Ziv and Brandon Launch An Island Revolution and Kyle Joins the B&F Crew.

As the sun set over the ocean, Nicole was manning the barbecue, smiling as she hummed to herself watching the spectral hues of the light refract endlessly over the gentle waves of the Pacific, carefully turning the shrimp above the hot coals. 

 

‘Evening Captain,’ purred Nicole, ‘how’s it going?

‘Good, good,’ said the Captain distractedly, as he put on his coat, rubbing his over-strained eyes. 

‘You look very pensive,’ Nicole observed, following the Captain’s gaze out across the infinity of the water. 

‘Well, it’s a long story…’ admitted the Captain. 

‘Do tell,’ said Nicole, ‘and here, have some shrimp, they’re really delicious.’

‘Thanks,’ said the Captain, sitting down in a beach chair, putting his arm onto the rail of the ship. 

‘Where are we heading to anyway?’ asked Nicole. 

‘We were meant to be heading for New Zealand, but we got a call this morning, so we had to make a quick diversion.’

‘Why?’ asked Nicole. 

‘Ziv and Brandon, they owe an old friend a favor and have to disembark at New Caledonia.’

‘What!  No way!  How will we navigate without Ziv on the radar, and Brandon, he manned the guns up above.’

‘I know,’ said the Captain, ‘but they have to honor their contracts, and don’t worry, we’ll be fine, Ziv isn’t the only one who can read a sonar map!’

Nicole and Captain looked out at the ocean, subtly sensing the weight of the moment.

 

***

 

Down in the ship’s bar, the Doctor was sweating as he poured over the maps that were spread out on the table; stressing over the upcoming prospect of the revolution. 

‘Is it here gentlemen?’ the Doctor asked, grinning as he pinpointed the island on the map. 

‘Yes, Doc,’ laughed Ziv, ‘that’s it.’

‘You maniacs really think you can pull this off?’

‘Why not, Doc, if not us, then who!?’ joked Brandon, ‘you know I have the requisite firearms experience.’

‘It’s not that,’ said the Doctor, ‘it’s just, well, you know, you’ll be on an island with no backup.’

‘No worries,’ smiled Ziv, ‘we’ve got men on the island, they’re laying in wait for the signal.’

‘Okay, let’s get this steamer there then, you sure you’re gonna be okay?’ asked the Doctor.

‘We should be fine, I’ll leave you the 50 calibre machine gun, but I’m taking this shotgun with me.’

‘It’s gonna be a close one, old friends,’ said the Doctor, ‘I have a bad feeling about this.’

‘We will be victorious, Doctor,’ chimed in Brandon.

‘I don’t doubt it!’ said the Doctor, ‘but is New Caledonia really the place to start?’

‘It’s going to have to be!’ laughed Brandon, loading shells into his shotgun. 

 

***

 

The Beer and Flies vessel loitered in the water, slowly drifting towards the island of New Caledonia.  

‘Good luck,’ said the Captain, saluting, ‘if you need a hand don’t hesitate to get on the radio!’

‘Yes, Sir,’ replied Brandon, balancing himself and the weaponry on the rubber dinghy.

‘Scott, have you got the guns ready?’ shouted the Captain over the noise of the dinghy engine.

‘Got it!’ shouted Scott, aiming his sniper sights over the railing of the ship towards the quiet island shore, ‘it’s all under control.’

‘If anything happens, we’ll give you covering fire,’ said the Captain. 

‘It’s okay,’ said Brandon, ‘we’ve got some men on the island who will create an unmissable distraction!  Just don’t get caught up in the mayhem.’

 

As Ziv fired up the engine of the small boat ramping up the speed he nodded to the crew on deck of the Beer and Flies vessel.

‘Bon voyage, compadres!’ hollered Ziv, firing himself and Brandon into the infinity of revolution like a bullet from a loaded .14 calibre pistol.

