Bum's Rush Ch. 05

Hal hurriedly assembled the response-team to deal with the landing party - and I gathered the frogmen - sending them to the lockers - with instructions to grab their gear and wait for me. Meanwhile, I sprinted home to grab the rebreather. I passed Miriam - kneeling beside the trail - as she petted the grass with her palms, grabbed fistfuls of dust to hold aloft to slip through her fingers, and called to the island spirits to go with the warriors and protect the village. I mentally joined my prayers to hers.

Once I reached the lockers - and made sure everyone had what they needed - I led the way to the game trail the little girl had shown me just a couple hours earlier. We ducked under low branches and ran through the brush - and finally arrived at our destination. The women's lagoon was empty.

I quickly explained what we were doing, donned my mask & rebreather, checked my scooter to be sure it was ready, and then led the way down the rocks, dropping beneath the surface. Once the rest of the team joined me, we took off - to the left - to see about dealing with the scout-ship.

When I cleared the point, I surfaced and looked. They had two men on the workboat - searching it - and nobody was looking our way. I gave the boys a thumbs-up and we ducked beneath the waves - sinking low enough to prevent anybody, who glanced our direction, from noticing us. In practice, as long as we were a couple yards below the surface, it was impossible to tell what we were - just some oddly shaped dolphins.

We got to the edge of the boat without being discovered. Two of us floated on the surface - with spear-guns aimed and ready - while the rest of the team climbed aboard. By the time I rolled over the side of the ship, it was over. I walked into the cabin area as the last crew member reached for his leg-knife - and took a spear-gun bolt to his heart & lung. I grabbed the corpse and pulled him away from the steering wheel - so no more of his body fluids - would pump onto the controls. They were already red & slippery in several places.

We dragged the bodies of the two boarders from our workboat - back to their ship - and then collected up the spear-bolts, ripping a few wounds open worse than they already were. The attackers didn't complain. I grabbed their keys from the ignition, and Seal Team Six disappeared back, beneath the waves - to return to camp.

We swapped our battery packs, grabbed water-skins and a satchel of trail food that the women were holding at-the-ready - and jogged up the northern trail to see if Hal needed us.

We got to the lookout-station as Hal was finishing getting his team into position. The scouts reported that ten men had taken the path to Hestia's village once again. The weapons-leader's team had been ready for several minutes when we heard the bird-call to warn us that the smugglers were returning. Hal went to coordinate and assist his team. The frogmen and I moved back to the practice-field and waited.

Two bird-calls sounded and we moved up to survey the damage. Five young girls - including Hestia's arrogant sister - were surrounding Trace - jabbering about what had happened. Hal and the others were dragging the bodies together. I walked over and asked him if he wanted to try something. He smiled and said 'yes'.

"I haven't even told you what I'm planning yet."

He just laughed.

I looked around until I found the smuggler with the flare-gun and retrieved it.

~~~

The frogmen and I waded into the surf, scootered out to just past where I had seen the ship stop before, and I raised my hand to Hal - who fired the flare gun and then ducked behind the brush.

We heard the boat engine start and the warriors took a breath and pointed their scooters at the floor of the bay. I put my rebreather on and did the same. On the beach, two members of Hal's team - dressed in dead men's clothes - were dragging the dinghy towards the water.

Once the boat was overhead, we shut off the scooters and floated to the surface. Once again, two of us covered the boarders with spear-guns as the rest of the team clambered over the sides of the fishing boat. I glanced to my left to see Hal's men still struggling with the dinghy - a smile spreading across my face. I wasn't hearing any spear-guns fired - and the other gunner was already climbing aboard - so I brushed away my mirth - and got back to my job.

Seal Team Six had two smugglers in custody. My policeman friend should be happy about that. They were trussed up like prize hogs by the time I plopped into the captain's seat and took us in closer to shore - where I dropped the anchor. Over the next half-hour, we ferried the bodies onto the big boat as Hal and I discussed next steps.

Trace and half of the response team - once again - were headed to Hestia's village to return the stolen girls. They would, undoubtedly be the last ones back to the village. Hal and the rest of his team would head south, to let the elders know what had happened. The frogmen and I were going to see if we could find our way around the island to the lagoons with our floating morgue and the two captives. We talked about continuing to man the lookout post - but we were both pretty sure that it would be a while before we needed to keep watch. I gave Hal the forearm-grip in goodbye - and took the last dinghy ride out to the captured tour-boat.

