“Everything is working perfectly,” Widget finally proclaimed as he sat down on the rear of the van with the console in his lap. “I have visual on the vessel.”
“Good,” Willow replied. “Keep it in sight but do so discretely.”
A few minutes later when Widget had finally calmed down a bit, he called to Willow.
“I see a second smaller boat going out to sea on the same trajectory as our boat.”
“That would no doubt be Chunk and his men,” Willow said.
“Which one do you want me to follow?”
“Keep both of them in sight if you can, but the lead boat with the boy on board is most important.”
“I’ll fly the drone at several thousand feet and loiter over them. It’s small enough they won't notice it, and as the motors are electrical it is silent at altitude,” Widget said, obviously pleased that his toy was operating so smoothly.
She gazed around her. They’d parked in a more or less empty parking lot across from the docks, but it felt a little too wide open for their work. It was time to relocate to somewhere that would draw less attention.
“Pack up the gear, and let’s get up the road where we can get a real breakfast; my treat.”
The sailing trip started out pleasant enough. In fact, even though Chunk much preferred keeping his two feet on land most of the time, the day was perfect for a boat trip with clear skies and a warm ocean breeze. For some reason, he’d never fallen in love with the water or fishing as had his two brothers who had often taken deep sea fishing trips with their father. On the other hand, Chunk would make up as many excuses as necessary to be able to stay home.
It wasn’t that he got seasick as a rule. He just didn’t like having anything under his feet that kept moving about, but this trip had started out on a positive note. Mitch and Capper’s confidence on the water transferred to him, and he found himself enjoying himself; then it all went to hell.
They had been out most of the day following the blip on the computer screen that assured them they were continuing in the right direction. As the sun started to set in the West, they made sure to stay several miles behind the other ship to stay out of sight, depending instead on their tracking system. But as the day progressed into the afternoon, the skies began to darken on the horizon.
In order to stay within a reasonable distance of the other vessel, they had to travel too fast to be able to fish, much to the disappointment of Capper and Mitch. Instead, they settled for recounting an apparently endless number of fish stories, each one a little taller than the last. Despite not having any stories of his own to add, Chunk enjoyed listening to his two brothers trying to out do each other. As he continued to monitor the blip on the computer screen, a wave of vertigo passed over him, then a second and third one. He glanced over at Mitch, who was behind the wheel and Capper who was standing near the railing. From the look on their faces, it was clear they were also not feeling well.
“What the…” Capper said as he stepped away from the edge and sat down on the cooler. He placed his head between his legs and kept it there for several seconds.
Mitch continued to stand with his two legs firmly planted a few feet apart with his hands on the wheel. He closed his eyes waiting for the dizziness to pass, which it finally did.
What’s going on? Chunk wondered. It seemed more than coincidental that all three of them had become sick at virtually the same time, not to mention that his brothers were experienced seamen. They had never reported being sick while out at sea in their life.
He glanced down at the laptop screen just in time to see the blip that represented the ship they had been following disappear from the screen. One moment it was there, and the next it was gone.
“Hey guys, we’ve got a problem here,” Chunk said as he continued to stare at the screen. “Looks like the ship we were trailing just fell off the end of the world. Get this thing moving. We need to find out where they went!”
Willow pushed her plate with the remnant of a stack of pancakes away and glanced around the table at her team. The meal had reminded her of so many similar ones back home growing up where she was the only girl in a family of five children. As teenagers, her four older brothers could put away more food than the local football team, but these men weren’t far behind. She nodded to Widget, who sat across from her looking like a typical nerd pre-occupied playing a video game.
“How’s the drone doing?”
“Perfect,” he said with a wide smile. “So far I’ve been able to keep both vessels in sight with no trouble. The camera on this baby is incredible. Even from 3,500 feet, I can zoom in and see anyone who’s on deck. Of course, it won’t be that good at night, but we’ll still be able to tell what’s happening using the infrared camera.”
“And the tracker?”
Looking up from the tablet next to his plate, Tao gave a thumbs up.
“I don’t know why we’re even using a tracker,” Widget replied. “The drone is all we need.”
“I like having a backup just in case. I’m a firm believer in Murphy’s Law; if anything can go wrong it will…especially where technology is concerned.”
Willow noticed a frown appear on Widget’s face from this last comment, so she added, “Keep up the good work,” Willow said. “Let me know if you need anyone to relieve you from monitoring.”
“No way,” Widget replied. “This is too much fun.”
“Well, you will need to sleep at some point,” Willow pointed out. She realized she might have to play mother to Widget at some point and make him give up his toy so he could get some rest. Funny how often it felt like she was the matriarch of a family rather than a leader of a team of highly trained mercenaries.
She studied the other two men who hadn’t said a word since sitting down, but who had managed to finish off two plates of food a piece. Her research had indicated that fraternal twins were no more alike than individual siblings born at different times. Still, Ned and Ted seemed to exhibit an uncanny level of non-verbal communication skill, much like reported in identical twins. While it was clear from their appearance that they were related, Ned’s blonde hair contrasted sharply with Ted’s jet black crop, making it easy to tell one from the other. As far as she could tell, neither of them appeared to hold a grudge against her for the beating she’d given Ned.