 

‘God help them,’ said the Doctor quietly, making the sign of the cross, ‘I hope they know what they’re doing.’    

‘Godspeed,’ said the Captain, saluting, with a solemn air.    

Nicole was leaning over the rails of the ship, sighing, and saying ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this!’

The Doctor, clearly frantic, was saying, ‘Revolutions are always a strange beast!’

‘You’re probably right about that, Doctor,’ said the Captain, watching the motor boat bouncing on the waves.

 

The little motor boat trawled over the waves, Ziv and Brandon high fiving, pumping the sky and the air with their fists, two madmen heading off into the night.   

 

The Beer and Flies ship pulled slowly away from the shore, as the moon hung in the damp tropical sky.  The Doctor stood on the deck, looking out at the inky night, scanning the horizon.  Suddenly, out of nowhere a huge explosion went off on the shore silhouetting Ziv and Brandon in their tiny boat.

‘What the..!’ said the Doctor, ‘Captain!’

Another explosion rocked the harbor, rippling across the midnight waves.  

‘Holy moly, Captain!’ shouted the Doctor. 

Lights were coming on in the harbor, and people were running to and fro with torches; another explosion burst into the air, bodies falling from the pier amongst confused shouts.  

‘This is chaos!’ said the Doctor, swaying against the railings of the deck.

 

Suddenly, shots were fired from the pier, and a jet ski started whirling out into the ocean, directly towards the Beer and Flies vessel.  

‘What is all this?’ asked the Captain, peering into the darkness, ‘what’s going on, I thought this was supposed to be a quiet entrance!’

‘Me too, Sir,’ replied the Doctor, looking bewildered out to the harbor, ‘looks like there was a last minute change of plan.’

‘Brad!’ hollered the Captain, ‘get that engine running, we’re leaving ten minutes ago!’

‘Yes Sir!  Already on it!’ shouted Brad as he ran to the engine room.  

‘Who’s that, get on the guns!’ said the Captain pointing at the jet ski hurtling towards the ship. 

‘Yes Sir,’ came the reply from Nicole, handling the 50 calibre machine gun with a soft finesse that hid a potentially deadly intent.

 

‘Hold your fire! Hold your fire!’ came the voice from the jet ski as it flew metaphysically across the waves, ‘it’s Kyle!’

‘Who?’ inquired the Doctor, raising a pistol. 

‘Kyle, I think you were expecting me?’

 

The engine of the Beer and Flies vessel was revving, ready to fling the ship into the protective cloak of the distant seas, as Kyle leap from the jet ski as it crashed into the reinforced hull of the epic B&F ship, caught onto the rope ladder that Brandon and Ziv had climbed down only minutes before, and hauled himself aboard; looking up at the Doctor, holding a pistol at his head, Kyle smiled calmly, ‘It’s alright Doctor, no need for the O.K. corral treatment, it was all arranged!’

 

The Captain said, ‘I wondered when you’d hitch a ride!’ laughing, ‘come on, get on board, we’re leaving, pronto!’

‘You should have mentioned that we were expecting guests!’ said the Doctor, firing off a few rounds towards the general direction of the pier.

‘Well, let’s get on down to the bar, Captain, and I’ll explain everything,’ replied Kyle, slowly getting to his feet and unruffling his pirate coat, ‘it’s a long story Captain, and I think we’ll need a drink.’ 

‘Give us some covering fire please, Nicole,’ said the Captain, as he and the Doctor headed down to the bar with Kyle, the ship’s new arrival.

‘Yes Sir, I was waiting for you to ask!’ said Nicole, as she started pumping 50 calibre rounds at the harbor from the mounted machine gun on the roof of the ship, strafing the pier as the Beer and Flies vessel pulled away into the night.

 

Just then another explosion went off in the harbor as the Beer and Flies ship pulled away into the night, the engine drumming in the depths tearing apart the waters as it powered up to the absolute max.

 

2 men down but another man up; the Beer and Flies rock on…

 

***