A Brother's Loyalty - Synopsis

“A Brother’s Loyalty”

by Doug Hanau

(904) 415-6869

DMHnSD@aol.com

55,546 Words

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“A Brother’s Loyalty” is the fictional story of three sets of brothers and plays with the question of how much loyalty should one brother have for another.

Continuing the Amelia Island Adventure Series, first begun in “Surfing Treasure’s Wake”, eighteen year old Marc is again joined by Jesus as they find and salvage a German U-boat, which sank off Amelia Island, Florida, in 1942. Its captain, Heinrich Mueller, and his brother Wilhelm, a former SS commando, escaped and now live a quiet and unknown existence on Amelia Island. However, they are deathly afraid that by salvaging the U-boat, their secret will be revealed, resulting in Wilhelm being tried as a war criminal for his acts of brutality at Auschwitz, where his actively participated in the extraction of gold fillings from the doomed Jews.

He (Wilhelm) was assigned to help the SS doctors as they held their prisoners down, and using a pair of bloody pliers, reached inside the desperate mouths of the Jews, yanking out teeth that would later have the gold fillings removed, while the desperate victims squirmed in horrific pain, lying on those blood-soaked wooden tables.

Likewise, in 1872, in Silverton Arizona, two brothers, Joshua and Jeremiah Templeton, both ex Confederate cavalry men, who rode with JEB Stuart, participate in a silver robbery, only to have Jeremiah killed in the attempt. Joshua attempts to flee but is chased by the town’s posse and Apaches as he tries to back track and reclaim the hidden silver, all the while recounting stories of when they were both youths, sharing brotherly adventures and happier times. Their modern day ancestor, Professor Templeton is contacted by Jesus who finds an inscription on a cave wall, an inscription that holds the key to the silver’s location.

Marc soon discovers that he has a half brother Matt, who lives with his father Joe, who abandoned Marc and his mother when he was twelve, after Marc tried to protect his mother from Joe’s violent and abusive behavior. Marc is completely fooled by Matt and soon a wedge is driven between Marc and his best friend and true surrogate brother, Jesus, who suspects that Matt is not what he appears to be.

It’s only later that Marc discovers that Joe has set him up, using Matt to steal Nazi gold bars, bars made from the melted Jewish fillings, aboard the sunken U-boat.

Matt briefly looked up and met the man’s eyes, recognition silently flowing between them. Then Matt looked at Marc as he continued to pick up the gold. He saw concern, a brother’s concern. Then, as he placed the last bar of gold into the black satchel, he stood up and looked at Marc one more time.

“Okay, let’s go!” he suddenly said to the nearest man.

Because of this discovery of the Nazi gold, Heinrich, trying to protect his brother from prosecution, attempts to murder Bob, Marc’s surrogate father. After the attempted murder, Heinrich and Wilhelm escape and are eventually arrested. But Wilhelm, unable to face his future commits suicide.

“You’re both under arrest for attempted murder,” the trooper said, then began reading them their rights. “You have the right to remain silent…”

Wilhelm turned and looked at his brother.

“Anything you say can be used against you…”

He looked into his brother’s eyes and saw deep sadness and unconditional brotherly love.

“You have the right to an attorney…”

Then, without warning, Wilhelm broke free and ran straight into the oncoming traffic. He was instantly smashed into by a speeding tractor trailer. There was nothing left of him except a two hundred foot long mess of blood and body parts.

Marc discovers what misplaced loyalty to a brother is by discussing this with Heinrich as Heinrich waits in jail.

“Yes, I owed him, and not just because he saved my life twice, but because he’s my brother. I was raised to believe that brothers look out for each other. Sure, in the end Wilhelm would probably have been discovered and tried as a war criminal. But he’d still be alive today had I not tried to kill Bob. No, I was foolish.”

Later, after realizing and reconciling with his emotionally true brother Jesus, Marc, Jesus and Professor Templeton, with the help of the Apache chief White Eagle, who still honors Joshua, who was captured and tortured by the Apache, for his bravery and courage; confront Joe and Matt as they try to reclaim the stolen silver. Marc forces Matt to make a decision between having a brother or remaining with the violent and self-centered Joe.

In the conclusion, Matt chooses Marc. But Marc discovers that Matt is not his true brother and has been set up by Joe in order to steal the gold and silver. And after Matt, trying to prove his loyalty to Marc, murders everyone except Joe, who escapes, believes he has done the right thing for his brother, just as Heinrich did for his brother Wilhelm. But as Matt lies dying, Marc understands what true brotherly loyalty is.

“I did it for you, my brother,” Matt said, coughing red blood. “I did it for you, brother.”

Marc held Matt close. He looked at Jesus and saw real concern in his eyes, not for himself, but for Matt. Then Marc gently brushed Matt’s hair off his forehead.

Matt looked up to Marc with wanting eyes.

Marc leaned down to Matt’s face. He could smell death beginning to take his life away.

“Matt,” Marc softly said. “You’re not my brother and you never will be. I have only one brother. And his name is Jesus.”

In the end, it is the long dead Joshua and Jeremiah Templeton who show Marc what true brotherly loyalty is.

After confessing to the store owner, who firmly scolded Jeremiah, after retrieving the stolen candy, they quickly walked outside.

“You’re not my brother,” Jeremiah cried, trying to hurt Joshua’s feelings.

“Oh yes I am. Listen little brother, just because you’re my brother doesn’t mean I’ll let you get away with stealing. I am your brother so it’s my responsibility to look after you, even if it means turning you in. Right is right and wrong is wrong. Stealing is wrong. Turning you in is right.”

“But I wanted some candy!”

“I know. But now you’ve learned a lesson.”

“What, that you want me to get into trouble?”

“No. That I love you and will guide you to be a good man as much as I can.”

Jeremiah stopped and stared at the ground. After a moment he looked up into his big brother’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

“See? That’s what brothers do for each other,” Joshua said, meeting his younger brother’s eyes, brotherly love flowing between them.

The final paragraphs of “A Brother’s Loyalty” answers the question of what brotherly loyalty should be.

A week after Marc had returned back to Fernandina Beach, he received an email from Professor Templeton. In it the Professor described what he’d found written on a worn piece of leather he’d located on Joshua’s body. He also included a snippet from a letter Jeremiah had written to his older brother Joshua. It read ‘Remember when you turned me in to that shop owner for stealing the rock candy? You were right to do that. You were looking out for my best interest, as a brother should.’

Marc smiled when he read it, now knowing that Joshua and Jeremiah had been the best of brothers.

Then Marc read what Joshua had scratched out on that piece of leather, before his died in that dark cave, desperately crawling to be with his dead brother. It simply read, ‘I long for my dead brother. He is me and I am him. I will die with him, as I choose. Joshua Templeton, 1872.’

“Now,” Marc said, “that’s a brother.”