our plan to save Blake's sister.
"Let us come with you," Will begged. "We can help."
"No," said Jefferson, "the more people we have, the harder it will be to stay unnoticed. Besides, we'll need people here to help us get away and I trust you two more than I trust Blake Archer's men." This seemed to satisfy them and we spent the next couple of hours talking and laughing together. The time seemed to pass very quickly, and soon Jefferson and I said goodbye to our friends and crossed the hall to our room. Inside, we found a wardrobe, a desk, and a large bed. Jefferson removed his coat, hanging it on a hook, and fell into bed. I walked around to the other side of the bed and laid down.
"Goodnight, Lana," murmured Jefferson.
"Goodnight," I replied. A few minutes later, Jefferson started to snore. I, however, wasn't tired. I laid there for a few more minutes, trying to get to sleep. Finally, I gave up, slipping out of bed and out the door. I walked silently up the stairs to the deck. It was dark. The kind of dark that enveloped you. But for once, I didn't mind. I stood at the edge of the deck, looking out over the black sea. The reality of what we were going to do seemed to crush me. Of course I wanted to help Blake rescue his sister, but the thought of going back to Nicholas filled me with irrepressible dread.
     "Can't sleep?" I jumped, startled. Blake had appeared at my side.
     "Nope," I replied.
     "Me neither," he said. "Are you nervous?"
     "A little," I answered. "Aren't you?"
     "Of course I am." He put his arm around me and pulled me close. "The trick is to think of the outcome, rather than the problem."
"But what if we fail?"
"There are two sides to every problem, love. If you dwell on the negatives..." He grabbed my hand and pulled me gently to the other side of the ship. "...you never see the positives."
I looked up. On this side, the moon was shining brightly, casting reflections over the gentle waves. It was beautiful. Blake's words, and his mere presence, calmed me. I turned and sat down, leaning back against the side of the ship. Blake mirrored my movements and sat next to me. He put his arm around me and I wrapped mine around him, laying my head on his shoulder.

     At some point, I must have fallen asleep. I awoke in the bed that I shared with my brother, with a vague memory of Blake carrying me to bed and kissing my forehead. I smiled. Knowing that Blake and my brother were by my side made me more confident that we could pull off this rescue mission.

The day passed with little excitement. Blake had informed us that we would arrive in Berkeley the next morning. He had also introduced us to his crew. There was Thomas, who we had met yesterday, with his greasy gray hair and ever-present scowl. Then there was Theresa, his wife. She, like her husband, seemed to have developed a permanent sneer. She wore her dark brown hair in a bun, loose strands falling over her rough, sharp face. The cook, Kevin, looked much nicer. His brown hair was buzzed and his face was shaven. He looked like he could have been in the military. Riley was a blond boy, not much older than me. His hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it over to the right side, flashing us a bright smile. Then there was Ruby. She had short, black hair and almost looked like a boy, except for her bright red lips, sparkling nose ring, and long, black dress that was tattered at the bottom. Lastly, we were introduced to the four men who had taken me, Will, and Sam from our ship. Alex was the one with the long, black hair that had seemed to be the one in charge. Jack was the bald one with the hoop earrings, and the stocky, brown haired guy was Alvaro. I hadn't really gotten a good look at the other one until now. His sandy, curly hair fell just below his shoulders and he had a short, stubbly beard. His name was Stephen. For the most part, Blake's crew seemed friendly, with the exceptions of Thomas, Theresa, and Alex, who glared at me whenever he got the chance. Kevin was not as good a cook as my brother, but his cooking improved throughout the day, as Jefferson had taken to helping him out in the kitchen. The rest of the crew enjoyed card games. Will, Sam and I joined them for a few various games, Alex and Thomas glaring at us the whole time.

     Later that night, Jefferson and I laid in our bed, talking.
     "What are we going to do once this is all over?" I asked.
     "I have no idea," he replied. "I've found that planning the future only leads to disappointment. I like to take things one day at a time, you know? Go with the flow. See what adventures we fall into." I smiled. Usually, my parents had my whole life planned out for me. I liked Jefferson's way of doing things much better.
     "Promise me one thing," I said.
     "What's that?"
     "You'll never leave me again."
     "Aye," he replied. "Never."