~~~

We made our way into the lagoon - anchoring just inside of where the other floating mausoleum was moored - just as Hal appeared on the beach with the elders.

I briefly thought about leaving the captives on the floating funeral home for the night - but got worried that they might break free and try to radio for help - so we loaded them into the dinghy and rowed them ashore - where they were tied to palm-trees and given a drink of water - which they turned down. I warned them it would be a long night but they just glared at me.

I turned to find one of the younger boys with a cup of berry juice. I shook my head, no, at him and he huffed at me. I laughed and shooed him away. The little demon had planned to pour some of the syrup on the prisoners so he could watch the ants torment them. My biggest opposition to the idea was that I would have to get the ants off of them, in the morning, before I loaded them aboard to haul them to the mainland to hand over to the police.

~~~

We gathered at the council fire and talked about the plan for the next day. Paul, Joshua, and I would each be captaining one of the boats. Naomi, Heather, and Megan would come along to serve as lookouts and assistants. Although the two captured vessels were larger than the work-boat, I was confident that Joshua had learned enough to handle it. Paul was still learning and would follow in the village's craft. I had now made enough trips back and forth that I didn't think I needed the GPS but - if I couldn't figure out the one on my ship - Paul could always get me back on course.

The rest of the villagers ate and headed to bed. The response team and my team sat with the wives of the missing warriors - as they waited for the group to return from Hestia's village. Hestia, her mother, and Trace's two girlfriends were waiting with us as well.

As Trace and the others jogged into camp, we raised a shout that - anywhere else - would have had people leaning out of their windows, yelling that they were going to call the cops. Hugs & hand-clasps erupted as we greeted the group that had endured the longest trek of the night - breaking out the food - and a small reserve of liquor that Miriam had brought to us in celebration of the day's successes.

Megan hugged me and we chewed the last of our food as we listened to bits & pieces of conversations - as each of the warriors told their women (and kids) about their grand adventure. I laughed softly at some of the grandiose descriptions, glad that we had gotten through the day without serious injury.

Remembering the actions of the chieftain's wife - as I hurried to battle - several hours before - I stepped away from my sister-wife, dropped to my knees, and repeated the motions that I had watched Miriam perform, finally raising my eyes to the night sky, and offering a voiceless thanks to the island spirits.

When I finished, I realized that it had grown still all around me. I lowered my eyes to discover that every other warrior was on his knees as well. I felt arms around my neck. They weren't Megan's. I turned to find Miriam standing over me with a tear in her eye. She leaned down, hugged my neck, and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

As I stood to my feet, she wormed her way through the crowd - hugging each warrior's neck. Like me, once she had blessed them, they stood to their feet. Once the last man had received his blessing, the village matron waved a teary goodbye and headed back to bed. The rest of us quietly gathered our families and headed to do the same.

~~~

Early the next morning, we changed our clothes and I ferried each crew to their assigned vessel. Paul & Naomi had given Petal hugs before we left the camp. She was staying with Hestia and her mother. Petal wanted nothing to do with the smugglers or their ships. Hestia had been hugging her close when we left.

I dropped the two of them off to the hidden work-boat and Paul started getting things fired up. Next I let Joshua & Heather off to Death Ship #1. The bodies were starting to get a little ripe. Finally at our ship, I helped Megan aboard and then picked each of the captured smugglers up and tossed them in. As Paul pulled up to winch the dinghy onto the work-boat, I thought about how much stronger - and healthier - I was - after a little more than six months on the island. I would have never been able to pick a person up before - or throw them - or balance in a rowboat to do it.