“Had enough?” Willow asked nodding to the two of them.
Ned nodded yes as he patted his stomach while Ted replied, “Might just have to try one of their dessert specials.” That was probably one of the longest threads of words Willow could remember coming from either one of them.
She smiled. “Go for it. No telling when we’ll be able to eat again.” She turned her attention back to the rest of the group as Ted raised his hand to get their waitress’s attention.
“Listen up everyone. After Ted finishes filling his hollow leg, we’ll head back to the van. I want to take this time to get to know the area and plan our next steps when the ship finally returns to port, hopefully, with our cargo.”
She turned to Tao. “Any word from our pilot?”
“Yes, we’ve been in touch. He’s on standby just waiting for you to give the go ahead. He wanted to know if the plan is still to use the abandoned airfield on Parris Island?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Willow replied. “I think we’ll draw less attention that way than trying to get in and out from any of the commercial fields around there. Does he have a problem with that?”
“No, not really,” Tao replied eyeing Willow’s remaining pancakes. Willow nodded to him, and he pulled her plate over and poured more syrup on the pancakes. “He said the strip he’ll be using is a might short for the plane, but he’ll manage.”
“Good,” Willow said. “I want it to be as close to a touch and go as we can make it. I want the plane on the field the shortest time possible.” She took a final sip of her coffee before rising from her chair.
“Okay, men, let’s get going. Everyone, go to the little boys room. It might be
the last time we have such nice facilities for some time.” Yep, she had definitely turned into their mom, she thought with a smile. So be it.
WichiZunga or Zunga as everyone called him had been one of the few inhabitants of Geluk who’d been allowed to leave the island and return. Now middle-aged, he sailed to several of the outlying inhabited islands providing much-needed supplies to the residents who lived there. His route brought him to Geluk only about every other month, and the exact day was always in question. But no matter when he arrived it always resulted in a festive time of celebration…except this time. No amount of good news or supplies could cut through the heavy mood of the village.
Still, it brought a much-appreciated break from the depressing going-ons inside the council’s hut. Damba’s father turned away from the Kindred to address his villagers. “We will go assist Zunga unload the supplies. I will also talk to him about taking these,” he waved his arms in the direction of the Kindred, “back to the mainland.”
He turned back to Alp. “You may want to make your peace with your friends…and with your maker. Since the only way off the island is by boat, I see no need to lock you up, but if you try anything funny I will not hesitate to change my mind.”
Alp nodded, still numb from the sentence that she was to be executed by hanging. Her sisters crowded around her. “We can’t let this happen,” Mia said, tears flowing down her cheeks. “We must do something.”
“That’s right,” Heather added. “We’re not just a group of weak girls. We’re the Kindred. We can use our powers to put a stop to this.”
“No!” Alp blurted out. “No, no one is to use their special powers to save me. It would only make matters worse, and I don’t deserve it. I did what he said. I killed Malmu. I didn’t mean to, but I did. I will try to convince Damba to intervene for me and try to talk his father into changing the sentence, but in the meantime, you need to get your belongings together.”
Tabitha stepped forward shaking her head. “I don’t know why you think you need to become a martyr for us, but if that’s your decision so be it. I’ll see to it that we all get safely off the island without anyone causing more problems. Come on girls. Let’s go back to our hut and collect the few things we have that’s worth taking with us.”
As they all filed out of the council’s hut, a large crowd began to gather near the bay. Kambuji’s fishing trawler lay at anchor along with a much larger ship that was in the process of being secured to the dock. The bright red color of the ship's hull mixed with the brilliant white of the rest of the new ship. The new ship brought a festive air to the dock, especially in comparison to the drab browns and grays of the fishing trawler. The clean lines and impeccable condition of the supply ship revealed to anyone familiar with the sea that Zunga ran a tight ship.
“Hold on a minute,” Tabitha said. “I want to check something. Let’s see what this Zunga fellow looks like.”
They followed Tabitha towards the dock, trying their best to stay out of the way and attract as little attention as possible. They found a vantage point away from the crowd but still close enough to see what was going on.
In a few minutes, the ship was adequately secured to the dock and a gangplank lowered. Down from it strolled a middle-aged black man, shirtless, wearing only a pair of khaki shorts. His bare feet slapped confidently down the plank. At first Alp thought he wore a series of necklaces around his neck but then realized they were tattoos as were the bracelets around both wrists. He looked more like an African warrior from long ago then a ship captain.
But none of the sisters spent much time studying Zunga. Just a few steps behind him strolled a young boy with jet black hair that matched his t-shirt and tight jeans, his otherwise handsome face marred by a scar on one side of his face. Their brother had found them.
