Chapter 31: Per-cussion!
After a happy, hearty breakfast, the crew split up to handle boat chores. Fred and Frieda took boat duty, because Frieda is to be cooking up a feast that day. Frick, Fran and Harry went to the bridge to have Fran dismount the lightning-struck antenna. Harry looked it over closely. “Yes, I have seen several like this in the stores building,” he declared after inspecting the ruins. “Give me until about lunch to dig some out. Okay?”
“Sounds good to me, Harry. Take one of the radios and give yourself a call sign. Check in if you think you’re going to be late,” Frick ordered.
“My call sign is ‘Keymaster’, because a storekeeper’s symbol is two crossed keys. Just take one from the charger?” Harry asked.
“That’s right. The boat’s call sign is ‘Cornhusker Base’, and I’m ‘Cornhusker One’. Most everyone else has some derivative of ‘Cornhusker’, because the first five of us are from Nebraska.” Frick explained.
“I can see that. Let me get going. Early out, sooner back,” Harry said in upbeat tones before heading down to the saloon for a radio. As Fran and Frick put the tools away, they saw Harry taking off.
Down on the pier, Frack and Bernie were hooking up the fuel pump and filter, with Tina watching closely. That chore took a little while, because it took some effort to get suction started on the fuel intake line, and once going, the fuel took longer to pump. Turned out the fuel was more ‘broken down’ than usual, and they had to change filters more often. The output was judged adequate, and so it was added to the tanks, with added Sea Foam.
“That’s all it takes to clean gas?” Tina asked, amazed at the ease of the job.
“That’s it, for when you want to do small amounts, like for the boat’s tanks. Now, to do this for a city-size generator, it takes more apparatus. We don’t need all that stuff. Just remember to use different apparati for gasoline, diesel and water. You don’t want to get them mixed up,” Frack explained to Tina.
“I see. How about we head for the Exchange, and see what we can find that would be of use, like maybe portable shortwave radios?” Tina suggested.
“Good idea. In fact, let’s see if anyone else wants to explore,” Frack suggested. As it turned out, everyone not on duty was interested, so off the group went to the Exchange. There, Frick did find several shortwave radios that were battery-operated, and some batteries to put in them. It wasn’t long before the group heard Sandra, or DJ WSU as she was known as, go to her three-thirty newscast. The group found out that the Fugro Symphony had left Belfast the day before on its way to Havana, estimated time of arrival there July First.
Sandra also said, “If the Deliverance crew is listening, please check in. You called in two days ago saying your antenna was struck by lightning, and nothing since. Just want to make sure you’re alright, Fearsome Foursome plus however many!” before going on to other news.
“She’s right, I do owe her a call,” Frick said. “I’ll wait an hour and a half. She goes off shift at five her time, which is eleven here. That way, we won’t go live on air, she can edit.”
“She would appreciate that, plus call Captain Skinner on the Fugro to let him know about the others to pick up on the return trip,” Frack advised.
“And we have to call Eduardo back in Havana at least once before we leave. We can tell him that we may wait here a couple of days to fix the antenna before heading over,” Fran added. “Plus let him know we’re taking care of the eggs he ordered. We better not take too long, or we may wind up delivering a dozen peeps.”
“Jeez, you folk sure do know how to ruin a captain’s morning off, don’t you?” Frick mock-complained peevishly.
“That’s the duty of a crew, to give the boss ulcers. Ah oughta know,” Foster commented drily.
Over lunch, Harry showed the crew the antenna clusters he found that should work for the Deliverance. Frick looked them over, and compared them to the schematics that came with the ship. He held up the first of the two Harry had brought. “This should do the job. Fran, after lunch, you, Bernie and Frack look into replacing the antenna. I’ve already called Rotterdam, and later on I have to call Captain Skinner on the Fugro. Frieda, call Governor Quiros back and resume negotiations. Have Fran help you once comms are restored. Fred, you have the duty. The rest of you, take the day off and sightsee. Tomorrow, we’ll finish up and the day after, we’re Havana bound!” he told the crew.
“Frick, Fran, Malala and I have already done that. We did it last night,” Frieda told her captain.
Frick blinked. “How did you manage that?” he asked.
“You went to bed early. I flew over to the Exchange building and we called Eduardo. Pending final approval, we got ourselves one sweet deal,” Frieda said with certainty.
“How sweet?” Frack asked.
“We retain possession of Deliverance until Fugro ties up. Once we have moved our gear to the Fugro, we will turn the ship over to the Harbor Patrol division, who have enough skilled mariners and engineers to run the ship properly. In exchange, we are to be given one TEU of mixed goods we can deal with as we wish, said TEU being filled with canned goods, cigars, fish, ten barrels of rum and other produce to take with us to Rotterdam over and above what the Fugro is expected to deliver,” Frieda reported.
