"Now just a little to the left."
"My left or your left?"
"What do you mean? We're facing the same direction!"
"Oh, I can't tell from up here. All I can see is your hair."
Hook growled and rubbed his temples. They'd engineered a stronger pulley and one of the twins was installing it near the entrance to the Grey World. Hook had been shouting up instructions to him for the last half hour, and the fluorescent back up lights emanating from the sky arch panels were beginning to give him a headache.
"All done!" The twin sang out as he slid down the rope and into the basket that used to be by the old entrance cavern.
"James, are you sure it's secure?" Angela asked, stepping next to him and looking dubiously up at the pulley. He couldn't blame her for doubting its safety. It had, after all, been connected by a young boy.
"We'll pull you up slowly, and I'm sure you can't weigh very much. You'll be fine."
She blushed and looked away. Hook had noticed she had softened towards him a bit over the last couple days. He had done everything to ensure her comfort, from giving her the nicest bed on the ship to making sure none of the other pirates bothered her. He had even caught her exploring the forest and the beach once or twice.
"As soon as you reach the top, there are some ladder rungs up to the manhole. You should be able to climb right up."
"Thank you, James. This wasn't an ideal time, but it's one I'll never forget."
Captain Hook took her hand in both of his and she let him. She glanced up at him and opened her mouth, then shook her head and pulled away. She walked over to the basket and paused, looking a bit wistful. Hook could guess her thoughts. Even in its current state, Neverland was still quite incredible. Finally, she climbed over the edge and settled into the large basket.
Hook picked up the megaphone he had borrowed from Nibs.
"Alright everyone! It's time to get Mrs. Darling back home!"
The pirates and the lost boys stopped pulling wires from the Weather Tree and gathered around the basket.
"Her last name is Darling?" Slightly asked. "That's funny."
"Why is that funny?" Hook said with a frown.
Slightly studied Angela and raised his eyebrows, then looked back at Hook. "No reason," Slightly replied, looking amused.
Hook shrugged and directed everyone to the rope that would pull the basket up. They really only needed two or three people to lift her, but he wanted to be safe.
He watched them pull down on the rope and raise Angela into the air, and he felt a sense of loss, but he knew this was the best course of action. She looked back at him and gave a small wave. At the moment when he felt his heart was going to burst, he heard a loud sound from above. He rushed forward, thinking the pulley was failing, but when he looked up, he saw something entirely different.
"Aha! I've found it! Now they'll all know I'm not insane!"
A slender man was descending from the manhole. He caught hold of the rope from the pulley and began sliding down.
"Uh, sir? I don't think that's such a good idea."
A second man appeared and tentatively followed the first down the rope. As they grew closer, Hook recognized them and his breath caught in his throat. They were the two men that had pursued him on the night he returned to Neverland. He looked around for a place to hide, but most of the trees in that area had been cleared.
The man and his bearded associate landed in the basket next to a stunned Angela. The frail man pulled out the smallest gun Hook had ever seen and pointed it at him.
"You are under arrest, James Hook!" He cried, a maniacal smile on his face. He then waved his gun around at everyone else. "You're all under arrest!"
There was a moment of confusion, then suddenly one of the twins climbed up into the basket, grabbed the gun out of the man's hand, fired all the bullets into a nearby tree, and threw the gun on the ground.
"I don't like guns," the twin said in a rare moment of seriousness.
The man with the thin mustache looked stunned, but before he could say anything, there was a creaking sound and the pulley snapped off of the sky arch. The basket and its occupants crashed to the ground, amidst screaming and curses.
"Well, now we know what the weight limit is," said Nibs nonchalantly.
Hook ran towards the fallen basket and was relieved to find that Angela seemed unharmed. The twin was laughing, the red haired young man had been knocked unconscious, and the skinny man looked terrified.
"You're all under arrest," he repeated weakly.
Bill Jukes pulled the man out of the basket with one hand. "I don't think so," he growled. "What should we do with him, Captain?"
Everyone turned to Hook, but it was Angela's concerned eyes that kept him from speaking.
"Tie him up in the ship!" Cecco yelled. There were cheers of assent and a group carried the pathetic intruder towards the lagoon. Angela gave Hook a scathing glare and walked away, leaving him alone to sort through his bewilderment.
*****
Hook cautiously approached the man who was tied up near the stern of the ship. When he saw Hook coming near, he struggled against the ropes that held him, but all his attempts to free himself only made his bonds tighter. Finally, when he realized his efforts were in vain, he lifted his chin defiantly, but Hook could see the fear in his eyes.
"I apologize for the unpleasant accommodations, Mr...?"
"Dugglesworth. Detective Dugglesworth."
"Yes, I believe I remember you."
"I'll bet you do. I probably gave you nightmares, didn't I?"
"Well, no." The detective's face fell, so Hook added: "But the memory of you might have given me indigestion every once in a while."
Dugglesworth looked satisfied for a moment, but then his expression turned sour. "I've been looking for you for years, James Hook. My career has suffered, my personal life has suffered, and I will bring you to justice! Then I will get a promotion, I will get a raise, and I will purchase those cats!"
"Cats?"
"Yes, a pair of Bengals. Very rare. Fur like silk."
"Oh, sounds nice." Hook shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat. "But in order for all of that to happen, you'll have to get out of here first."
"I'll get out. You can't keep me here forever. That's barbaric!"
"On the contrary, it's actually quite nice here, especially when it's fully functional. That's why I've been hiding here for over ten years. I much prefer this place to that prison, which was a truly sordid, barbaric institution. I cannot go back there, and that is why I cannot let you leave."
"But I... But you..." Dugglesworth's lip began to tremble. Hook's heart went out to this feeble man, this fellow who had suffered so much because of him. He didn't feel for him enough to go back to prison, but he thought he might be able to make a compromise.
"Detective, I could let you out of here conditionally. I would like to buy your silence."
"Oh please," Dugglesworth scoffed. "I'm not some criminal. It would take a lot to make me break the oath I took to uphold the law."
Hook thought he detected interest underneath the man's mocking tone, so he continued. "The haul from the Liverwood robbery, as I'm sure you've learned, was rather extensive. Only a small portion of that treasure has been expended. The rest lies in a secure location in this lagoon. While a large amount will be needed to make repairs here, I can offer you a small share of the treasure that would equal about 50 million pounds.
Dugglesworth's eyes widened. "I would never..." he trailed off. Hook could see the man's resolve crumbling.
"There are very few things that kind of money cannot buy," Hook said, enticing the man. "You could escape to any part of the world you wished, buy the lodging of your choice, or even a roomful of Bengal cats."
Dugglesworth's breath caught in his throat, and his eyes glistened.
"I'll give you a couple hours to think it over," Hook said, turning to leave. "I'll be back then for your answer."
Hook already knew the detective would accept his offer, but rather than feeling glad about bargaining for his freedom, he felt intense pressure weighing down on him. He wasn't certain if the treasure was in the lagoon or even how much was left of it. But now several crucial factors hinged on finding that treasure: his freedom, the livelihood of everyone in Neverland, and quite possibly, Angela Darling's opinion of him.