Departing Geluk
Willow liked it when everything around a mission went according to her plans as they had on this day. Widget and Tao kept track of the two ships in their own ways from the rear of the van. Willow and the twins scoped out the area in preparation for the return of the ship that would hopefully be carrying the precious cargo that they were here to intercept. Meanwhile, her pilot was on alert at a small airfield outside of Charleston, ready to rendezvous with her team within the hour of being notified. Yes, everything was running like clockwork…until it all started to go haywire.
The first indication of Murphy’s Law entering the picture came in the late afternoon as she and the twins had settled down for a little nap. Just as she was about to nod off, she heard a whisper from Widget, so soft she wasn’t sure she had heard it. It sounded something like, “Hey, what the hell?”
She opened one eye. “What’s that? Was that you Widget?”
“Sorry Boss,” Widget replied. “Didn’t mean to disturb you.”
Several seconds had gone by before he added, “There it goes again.”
“What goes again?” Willow asked, opening both eyes now and sitting up. She turned in her seat to get a better look at Widget in the back.
“Not to worry,” Widget replied. “It’s just the drone being a little slow to respond to the controls.”
She didn’t like the sound of that but knew better than to show any panic; least not yet.
“Tao, everything okay with the tracker?”
“Everything is running perfect,” Tao replied with a note of pride slipping into his voice.
A few minutes later just as Willow was starting to nod off again, Widget cleared his throat.
“Boss? I hate to disturb you but…”
“But what?” Willow didn’t try to keep the annoyed sound from her words.
“It appears the two boats are running into some weather. Looks like it could be pretty rough.”
“Really?” Willow jerked up in her seat again. “I don’t remember seeing anything on the forecast about a storm.”
“Well, this time of year a squall can pop up pretty fast,” Tao replied.
“Keep an eye on the two boats,” Willow instructed.
She heard a soft groan from Widget. “The drone is better at flying above the clouds, buy storm clouds like these can go very high,” he said. “If I take the drone that high, we’ll lose visual contact with them. I’m also getting some interference on the video. It’s probably caused by the electrical output of the storm.”
“Shit,” Willow said as she felt the muscles of her chest tightening. Murphy’s Law strikes again.
“Not to worry Boss,” Tao said reassuringly. “We still have the trac…what the…”
“Now what?” Willow asked, her voice taking on an edge of anxiety despite her best effort to stay calm.
“I don’t know what just happened but we’ve lost the signal.”
“Same here,” Widget replied. “Lost visual. In fact, lost all contact with my bab…I mean with the drone. It’s almost like someone shot it out of the air?”
“What? That’s not possible…is it?” Willow asked.
“Well, it’s possible I suppose, but not likely,” Widget replied. He busily worked the controls trying to re-establish contact with the drone.
After several minutes with no change from either the drone or the tracking devices, Willow took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
“Okay, what happens to the drone if it flies beyond radio contact or something else happens to break the connection?”
“It’s programmed to maintain altitude and to fly around in an ever increasing circle until it re-establishes the connection,” Widget replied.
“Okay, good. And if it still doesn’t find the connection?”
“It’ll eventually return to home base where it started the mission.”
Willow mulled over this information for a few minutes before adding, “So, let see. Even with the latest tracking devices—the drone and the tracker—we currently have no connection with either of the vessels. Is that right?”
Tao and Widget looked at each other before Tao replied, “Afraid so boss.”
�
�Peachy,” Willow said. “That’s just peachy.”
“I’ll be there in a minute,” Capper said to Chunk as he stood holding on to the railing, looking like he had just swallowed a rotten oyster. “I’m suddenly feeling funny.”
“Me too,” Mitch replied. “I’ve never been seasick, so I don’t know if that’s what it is or not, but I suddenly feel dizzy and nauseous, like everything is off kilter.”
That’s strange, thought Chunk. All three of them felt dizzy at the same time just when the ship’s blip disappeared. Something strange was going on.
He watched Capper release the railing and walk towards him to check the computer just as a second wave of vertigo struck. All three men stopped, clutching whatever they could find for support. This wave continued for more than a minute before finally letting up.
When the spell finally passed, the three men looked at each other, then Mitch said, “Looks like a nasty storm.” He pointed towards the horizon at the dark mass of storm clouds.
“We’ll need to turn back,” Capper said. “This boat won’t do well in a storm on the open seas.”
Mitch nodded. “I’m afraid you’re right. Besides, none of us are feeling all that well.”
He turned to his older brother. “Sorry, Chunk.”
Chunk shook his head, as much to try to clear it as to respond to his brothers. “We’re not turning back,” he said as he fought to maintain control. “We’ve got to go ahead with our plans. You two will just have to figure out a way to keep this rig afloat. Misha is counting on us.”
He’d hardly gotten the words out of his mouth when the next wave of vertigo struck. Each one seemed to last longer, but with each wave his determination to not stop grew as well.
“Look guys, I don’t know what’s going on here, but just twenty minutes ago we were sailing in clear weather without a care in the world. Then suddenly, all three of us started feeling strange, a storm suddenly appears from nowhere, and we lose all signs of the ship we’re following. I tell you something weird is going on. It’s like some force is trying to keep us from completing the mission.”
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