I started Death Ship #2 and our floating convoy of carnage headed for Alfonso's berthing. When we were in radio-range, I hailed him and told him to track down Luis - my favorite police officer. I warned him that we had sixteen rotting corpses and two captives.

By the time we were all three tied-off, the dock was full of constables and curious onlookers. Alfonso laughed that he had already threatened his employees with being docked for the day because one of them had heard us on the radio - and the news had spread like wildfire - and nobody was getting any work done.

I called Jorge and told him to come get my helpers. They were tired of the look & smell of death - and they hadn't been on either of the assault teams - so Luis wouldn't need to question them. I had the taxi driver take them to breakfast - with the promise that he could have some too - if he made sure they brought me back a big "to go" container.

For the next few hours, Luis talked to me, questioned the captives, sent them off to jail to be further interrogated, and began going through the corpses. I stood by and answered any questions he had. When he asked about one of the particularly nasty injuries on Death Boat #1, I told him that the guy took our spear-gun bolt and resisted when we tried to take it back. He shook his head, sadly, and scribbled in his notepad.

Once Luis' inspectors had finished with the first boat, Alfonso's men - who had finally grown tired of the smell and the mess - climbed aboard to start cleaning the craft. He yelled at them to bring me anything of value that they discovered. One of the office ladies ran off to retrieve a paper-box to put stuff in. Luis glanced over as the items were added a couple times - but nodded that it was, now, rightfully the property of the village. The IDs and other information went to Luis - but the money and jewelry - from each corpse - went into the box.

We followed the same procedures on the second ship - and the office lady came back with another box. Most of the stuff was crap - but there were some nice pocketknives, watches, and rings. I was going to need to talk to Alfonso or Jorge about finding a pawn shop or a jeweler.

The taxi driver returned with my boat-crew as Alfonso's men climbed onto Death Ship #2 - and I sat down to work on my biscuits & gravy. Megan set a water-bottle next to me and I offered her a kiss - which she leaned down to receive, smiling.

There was a momentary commotion as two of the boat-buyer's men came running up from the bowels of the second ship. One had an armload of automatic weapons. I glanced over at Luis and he waved his hand at me like he hadn't seen a thing. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do with those. I was pretty sure I didn't want them on the island. I looked over to Alfonso and he gave me a thumbs-up and pulled out his cellphone. Thank God - or the spirits - for friends in low places. My quick prayer was interrupted by the second dock-worker - who was carrying a suitcase. He was jabbering fast enough that I couldn't understand him - except that I was pretty sure the thing was full of money.

Alfonso pocketed his phone and slapped his hand on the briefcase - just before the employee started to open it. On the waterfront, there is almost always a breeze and - if the case was, indeed, full of money - and it was loose - we were going to be chasing bills into the water. The boat-buyer beckoned to me to head to the office with him.

Jorge was still standing around - waiting to be paid. He found a gold watch in the first box that caught his eye and held it up to me as I stood to my feet - his eyebrow raised in silent question about whether or not I would trade the watch for his day's labor. I laughed and waved him off with his prize. He waved and disappeared into his horseless carriage.

Alfonso's office manager counted the money as he and I watched. There were a couple stacks of smaller bills but most of the stacks had big numbers on them. I was trying to remember the conversion rate when Luis came in to scribble a few more notes - including the amount of money we'd taken.

While we waited for the counting to finish, Luis told me that he would be processing the paperwork to transfer the ships to the village and should have it done in another week. The suitcase held a million Panamanian dollars. Alfonso had planned to just credit the amount to our account but there was no way he wanted that much money in his shop. I called Jorge and told him to get his ass back over here. Luis handed me a note to take to the banker, shook my hand, and left. I called out that he knew where to find me, if he needed anything. He laughed, shook his head, and kept walking.

