The Steam Pirate's Tale: The Curse

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A modern day pirate in a steam punk era knows that a man has invented something to harness the power of the sun. He knows that this knowledge is worth a fortune in this world and has the resources to take it away from him. Unfortunately, he has a niece that is just as smart as he is and thwarts his every attempt to steal the device, but maybe third times a charm.

Book Extract
I watched for two weeks as my men worked on a huge balloon that would accommodate at least 3 men and myself. They finally made three of these crafts and we were ready to take to the skies in the morning. I pulled out my pocket watch and read the display and made a note that our attack would take place at 7am.
I got into the balloon and the helium was blown into the chamber making it rise into the sky. I turned and saw that the other 2 balloons had also taken flight and we were ready to go after them again.
I said ?OK, once we are over the house, we are to drop the fire bombs on the roof and smoke them out of their hole. I don?t want anyone to take on the man; he?s to be left to me. If you get the girl, make sure she is neutralized. I don?t trust her and I don?t think she?ll go down without a fight.?
I knew going in, that I was in for a fight but I had no idea how crafty his niece really was until that moment.
I heard a loud pop and looked over to see one of the balloons had a puncture that went from one end and right out the other side. The balloon soon began to free fall to the water and crashed. There were screams and I could tell that 2 of the men were dead and floating face down in the water. The other guy was wading back the way he came and his arm was twisting in an unnatural angle. I think he either broke it in the fall or snapped it out of the socket. Suddenly, there was another pop and the other balloon beside us fell too.
This time the balloon caught on fire and my men were set ablaze. I watched in horror as the men inside the balloon tried to put out the fire, but finally decided to jump while still engulfed in flames. Their bodies spiralled down and hit the water with a sickening sound. They submerged under the water and surfaced with no more life in their bodies. I was aghast with what I was seeing.
Cyrus said, ?Captain, it?s the girl again.?
I brought my binoculars up to my eyes and focused on the girls figure. She was standing there with a determined look on her face and holding something oval in her hands. She pointed it in my direction and a beam of light came shooting across the sky. The beam struck my hat that sat high on my head and I felt my skull turn to fire.
One of my men grabbed my hat and took it off my head and tossed it over the side of the balloon. I looked down and saw my hat was on fire and doing flips and turns in the air, until it landed in the water. I was now hat-less and everyone could see that the only hair I had was the long dark ponytail that travelled down my muscular back. I grabbed the hat off the nearest guy and hid my shameful secret.