by Celine Yorke
A man's deep voice spoke, "You had your bodyguards with you last night. We can't find your son; he has disappeared." There was a click, and nothing more.
"Oh my God, what did they do to him? I hope they haven't killed him." Joshua, who was standing, started to shake. Maxi rushed over to him and eased his old friend back into his seat.
Philippe waited in the dark, waiting for a chance to get out of there. He was doing his best to control the beast in him. Shifting would surely get him shot or stabbed. He crouched, his legs cramping, and waited in a dark hole in the deck where he was hiding. They had been anchored for a while when Philippe heard the men calling out to someone. It sounded like another boat had pulled up next to them. They were all laughing and in high spirits. Philippe thought he heard them talking about millions.
Have they gotten money out of my dad? He wondered, seething. I will wait to make my move until later. If they've gotten money from dad, they're probably going to celebrate. Pretty soon they'll be drunk, that will give me a better chance to deal with them one by one.
When it was dark, he crawled out from the hole in the deck over to the side of the ship and glanced over the side. To his surprise he saw, his own yacht down there chained behind the pirate boat, gleaming white in the darkness. Philippe shifted into his jaguar form, waiting. He had to get over to his yacht, but when he heard someone coming he slipped into the storeroom to wait. Sure enough, one of the men lazily strolled in there. As the pirate fumbled in the boxes next to him, Philippe seized his chance. He leapt, sinking his claws into the man's back and biting through his neck. The pirate fell to the floor with a sickly wet crunch. One down. Philippe padded through the darkness, ignoring the strong smell of the man's death and his blood dripping on the floor.
I wonder how many more there are?
He crouched in a corner, waiting. Belatedly, he realized that leaving bodies in the store room would just get the ship locked down and dragged the bodies out of the way. Picking them off one by one wasn't much of a strategy, but it was better than nothing.
"Pierre?" called a man. His voice was too loud, and he staggered drunkenly towards Philippe's corner. Philippe waited until he came a little closer, then jumped. This time, the pirate screamed. A couple of men came running into the store room and found the man on the floor bleeding.
They panicked, "We better get out of here something weird and creepy is going on here." The leader said. They all got busy, pulled the anchor, and sailed further out to sea. Philippe licked his chops hopefully and waited in his hiding spot, but they kept sailing. Defeated, he laid back down, waiting. They'd been sloppy enough to let him escape once, and sloppy enough for him to kill some of them. He'd have his chance, if he didn't get off the ship soon they would eventually catch him. They had to stop sailing eventually.
Early next morning, they arrived near a small island and dropped anchor. A few of the men jumped into a dingy and sailed ashore. When everything seemed quiet on the deck, Philippe crawled up from his hideout. Clambering up the stairs, he clung to the wall. Hiding behind the boxes of fishing supplies on the deck, he slowly crept towards the back end of the ship. Then, miraculously, it was clear. He glanced over the side of the ship and swallowed, but there was no time to lose. He jumped over the side, plunging into the cold ocean. Shifting into human form in the water, he took a deep breath and swam over to the yacht. His lungs burning, he reached the ladder near the back and slowly, painfully climbed up. He squinted up at the yacht and heaved his naked body over the edge.
"Oh, gosh that was hard."Philippe said as he let himself fall into the yacht. "I've got to crawl over to the door." He slowly crept across the deck, towards the door. The yacht, a weekender, was still chained to the back of the pirate ship "I could probably climb up the chain, back to the pirate ship, but it would be noisy. Philippe decided. "Then again, it wouldn't matter, all the pirates are probably in the cabins, sleeping off their hangovers from last night." Philippe snatched some extra clothes from the closet and put them on. He fumbled through his things as he talked to himself.
"Serena's phone! Is it charged. Yes it is, but it might not last for very long, but I could track its GPS." Hope surged through him. Tucking it into a pocket, he rubbed his hands together, "Now I got to crawl back over to the pirate ship on that chain. It is not going to be easy, but I have to get back over there with the phone so I can track the ship down again after I get some help."
