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                            Over Land and Sea:
                               The Concert
                              By Amy McGraw
                                  © 2002

	By noon all of Swan's Crossing Society (and most of the 
teenagers) had gathered in the park by the lake.  The new concert stage 
had a large curtain around it, so that no one could see exactly how it 
looked.  
	Behind the stage, there was a makeshift tent set up for those 
involved in the concert.  Nancy, Owen and Mila were sitting next to a 
huge fan, trying to keep cool.
	"This is so awesome!" Owen cried out.
	"I know, I'm so excited!" Mila joined in.
	Sandy looked over at the two.  "Yeah." She said.  She stood up 
and walked over to the full-sized mirror set up.  She really liked her 
outfit for the show.  She was wearing black tights and a black skirt with 
a thick-strapped black tank top, and over that a canary-yellow off-the-
shoulder top.  She had topped the outfit with a black beret.  I think I 
look good, she thought.  Then she looked over her shoulder.  Mila, of 
course, was wearing pink.  
	She plopped back down in the chair.  Great.  Not only will our 
voices clash, but our outfits will to.

	Sydney was once again going over her speech.  This was going to 
be great.  Garrett was about to get exactly what he deserved.

	Callie and Jimmy were sitting Indian-style on the ground.  They 
were laughing and whispering back and forth to one another, oblivious to 
the fact that they were still being watched by strangers.

	Across town, the two Bald Men retrieved a bug they had hidden in 
J.T.'s room.  They quickly headed back to their refuge to determine who 
Professor Vann was, once and for all.

	At the docks, Captain Walker was distracted from his thoughts by 
a strange noise outside his submarine.


	"Can I have your attention, please?" The mayor said clearly into 
the Microphone.  
	The crowd quieted.
	"Thank you.  I would like to first thank all of you here today.  
This is a special day for all of us.  We have always known that Swans 
Crossing is a city with a large amount of talented young people.  This 
stage is for them.  We are proud of our youths, and are glad to take this 
day to honor them.  On this note, I would like to introduce you to some 
of our most talented teenagers.  May I please introduce to you:  Sandy's 
Swans!
	The huge curtain was pulled off to reveal Sandy, Owen, and Mila 
beginning the opening cords of "Gotta Grow Up" on Callie and Jimmy's 
revolving stage…. which happened to be in the center of a giant Swan 
structure.

	Barek looked up at the structure.  "Good Lord" he muttered.

	A few feet away Jimmy and Callie shared his sentiments.  
	"That's what they put our stage in?" Callie whispered.
	Jimmy just stared.  Finally he turned to Callie and asked, "Who 
did they let design it, the Countess?"

	Captain Walker cautiously headed up the ladder.  He took a deep 
breath and opened the hatch.  There he encountered the shock of his life-
he found himself face to face with his father-in-law.


	"Wasn't that wonderful" Mayor Rutledge gushed.  "Just a show of 
some of the talent our young people have.  Now don't go anywhere, 
Sandy's Swans will be back in a few minutes to sing some more for us-
this time switching lead singers.  But right now, I would like to 
introduce you to one of the most talented young ladies I know…of course 
I am a little prejudiced.  My daughter-Sydney Rutledge."

	Captain Walker stared in shock. 
	"Are you going to invite me in, Elia?"
	"By all means.  Do come in Duke."
	Duke Dounaghan slowly descended the steps into the belly of 
Leda.  He looked around for a minute, then remarked, "So this is the 
tribute to my daughter."
	"Yes," Captain Walker nervously replied.  "But let's cut all 
formalities.  Why are you here?"
	The Duke sat down.  He took a deep breath and then looked his 
son-in-law in the face.  "I believe the time has arrived.  They are here 
for her."

	The two Angelos split up as Sydney began her speech.

	"Ladies and Gentlemen of Swans Crossing, I would first like to 
thank you for attending this ceremony today.  This stage has been a pet 
project of my mother's for a long time.  It is wonderful to finally see 
this idea come to life."
	From the corner of her eyes, Sydney noticed two men pushing 
their way through the crowd towards the middle.  How rude, she thought.
	"As you all know, the focus of this project is to provide a 
place for the teenagers of Swans Crossing to express themselves.  We all 
exceed in different areas…some of us in Music, some in Theatre, and some 
in…."
	The men were still pushing their way through the crowd.  Sydney 
couldn't help but pause as she saw one of the men point towards where 
Callie and Jimmy were standing.  Confused, she continued.
	"Some in fields that don't require much talent.  Teenagers who 
do devious things to get their way.  Teenagers like…"
	One of the men was right behind Callie.  Sydney watched in shock 
as his arm reached out to grab her.
	"Callie, look out!"

	Callie was surprised as she was listening to Sydney's speech.  
She had a pretty good feeling as to what Sydney was planning to do.  She 
seems to be loosing her train of thought a lot.  That's really not like 
her.  Suddenly Sydney's eyes open wide, and she shouted into the 
microphone, "Callie, look out!"
	It was at that moment that Callie felt a rough hand on her arm, 
jerking her away from Jimmy.

	Barek hadn't really been paying that much attention to what was 
going on around him.  He had been lost in thought about the things 
Callie's father had said to him.  He never did tell Barek exactly who he 
was supposed to be on his guard about.  Maybe he's not sure himself, 
Barek thought.
	"Callie, look out!"  
	Barek was jolted back to attention just in time to see a tall 
blonde man reach out and grab Callie by the arm and attempt to pull her 
out of the crowd.  It only took Barek a second to realize who the man 
was, and he quickly jumped into action.

	The crowd was in chaos.  Jimmy was trying to get to Callie, who 
was screaming out for help, but someone was holding him back.  Out of 
the corner of his eye, he noticed Barek shoving his way towards Callie.  
	Barek reached the area where the man had Callie, and suddenly 
swung his arm out, connecting his fist with the man's face.  Stunned the 
man dropped his hold on Callie and Barek grabbed her and pulled her 
away.  Running, he took Callie to his bike, ordered her to get on, and 
they took off at top speed.

	Captain Walker sat down in the living room.  "I know.  I've had 
the feeling that they were getting close too.  But do you think it is 
now.  She's still so young."
	The Duke looked at him closely.  "She's old enough."
	"She's still a child!" the captain roared.
	Duke Dounaghan rubbed his eyes.  "They don't see her like that."
	"She'll be safe," the Captain whispered.  "She has Barek to look 
after her."
	His father-in-law sat up very rigidly.  "What did you just 
say?"
	"She has a bodyguard," the Captain explained.  
	"No, what did you say his name was?"
	"Barek.  His name is Barek."
	The Duke turned pale.  "You fool," He whispered.  "Do you have 
any idea what you have done?  You've just delivered her into their 
hands."

************************************************************************

Ok guys.  That's the third chapter.  Tell me what you think, please.  
You can email me at amymcgraw@hotmail.com.  I want to hear any and all 
feedback.  I'm going to try to have the next few chapters up in at least 
a month, so let me know any opinions you have about how the story is 
going.  Thanks.