Date: Thu, 26 Nov 2015 23:33:31 -0500 From: Eff Del <nolitimere156@gmail.com> Subject: Green Grow the Rushes O Chapter 28 *Green Grow the Rushes O- chapter 28* *By Eff Del* *Nolitimere156@gmail.com* <Nolitimere156@gmail.com> *There are two ways of thinking about the future; Anticipation or anxiety.* *When we anticipate, we are often timorous but we are at the same time excited and hoping for the best.* *When we look forward with anxiety, we are also afraid but besides that, we are worried and expecting the worst.* *Always be anticipating what is coming because it might just be something wonderful.* *Anticipate, always anticipate.* The `Magnolia's voyage from Oregon to the Maritimes was almost textbook. She'd traveled at a pretty consistent 21 knots which was impressive for a ship her size. It had taken her seven days from Portland to the mouth of the canal and 8 hours to travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The ship then traveled up the eastern shoreline. It had taken an impressive eight days but she was now anchored in Halifax and we were preparing to fly out to her. I'd had several meetings with Doc Swaim and Richard. I first proposed bringing none of the boys but then remembering my promise to Jack, I insisted on him coming along and then, I'd decided that all three of them should come to share the adventure. Also of course, because Doc was coming on this treasure hunt, their education could continue. "All of our personal equipment is already onboard the `Magnolia' Eric and she is a state of the art research vessel. Doc has already forwarded all of the location information that we have to the Skipper and his crew. We have three remote control submersibles and one manned mini-sub on the ship, plus the very latest in sonar and sounding equipment. There's also a helicopter on her deck. There's not much more that we could bring into the search Boss." "Thanks Richard. We'll have dinner at six and then we're off to the airport. I want Barry, Wolfman and Brutus on constant alert and if they lose communication with us for more than a half an hour, I expect SKUGGOR in the air and at our side. Do you have an adequate force in the Maritimes?" He huffed. "Eric, do you go out of your way to insult me? I've got a major force available and on instant call. Don't forget, it's my ass that could be in danger out there too." We all laughed and I told Richard that it was his turn to make the drinks. **************************** The three boys hugged Martha after dinner and they seemed a bit teary-eyed. Sean muttered; "We'll be back pretty soon Mrs. Edwards but we'll sure miss you." I was so bothered by his reaction that I pulled him aside. "Sean, would you feel better staying here?" "N-no Dad," he was blinking back tears. "I j-just think that I hate leaving the people that I love so much but you and my brothers are the people that I love the most, so I wanna be with you guys. "OK little man, if you truly want to go on this cruise, you and you brothers go grab your travel bags and let's head out to the van. John was still looking a bit morose. He'd wanted to come along but as a newlywed with a baby now on the way, I wouldn't hear of it. "You've got responsibilities now John and besides that, your folks are moving into their condo in two weeks and you need to be there to welcome and help them." "I know you're right but I'd still sure like to be part of this Eric." "Not this time my good friend." I said as I patted his shoulder. ******* Though smaller jets don't cruise as fast as the big airliner planes, they really make up for time in quicker take-offs and of course, not having to change planes once or twice on a long flight. All of us had a couple of drinks with the exception of Sean who was seated in the cockpit watching and chatting with Captain Lucas and his co-pilot Billy Ruiz. Eventually we all began to tire because long nighttime flights are essentially boring. I reclined in my seat and Brian soon cuddled up next to me. Jack and Richard had both fallen asleep next to each other. Their friendship wasn't sexual but more like a brotherly regard. They simply liked each other a lot. "Move over you guys and let me in" It was Sean returned from the cockpit and wanting into the cuddle. Brian moved to the seat closest to the window, I moved to the middle and Sean jumped in next to me. Very soon, we were huddled against each other and not long past that, we were fast asleep. We didn't even wake up when the jet landed and re-fueled. I didn't wake until our steward gently woke us so that he could serve breakfast which we ate while we were beginning our slow descent into Halifax. I'd arraigned for transport and we all were quickly in the car and soon entered the Prince George Hotel. The boys and I had a suite and Doc and Richard had private rooms. Nothing mattered at that point except going to sleep. The master bedroom in our suite had a king-sized bed and the four of us just collapsed onto it and we were asleep in moments. *********************** We all ate a hearty breakfast before being transported to the Magnolia. None less than the Captain himself greeted us at the gangway. He surely knew who I was and what his level in the pecking