The dingy pulled up, and he dove for cover, hiding below the line of sight. His heart pounded as they sailed past him. He thought for a while. They'd surely discover the men he'd killed and notice the strange injuries. The pirates had no idea where he was or that he spent half of his time in jaguar form. Maybe it would be better to wait until dark. Philippe stretched out and stared at the sky, waiting. When the sun finally set and the sounds of the party had died down. He stretched and slowly, painfully, worked his way up the rattling chain. Once he'd swung himself onto the deck and hid the phone, he seized the chain and rode it back down. The links rattled heavily, and his hands ached, but he landed safely on top of his yacht.
Disconnecting the chain from the tow, he watched as the yacht slowly drifted away. When the pirate ship was only a speck in the distance, Philippe pulled up the sails and let the wind carry the yacht away. He spoke aloud, enjoying the freedom of his own voice.
"I don't dare start the motor yet in case the pirates can hear the noise of the engine. It's so dark. I wonder where I am?"
The wind was strong, and in no time, he was far away. He chugged along, following the stream and watching for any sign of lights or other vessels. After a few hours, the wind died down and he decided to start the motor. If he was lucky, he should be able to get back to France with the fuel he had left. He couldn't risk turning on the lights or the radio, in case the pirates saw him or caught his signal, so he'd have to fumble his way back to the coast.
I just want to get home and find out what happen to Serena. I wanted to protect her, and I failed.
He kept sailing all night and hoped he could rely on the compass and his instruments. The sea was a bit choppy, but that was the least of his problems. When the sun finally rose, Philippe welcomed the dawn of a new day after sailing all night in the dark. Is that land I see out in the distance? As he got closer and it got lighter, the land became more and more visible. Philippe's spirit started to lift and he felt sure he would make it ashore, wherever he was landing. Philippe pulled up next to the jetty and tied his yacht up on the dock. He walked up to the little village to find out where he had landed. As he entered the small town center, he noticed a sign, La Rosa Post Office, on a building. He went in and asked if they had a phone he could use. The man behind the counter answered him in French. What a relief. Philippe took a deep breath, he was on home ground.
"The phone booths are over by the wall, you pay here after." Philippe thanked him, walked over to one of the phone booths, and dial his father's number.
"Hi dad, it's me, Philippe."
"Philippe....oh, it's so good to hear your voice! Are you okay? Where are you?"
"Yes, I'm okay. I'm in a little village called La Rosa. I think it is south of Paris. Did Serena contact you?"
"Yes. She is okay, but worried about you."
"I'm so glad she's okay. I have been worried sick about her. You can tell her that I'm okay now and managed to slip away from the pirates. I need some help, dad. Can you get hold of some of your old buddies from when you were in the French Foreign Legion? We need to catch those crooks before they hurt any more innocent people."
"Yes, I'm already in touch with some of them. There is nothing more my old friend Maxi would like to do than get hold of those crooks. How is your hand? Are you still in pain?"
"What do you mean?"
"I got boxes with your fingertips in them from the pirates!"
"I've still got all my fingers, so they must have cut the fingers off the man who tried to cut my fingers off with an ax. I killed him on my first day." Philip
pe told his father a bit more about the situation. He hung up, relieved, and set off to find a hotel he could collapse in. After hours at sea, with only adrenalin and a few energy bars, he was exhausted.
Joshua got to work right away, summoning Maxi and his team. He explained the situation to them. They decided to get hold of a more suitable boat to go after the pirates than Philippe's yacht. Joshua had lots of connections, and didn't take him long before he found someone willing to help them out. A guy from the military by the name of Duvall arrived and they started to make a plan.
"I can get hold of a submarine and the crew to man it," Duvall offered.
"That will be great. We can use Philippe's yacht as bait to attract the pirates. When they get close to Philippe, we can rise out of the water and surprise them," Maxi said.