“Also, I will be remaining in Havana,” Malala told the group. “They need a doctor there. I’m a doctor, I speak Spanish fluently, and it does not get cold. I will be staying. It will be up to me to set up a decent clinic there for the colony. It’s a challenge I’m looking forward to.”
“What about Michie?” Frick asked, blindsided by the news.
“She will be staying with me,” Fran said. “I will willingly be her ‘big sister’, and make sure to raise her right.” She put an arm over Michie’s shoulder and squeezed gently. Michie, in turn, looked up at Fran with love in her eyes.
“Fred and I talked about it this morning. We agree to be Michie’s ‘aunt and uncle’. She likes the idea, and so do we,” Frieda said, gripping Fred’s hoof.
“Okay, any other chores of mine you have attended to?” Frick asked rhetorically.
“I called Pensacola and Tarpon Springs to give them a head’s-up,” Fred reported. “Once we have left Havana and our course is determined, we’ll have to call them back so they can pack and make ready for pickup, leaving their places in as good a condition as they can, for those who come later.”
“Jeez, have you left anything for me to do?” Frick asked, rolling his eyes.
“Yes,” Fred said firmly. “Make sure the radio is working properly. After that, you are to take the next day and a half off, get out of here, and chill out. You earned it and you NEED it!”
Frick held up a hoof. “Okay, okay! I can take a hint! Who wants to come with me?” he asked.
Frack looked at Bernie, who nodded. “We will, bro. The Captain needs an escort when away from the ship, right?”
“That’s right. Besides, I’ve been here before. I know a few places to go,” Bernie added.
“Sounds like a plan,” Fred said. “After the radio is repaired, you three head out, but be back in time for dinner!”
“Let’s do it to it, then!” Frick said, getting up.
Replacing the antenna took Fran maybe ten minutes to do, connecting the lead to the radio system was also simple. Almost simple. Frick managed to trace the lead down to where it went through a breaker, which tripped when the lightning struck. Frick took out the burned lead and replaced it with the new one, and radio communications were restored. Fred promptly hoofed Frick a radio and pointed forcefully to the brow. Immediately taking the hint, Frick headed out, followed by Bernie and Frack.
Once on the road out, after stepping over the hermit crab barricade (a coil of razor wire stretched across Dredgers Key Road), Bernie told the brothers, “There is one place my parents always took me, and that’s Fort Zachary Taylor. With the Gulf of Mexico to the right, Atlantic Ocean to the left, it’s a beautiful sight. There’s a place along the way that I liked, the parrot rescue sanctuary. A touch off the route, but worth it.”
“A parrot sanctuary? Any of them talk?” Frick asked.
“Some did. Not many, but they were all hand-tame, and loved seeing people. One big red and blue one liked perching on my wrist. I hope she’s still around, I liked her!” Bernie chuckled.
“Sounds like an idea to me! Lead the way!” Frick laughed.
“First, once we get to shore, I need to find me some shades!” Bernie said. Truly, the sun shone bright high above them, beating down from a cloudless sky.
“I can do that!” Frack said, taking wing and searching for a store. Finding one, he got inside, found some hats and returned, carrying the plastic rack in his mouth. “Pick one!” he mumbled around the hangar.
Bernie did, once she stopped laughing, a white ball cap with a green transparent bill. Frick helped her get it off the rack, and while Frack brought the rack back, he cut holes in the cap for her ears. “Much better! I’m not having to squint any more!” she squealed happily.
“Glad to hear it. Now, lead on! He’ll find us!” Frick said, heading down Roosevelt Boulevard.
One thing that got their attention was the quiet. No people, few birds, few animals, just the sound of the wind blowing and their own hoofbeats. They had not gone very far when, while passing a green area, the three heard a familiar sound. “Is that chickens I hear?” Frick said.
Frack and Bernie looked at each other. Together, they nodded in agreement. “Yes, that’s chickens. A pretty good-sized flock, too. They’re a ways off,” Bernie said, tilting her head to get a fix on the chickens' location.
“Tell you what,” Frack said. “Let’s check on them on the way back. They’re not going anywhere, and we didn’t bring a basket.”
“Good point,” Bernie said, giving her head a shake. Her new hat stayed in place. “To the parrots!”
Down Roosevelt Boulevard Bernie led the brothers, past where the street name changed to Truman Avenue, pointing out different sights she remembered from her trips there. As they passed the Basilica of Saint Mary Star of the Sea, the three ponies stopped and sniffed.
“I smell flowers,” Frack said. “Flowers like what we found in Sunken Gardens.”
“So do I. Worth a little side trip to check it out?” Frick suggested.
“There is a garden grotto here. It’s not very big. Then again, I have not been this way in about ten years,” Bernie admitted. Together, they trotted in to look.
There, they found an overgrown garden, abundantly abloom with fragrant flowers. Looking to the grotto, again they found flowers, including some blue ones. “Poison Joke? Here?” Bernie said.