order fell. Despite that, he was very professional. "Mr. Tucker, welcome aboard I am Captain Corcoran" As I grasped his hand, I broke into a grin. "Why Captain, I thought this ship was the `Magnolia' not the HMS Pinafore." He guffawed as he said; "Well not many people make that connection these days but I assure you that this is a real ship and she is the `Magnolia'. I introduced Doc, Richard and the three boys. He of course recognized who Richard was and he was respectfully diffident. "Your crew is to work closely with Doctor Swaim and Richard. The boys will be involved in this search but, most specifically, it will be Jack. The two younger boys will be involved in this voyage as is appropriate. They'll most likely be given assignments by Doctor Swaim who is their tutor. I'd like captain, for you to assign someone on you Crew to supervise these young boys as well. A ship at sea can be dangerous after all." He nodded his head and beckoned two uniformed men to his side. "This, (he indicated a tall dark haired young man) is first officer Paul Genese, and he'll be your liaison with the search team. This (again he indicated a unformed young man who seemed very young, tall and blond haired) is second officer Mark Balutto and he'll be your boys' constant companion. I nodded. "So Captain, you have a full knowledge of what we're looking for and what we're expecting? Do you have any questions or problems?" "No Sir. You are Launcelot and orders don't come from any higher. Besides that, this is a pretty exciting voyage." "Remember also that you and the crew will share in twenty percent of anything we recover." He smiled. "That's certainly an incentive for success I'd say. We were all in the wheelhouse as we pulled away from Halifax. "I'm rather glad that our course is steering us away from Sable Island. That's known as the graveyard of the north Atlantic. There have been something like 480 ship wrecks there. It's safer that we're heading east." I grimaced and thanked the captain for his information. We ate a rather hearty if basic dinner in the galley and then headed off to sleep. As we were heading off to the cabins, Jack pulled me aside. "Would it be alright if I shared a cabin with Richard Dad?" I smiled and brushed my hand down his flushed cheek. "Of course it would be alright Jack." He smiled sweetly and kissed me softly. "Goodnight Dad." "Good night Jack." I wondered if the friendship between Richard and Jack was blossoming into something further. Perhaps my boy just wanted to spend time with the man that he considered his mentor. Whatever was happening was all right with me. I just wanted Jack to be happy and I knew that he was confused sexually. ************************ It was late the following day that we stopped and considered lowering the submersibles the next morning. We were at the approximate co-ordinates that the torpedo had sunk the `Santa Lucia' all those years ago. We sat around a table looking at charts and decided that tomorrow we'd set the subs in a radial direction and get a scan of the immediate are. We didn't have a great expectation of finding anything this first try, but who knew what could happen. Sean and Brian were in my cabin naked and grinning. The bed was really too small for the three of us but they insisted it would be just fine and I caved in because I loved them so. The boys didn't like sleeping alone and for that matter neither did I. I awoke rather early the next morning, dressed quickly and walked up to the deck. The rising sun was a large blazing hot red ball as it slowly but persistently climbed above the watery horizon. Sunrises weren't something we spent much time enjoying back at Joyous Gaurde...we were a sunset part of the country. I was watching the dawn with great appreciation. There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned and it was Sean. "Here Dad I thought you'd want this." He handed me a mug of coffee. I accepted it and one arm hugged him against me. "Thank you Sean. I didn't even think about it. Did you sleep well last night?" "Dad, I always sleep well when I'm with you." He squeezed up against me and sipped his mug of coffee. "You know, I can understand why Jack loves the ocean so much. It's really beautiful an' you kinna' feel like you're all alone on the whole planet. "Well, Sean, I hope you guys enjoy this little adventure. The ocean is very large and often unpredictable as Jack found out on his last voyage. That's why I don't want you or Brian going anywhere on this ship without Mark. OK?" He wiggled against me because Sean couldn't be still very long without wiggling. "Yea Dad, we both understand an' besides that, Mark is cool so, we won't mind." "Let's go down to the galley and get some breakfast then you can go and wake up Brian." "That's a deal Dad!" He grinned and took my hand. He was still my loving little boy, and I just simply adored him ************************ The team of young men hunched over the monitors as skilled operators maneuvered the three submersibles across the eerie underwater terrain. Doc, Jack and Richard were in the room keeping constant watch and making suggestions. I was more or less in and out. I felt that I also needed to spend time with