"Philippe is waiting to hear from us. Are you all ready to act more or less right away before the pirates escape too far? Philippe has left a phone with GPS on it to act as a tracking device on board the pirate's ship," Joshua told them.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say we are ready to leave anytime," Maxi said. Philippe called back, and Joshua told him to stay where he was and wait for them to arrive.
"We've got a team ready and will arrive with a submarine. I'll tell you about our plan when we get there."
CHAPTER FOUR
When Serena turned up for work, Francine noticed how unhappy and worried she looked.
"Any news about Philippe?" Francine asked.
"No, I'm afraid not. No one has contacted me yet,"
"You look miserable, Serena, and I don't blame you. It is a dreadful experience you've been through. I'll make sure you get some easy work today."
"Thank you, Francine, how nice of you. I'm afraid I'm not feeling the best."
"Oh, come here girl, let me give you a hug." Francine gave her a big warm bear hug.
"You can go home if you want to."
"I would rather stay here and keep myself busy. If I go home, I'll only sit and worry. Thanks for the offer, though." Serena was still a bit shaken up, but threw herself into her work. She started on the order for the new chic party dress they had for one of the models to wear at a fashion show. Keeping her hands busy was better than letting her mind devour itself.
Later in the morning, Francine came into the workroom and told Serena Joshua La Bell was on the phone. Serena jumped up and ran into the office, abandoning the model.
"Hello, this is Serena."
"Hello, Serena. I have good news for you. I had a phone call from Philippe. He is okay. He managed to slip away from the pirates and is in a little village north of France. He's been worried about you, but I told him you were okay. It may take a while before he is home again. A team of professionals and myself are setting out to catch the pirates, but please keep this to yourself."
"Yes, I won't tell anyone. I'm glad to hear he's okay. Thanks for letting me know." He hung up and let her go. Serena was so relieved and dashed back out and announced, "he's okay!"
"Who?" said the model.
"Uh, my dog," Serena said stupidly. She didn't say any more about it, but got back to fitting and tailoring the dress.
Serena enjoyed being a part of creating all the beautiful dresses in the workroom for the models. She had been so fortunate to get a job with such a successful custom design store. She enjoyed the creative part of it, and the modeling she'd done for the fashion shows and their catalog was also fun. However, she was getting to the stage where she thought she needed to make a choice. If she wanted to follow her long time dream to become a fashion designer, then she wouldn't have time for modeling. Serena decided to talk to Francine about her problem. Later in the day, when she came into the lunch room, Francine was sitting by herself. She walked up to her and asked, "Can I have a word with you?"
"Certainly."
"Francine, I'm in two minds about what to do. I like everything I do, but maybe I need to choose between the modeling and the custom design side. You see my dream goal has always been to become a fashion designer. I have dreamed about that ever since I was a little girl."
"Are you kidding, Serena? No, you can't do that. You are so talented, and some of your designs are fantastic. Plus, our clients love you. You represent a fresh young model from the north of Scandinavia, and we want you to remain available for the modeling. Your appeal and your style are so unique!"
Francine paused a bit. She looked as though she was thinking about something. She continued, "I think we should work on making some of your designs, not just having you adjust and work on the existing one. Make them to fit you so you can model them at the next fashion expo, and see how popular they will be. Some buyers might be interested in producing your work on a larger scale. What do you think of that?"
"Do you really mean that?" Serena was beyond thrilled. She couldn't believe her ears.
"Yes of course I mean it. If you bring your portfolio in tomorrow, we will go through it and pick out a few of your best designs."
"Oh, thank you, Francine! I am so excited. This is a fantastic opportunity for me and a dream come true." Serena wiped her eyes, which were brimming with tears.
"You are welcome. You never know, we might be thanking you if your designs take off."
Serena was over the moon. She couldn't wait to get home and tell Violet. She hurried home after work and ran up the stairs to the apartment. Yanking open the door, she called out,
"Violet, I have some wonderful news to tell you!"
