Peter reached out and brought down another two tiny model ships onto the northern section of the map, far away from the first ship. “That the Coral Plunder and the Vicious Seas will be here, unguarded by the Sudden Night . . .” He turned to Wendy. “That’s Hook’s ship, an unholy black beast, built for the killing of Lost Boys.”
He turned back to the table and brought the two ships down with the palm of his hand. “Unguarded by the Sudden Night, they are open to an attack. Now, we must remember to tell the troops that they are not looking for gold; no, rather, we are in need of replenishing our other treasure.”
The other boys laughed as Peter raised his glass of red liquid. He turned to Kitoko. “You say this is the last of it?” The third General nodded. “Well, hell then, we better get some more.”
Abbott was rocking back and forth on his toes. “What about the Undertow and Viper’s Strike? Do we know where they will be?”
Peter nodded. “They should be out to sea on their usual rotation. Although who knows what Viper’s Strike is doing. Hook doesn’t even know.” Peter gestured to two small ships that sat on the side of the table. “Those ships should have at least a few months’ worth, wouldn’t you say?”
Wendy saw John furrowing his brow, his forehead wrinkled.
“What say you, John?” Peter turned to him, noticing his silence. “Out with it! We value your thoughts here.”
John flushed with pride before running his fingers over the map and the two downed ships. Then he ran his fingers inland, to where the ocean met a river that snaked around Neverland. He planted his finger on a large drawing of a skull with an X over it. He turned to Abbott, obviously trying to win the grumpy boy over.
“This is where Hook keeps his treasure, correct? The Vault? Isn’t that what you told me?”
Abbott’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, not that it’s any of your business.”
“Abbott. Answer him clearly,” Peter ordered.
Abbott’s eyes lingered angrily on Peter before he sighed and turned back to John. “Fine. I’ll tell the whelp. Hook indeed keeps most of his treasure in the Vault, which is a huge cave at the mouth of this river. From there, the river leads out to the sea.” He paused, his eyes narrowing as he brought up a painful memory.
“We tried to raid it before. A bunch of Lost Boys died.” He looked up at Peter. “You can’t be serious about trying again. They always have guards posted, which we can handle, but if we get trapped in the Vault, and then these two ships, plus the Sudden Night, come up the river like they did last time . . .” With two hands, he righted the downed ships and moved them to the X, following with the large model of the Sudden Night, painted black and three times the size of the other ships. “And they bear down on us with nowhere to go . . .” He shuddered. “It was a massacre. Eleven Lost Boys dead. Hook’s dream, our nightmare. It’s a trap. It’s always been a trap. You remember. They have heavy guards, especially at night.”
His icy blue eyes rested on Peter. Peter tilted his head and rubbed a hand through his red hair, then over his impossibly smooth cheeks. Wendy could see the gears in his head turning, how his green eyes lit up at the X on the map, how his skin quivered with excitement at the prospect.
“The problem is the ships. We could distract the ships, perhaps? Attack them while some others raid the Vault?” Peter thought out loud.
John frowned and tapped his lower lip. “What if they never had to know?”
“Who?”
“The pirates. What if they never even knew we were there?”
Peter’s eyebrows arched. Wendy shot John a dirty look. He shouldn’t even be involved in this.
“Aye, John, what are you thinking?” Peter asked.
John reached out, his eyes twinkling mischievously, and moved the two ships back to the ocean. “I’ve read in nautical journals that seasickness, even for seasoned sailors, is caused when a ship isn’t in natural harmony with the waves.” He rubbed his mouth, thinking. “What if a few flying Lost Boys quietly and silently pushed the ships sideward to the waves and held them there? Without alerting the pirates?”
Peter’s eyes lit up. “I’m listening.”
“They wouldn’t even know we were there. While a few of us held the ships there, the rest of the Lost Boys could raid the Vault. If Hook’s ship is in port, he would never make it back in time to the cave to stop us, especially if no one had any clue what was happening.”