the two young boys and I frankly didn't have a clue what those guys were doing. I felt like a third wheel on a bicycle. The sun was setting behind us and the two little boys were clutching the rails. The ocean environment was still new enough to them that they were fascinated. "Mister Tucker!" a young seaman was running in my direction. "They want you in the control room Sir!" "Thank you. Boys, let's head down to the control room." ********************* "It is almost impossible but by Christ I think we've found it." Doc Swaim was grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. I looked at the monitor and surely, it showed a much-deteriorated freighter nestled broken against the rocky bottom. "We'll launch the manned submersible in the morning," Captain Corcoran said. "We couldn't have been this lucky so quickly, could we?" "Well Eric, someone has to be lucky on every given day... yes?" Doc was smiling and he took the Captain's shoulder. "Drinks in my cabin men. Yes Erick, we made certain that you're favorite Hibernian hooch is well stocked on this boat so you won't need to be petulant." I thought to myself that since I was financing this voyage. I certainly should have been considered but I kept that thought silently. Doc's cabin was crowded but we all found places and enjoyed our `happy Hour'. ********************* Paul was going to drive the submarine and I insisted that Jack was going to be his partner. I felt that Jack had the right to be a major part in this discovery. My young red head was so excited that he almost couldn't eat his breakfast. Bundled up warmly due to the cold water temperature they'd be entering, Jack and Paul climbed into the small submarine and were slowly lowered by winch over the side and they almost casually sank below the surface. We all gathered in the command room around the video monitor and watched with anticipation. The sunken ship was highly deteriorated. Salt water relentlessly destroys land built ships. It wasn't like the Titanic because that ship had sunk a few years earlier but, the `Santa Lucia' was slowly being consumed by the salt sea. After twenty minutes, it was obvious that the ship was lying on her port side and the little sub made an entrance through one of her hatches which lay open ostensibly so that crew could evacuate. The small sub made a slow and cautious journey through the bowels of the fallen vessel and eventually made its way into the cargo hold. Almost immediately, the bars of precious metal came into view and we all gave a high five. This had turned out to be much easier than I'd anticipated. "The access is so easy that starting tomorrow, we'll launch the remote subs and retrieve the bars." Captain Corcoran said as we were receiving the little manned sub. "We found it Dad!" Jack was in my arms and ecstatic. "I've never done anything this cool! Thank you for making this possible. I'm going to love you forever!" "Well Jack, before this voyage, I was planning on loving you forever." He blushed an almost bright crimson. "Dad...you know what I meant." I hugged him tightly and almost whispered; "Jack, of course I do and I also understand your excitement." "I guess you and me can't go to bed on this ship since the little boys are in you cabin." "Probably not Jack but since we've found the treasure ship so quickly, we'll be back at Joyous Gaurde sooner than we anticipated and you and I can share loving pleasure then. He smiled and kissed me. ********************* The submersibles were slowly but methodically raising the bullion from the wreck to our ship. Jack was having a good time controlling one of the little vessels and it seemed like there was almost a race going on in the command room. Dinner was hearty and I quickly made my way to my cabin with my two little boys. We huddled together and before I fell asleep, I smiled as I enjoyed their smells and sounds as they cuddled and fell asleep in bed with me. The dark silhouette standing above me was unexpected. "We've taken this ship and we need you on deck right now." "What the fuck?..." suddenly I felt a blow against the side of my face. "Now! On deck!" Naked and confused, the two boys and I left our cabin and up the short staircase to the main deck. The bulk of the crew was gathered in a group cowering against a bulkhead. I noticed Doc Swaim was kneeling over a fallen person that I soon realized was Richard. Kneeling beside him was Jack weeping in total despair. My boy looked up and saw me and jumped to his feet to race to my side but, as he did so, a strange man struck him over the head with the butt of an AK 47. My red haired wonder collapsed to the deck like a rag doll. I moved to go to him. "Slowly and carefully mister. The wrong move could mean your life." I nodded to the speaker and then walked over and knelt beside Jack. He was breathing and there was no sign of blood so I assumed he'd simply been knocked out. Of course, he was most likely suffering from a concussion but it didn't seem life threatening. "Doc, how is Richard?" I called out. "Pretty badly beaten up." Doc Swaim replied. "I'm rather certain that he'll recover though I do wish we could get him to a hospital." "Yes, your friend there gave us quite a