"You do? Okay, I'm all ears," she said as she came out of her bedroom.
"First, they found Philippe and he's okay. What a relief! Second, they are going to make up some of my designs in the workroom at Jean La Bell, and I am going to model them myself at the next fashion show. I talked to Francine today about how I was feeling. She didn't want me to stop modeling, but she said they'd be willing to show some of my own designs off at the next show. Maybe they would take off." Serena talked so fast that she hardly had time to breathe. Violet couldn't help laughing at her.
"That is wonderful. I'm so glad you confided in Francine, she seems to be a very wise person. Your collection of designs might just take off; you never know. This is a great opportunity for you. And it's good to know Philippe is okay too."
"Yes, he was able to slip away from the pirates. I'm not supposed to tell anyone about this. But you'll probably be wondering why I haven't seen him for a while. Philippe's dad and a team of professionals are going to help Philippe catch the pirates." Serena had lowered her voice as she told Violet her secret. She knew she could trust her. They ordered a take-out dinner to celebrate and spent the rest of the night with a movie, relaxing.
Serena's day had been overwhelming. She was excited about the new opportunity Francine had offered her. She was also very tired, her emotions were trying to cope with it all. When she got to bed she couldn't sleep at first she was thinking about the new opportunity. She thought to herself, It's like a door has opened for me. It is a whole different feeling to being in love with a man. I feel wonderful inside and so happy that my dream goal I have worked towards for so long is beginning to happen. It is like I'm falling in love with myself, I feel so satisfied inside. Serena felt into a blissful sleep.
The next day, Serena came to work with her portfolio. They were all eager to see her designs. Serena was proud to show it off. Later on Francine came in, and together they picked out a few of her designs. They went over to the designers, who helped to pick out the right material and matching colors. Francine went ahead and ordered the materials to get the dress made.
"Now we better take some measurements of you, so let's go over to Isabella and let her do it." Isabella was one of the senior dressmakers in the workroom. As soon as the new material arrives, I want you to start on Serena's designs so they can be ready for the next show," Francine said.
"Yeah, okay. I'll reserve some time for it between tailoring," Isabella replied. Serena felt so lucky some of her designs were actually going to be made and she
was going to model them herself. She wanted to call her mother, and stopped to do just that.
She got out the replacement phone she'd bought. "Mom, I have some good news! You'll never guess what happened to me." Serena relayed the news breathlessly. Her mom could hear the excitement in her voice.
"Serena, darling, I'm so happy for you. It's the sort of thing you've dreamed about, and it is now happening for you! How wonderful."
"How are dad and Pia?"
"They're fine."
"Give them my love." She talked a bit longer about how she was coping and told her that she got on well with her roommate Violet. "She is like a big sister to me. It is so nice to hear your voice again, Mom. I miss you all so much. I hope to be able to get home for Christmas." She didn't tell her much about Philippe; she didn't want to worry her.
"Yes, we all miss you too. Bye for now, darling, and take care."
CHAPTER FIVE
The mansion Brian Ward and his team built for Carlos Fontana was finally finished, and now it was time for everyone to go home. It had taken over a year to finish, and the whole team of architects looked forward to getting on with other projects. Jim had decided to stay back. He wanted to find out what had happened to Tom. He had made a few friends from Carlos Fontana's household, who helped him to get in contact with Carlos' daughter, Eva.
He found out which restaurant she hung out in. Then, one day when he saw her sitting at the bar, he went up and sat next to her and started to chat with her. The little flirt was flattered that someone was paying attention to her. Jim introduced himself to her, and they got talking about the mansion.
"You guys have done a great job. The mansion looks beautiful. I can't wait to move in."
"It should be a fantastic place for you to live. We're all pleased with the way it turned out. All the guys from the team are all heading back home, but I have decided to stay a while longer. I want to try to find out what happened to my good friend Tom, the guy who went missing."