“Sure looks like it,” Frick said, snapping pictures of the area. “I’m sure the WSU would want to know of this. Maybe Havana will send some boats over to harvest.”
“Maybe even the Deliverance herself, if they have the nerve to do the voyage,” Frack added.
“I’m sure they will, once they know of the treasure waiting here,” Frick said. “Got the pictures, let’s head to the fort.”
Fort Zachary Taylor was everything Bernie had promised. Wonderful views, a museum to tour, a fine beach to sprawl and splash on, something they all enjoyed. After some play time, they toured the museum, after Frick unlocked the doors. Inside was less grand than they expected, seeing as the fort was built starting in the 1840’s, and Zachary Taylor himself dying in office in 1850, never having been there.
As they wandered, Frick felt something almost like a faint tugging on his magic, urging him into the storage areas of the fort. “What are you doing, Frick?” Bernie asked.
“I got a feeling. Something’s this way and it’s, well, calling me. I want to see what it is,” he said, leading his brother and friend deeper into the older storage rooms.
“We’re with you, bro,” Frack said quietly.
Twenty minutes of searching led the three to an old brick wall. “Whatever it is, it’s behind those bricks,” Frick muttered, lighting up his horn.
“What are you doing, Frick?” Bernie asked as she and Frack backed up a few paces.
“Damn you, brick, I’m going to re-MOVE you!” Frick snarled as a bright purple beam leapt from his horn, striking the brick and raising a cloud of dust. The beam went out after a second or so, and the three ponies started coughing until the dust cleared.
“Must you, Frick? Now we’re going to have to go swimming again to get this dust off!” Bernie coughed as Frick used his magic to pull out a box from where the brick was.
“This was calling to me. Let’s see what it is,” Frick said quietly, struggling to open the box. It took a little while, but the box opened, revealing an antique pistol inside, one he, and the others, was not familiar with.
“An antique pistol. Why would an antique pistol call to me?” Frick mused, holding it in his glow.
Frack shrugged with his wings. “Far as I know, it has a magic charge on it, you have strong magic, it felt you and called, wanting a recharge. Bring it along, maybe someone somewhere knows what it is,” he advised.
“Yeah, I hate being in a basement,” Bernie muttered. “Let’s get back to the beach.”
“Okay, let’s go.” Frick led the two back to the surface and to the beach, where Frack and Bernie splashed about some while he sat on the beach, examining the gun. “Maybe a cap and ball? Don’t have no caps nor balls for it,” he muttered before putting it in his pouch, which he set onto the sand so he could get into the water to wash the dust off of him.
After a vigorous swim, the three started walking back to the Deliverance. All the walking and swimming had given them all appetites, and they were looking forward to a heaping spaghetti dinner with garlic bread and rich, thick tomato sauce. As they passed the basilica, all three heard a low rumble coming from the garden. Frick and Frack looked at each other, fright coming to their eyes.
“Cragadile?” Frack asked.
“Cragadile,” Frick replied.
“Cragadile?” Bernie asked.
“Cragadile,” Frick answered.
“What’s a cragadile?” Bernie asked.
“Trouble,” Frack replied as another rumble came from the garden, this one closer and louder.
“Run?” Frick asked as a very large cragadile came out from under some bushes.
“FLY!” Frack screamed as he took to the skies, Bernie a half heartbeat behind him.
Frick, however, didn’t have that recourse. He thought about running, but then the cragadile began its charge. Quickly, and wondering why the whole time, he pulled the antique pistol out of his pouch, pulled the hammer back, aimed and fired.
With a ‘thump’, more felt than heard, a glowing purple ball came out of the barrel of the gun, pushed by a purple cloud of smoke. The ball hit the cragadile in the snout. The cragadile then glowed purple and collapsed in a cloud of dark purple dust, its outline plain to see on the pavement.
“Per-cussion!” Frick said as he put the old gun away. He didn’t notice his cutie mark glowing in the bright sunlight. He did turn up Truman Avenue and started running. Hard and fast.
Frack flew alongside Bernie. “Did you see that?”
“Yes, but I don’t believe it!” she replied.
“We better follow him,” Frack said, pointing at his brother as Frick went into a full gallop.
“We better. Running like that in this heat is just plain dumb,” Bernie said.
“That’s my brother…” Frack sighed as he followed Frick as he ran like the second coming of Secretariat.
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Pictures. Or it didn't happen.
Captain Boomstick now has a more appropriate outlet for his special ability?
11103321
Aye, ye can say that...
chuckles evilly
Every thing has a price. He hasn't found out his yet.
awesome chapter and i see Frick now has a new toy that is linked to his magic.
11103479
That he does. Now, who's in charge there?
As they say in the sausage factory, the wurst is yet to come!
I know this is responding to an old entry, but any chance that that antique pistol is in any way linked to Concord?
11492248
Concord? What's that?
I came up with Chalky as a gimmick I thought of for Frick. Notice that he didn't use it in Havana, and why.