fight. He took out four of my men before we could beat him senseless." These words were spoken by a short fat man who swaggered towards me. I thought to myself that they'd obviously surprised Richard before he could get to his gun or else he'd have taken out more than four of them. I looked over the side of our ship and saw a large luxury private yacht obviously tethered to our ship and assumed that was how these marauders had gotten on board our vessel. "So then Mister Tucker isn't it? I just want to thank you for doing all this work for me. I've been after this prize for over twenty years but I never had the financial resources to finance a search expedition. When I learned that the University was sending a research ship up to the Maritimes, I finally had my chance. I bribed the Captain and the First Mate to go off course and do some soundings around a specific area...this very area if the truth be known but, they got caught in a storm and knocked over by a rogue wave. I thought that my chance was over until I found out that, your son Jack was on that cruise and that he'd survived. I began emailing him slowly at first...presenting myself as a fellow student and ardent admirer of Doctor Chambers. As time went by, I gradually filled him into the part truth that his university ship had been diverted on purpose and in the end, I filled in most of the missing pieces even supplying the German U-Boat co-ordinates for the sinking. I SO hoped young Jack would share this information with you because I knew that you certainly had the resources to finance this type of treasure hunt. It turns out that I was correct and now, here we are." "Who the hell are you?" I almost spat out the words. "Not that you have any need to know, but my name is Kyler Moss. I'm a history professor at the University and that's actually how I stumbled upon the tale of the Santa Lucia. Now that your crew is subdued, I'll allow you to be escorted back to your cabins. Tomorrow, your able crew will continue to recover the bullion from below and then assist in transferring it all to the rather spiffy yacht I've rented. By the way, I do have to compliment your crew for being so compassionate in helping a private little ship in distress and allowing us to come alongside. After that, taking over your vessel was rather easy work." I thought to myself that it shouldn't have been so easy to take over a SKUGGOR ship but then I realized that this was a Magnus Veritas ship not specifically a SKUGGOR vessel. "So then Mr. Moss, what happens after all of the gold and silver is recovered?" "Sadly, it will take a few bullets but then your ship will be sailed to the west and scuttled...yet another victim off the Coast of Sable Island...the grave yard of the North Atlantic." "You would do such a thing?" He actually smirked. "My share in this will be over a billion dollars Mr. Tucker. For that much money, I'd slaughter my entire family." Jack began moving in my arms and I turned my attention to him. He moaned for a few moments and then his eyes opened. As expected, his look was one of confusion so I talked softly and soothingly to him as he came into full consciousness. Without asking permission but moving cautiously, Sean walked across the deck and knelt down beside Jack. His little naked body looked so frail on the deck of this now dangerous ship on an evil sea. He placed Jack's head upon his leg and softly stroked his hair as he whispered soft consoling words to his lifelong friend. Moss swaggered like a bad movie pirate and said; "Take them all below and lock them up except for this one..." he pointed at Richard. "Him, just throw overboard right now. He's been too costly to us." Two of the invaders (dare I call them pirates?) moved forward and lifted Richard from the deck knocking Doc Swaim hard against the head in the process. "NO! No you fuckin bastards no!" It was Brian and he flew across the deck and seized one of the two men who were manhandling Richard by the neck and was trying to bring him down. The other man dropped Richard's legs and moved forward to attempt to subdue Brian. I rushed forward to assist my little boy and almost simultaneously, a man stepped forward with a pistol pointed at Brian's chest. I heard the explosion just as a harsh blow to my head brought me into darkness. (to be continued) Well, not much feedback from the last chapter but I certainly am grateful for those of you who did write I guess that all I can say is that I write for those of you who show that you care. Readers, who don't bother even commenting...well, screw you. I'll stop writing soon and you won't even know why. You're the same people who don't even contribute five bucks to NIFTY because you think everything should be free. Well it's not. It costs money to keep this wonderful website running and it takes simple commentary to keep writers writing. Why in the hell do you think so many stories just end in the middle? It's because of no response. We writers do this for free but we only do it if readers let us know its being read. Writing with no response is like jerking off. Response is like a hand job. While there are more interesting ways to get off, a hand job is much better than jerking off.