The boat-buyer looked up as a new face appeared. He introduced me to Diego and we headed outside. Since I had just met the man, I was thankful that the briefcase full of cash was back in my hands once more. We stepped up to the small pile of guns and the two boxes of personal items. He checked the arms over and looked from Alfonso to me. Alfonso told him that I was a good customer, that I represented one of the island villages, and that it was in his best interest to deal fairly with me because I was a constant source of revenue for anyone I dealt with.

Diego looked through the boxes and started pulling out everything he was willing to take. In the end, we carried them back into the office and spread them on a desk so that he could see things easier. One of Alfonso's men boxed up the guns and the ammo while we worked. When he was finished, he handed me a card. He said it would take about a week to determine the values for everything. He would hold the items until I stopped in - and then we could negotiate on the price. I shook his hand and he left.

Jorge was back. We all jumped in the cab and he took us to the bank. I told the teller we were going to need someone to help us count money because the case was full and she signaled for one of the bank officers to come over. I showed him Luis' note and his eyes got big. He escorted us to a private room and went to get the head teller. When they returned, we lounged around while the two of them counted - and recounted - the bills - occasionally checking them to make sure they weren't counterfeit.

In the end, the total came out to just under a million Panamanian dollars - which the officer and teller were more than happy to credit to the village account. They escorted us back to the front door and shook all of our hands before we walked out to rejoin Jorge. The cab driver told me he was hungry. I laughed and told him to pick someplace. We ended up at a street vendor's cart.

We ate chicken empanadas (fried pies) and ceviche (seafood cut into small pieces and mixed with onions & fresh-squeezed lime juice, served chilled). I might have been tempted by the meat-pies - but wouldn't have tried the ceviche if Jorge hadn't forced me to take a bite. It was surprisingly tasty & refreshing. The little cups were small and we each had a couple - after we'd eaten our fill of the chicken empanadas.

Jorge dropped us back off to the docks and I checked in with Alfonso before we headed out. Since he knew I'd be back the following week, he was taking his time, figuring out the value of the two new ships he was buying.

At this point, I was shaking my head. There was no way the village was ever going to be able to spend the amount of money we had in the bank. Hell, we could probably buy our own island. I laughed at the thought - and steered us out of the harbor.

~~~

By the time we got home, tucked the workboat into its hidey-hole, loaded the girls into the dinghy, and then jumped in to wade to shore - dragging them behind us - it was time to head to the central fire for dinner.

I reported in - to the elders - that everything was taken care of. They nodded. There's really no way to describe to them that they have a shit-ton of money in the bank. There were no words in their language that I could put together to explain that there was a piece of paper - that everybody had assigned a value to - and we had a bunch of them - and they could use that paper - and its socially-agreed-upon-value - to buy whatever they wanted.

They wanted to eat, drink and be happy - and we were already doing that. They wanted to be safe and - for the most part at least - we were doing that. They wanted a dry place to sleep - and we had that.

I had worried about storms during the rainy season but - if the last one was anything to go by - it was just a lot of rain. We could build bunkers - or shelters or something - for a hurricane - but, if I did, I'd have to figure out how to make it conform to what they were used to - or they probably wouldn't even go into it.

So I didn't say anything about the little plastic card in my wallet. I accepted hugs from the village matron and then sat with my sister-bride and enjoyed a home-cooked meal with a hundred of my closest friends.

~~~

In our hut, I ate my sister's pussy as she used both hands to cover her mouth - to keep from screaming my name. My cock ached from the erotic pleadings in her voice - and the sexy sounds she was making - right before her pussy sprayed me and I growled and used my tongue to bathe her vulva clean as she gasped for air.

I crawled up her body - kissing & nipping my way to her mouth - where she licked the rest of her spend from my face - and then kissed me greedily.

"Fuck, Meg! I can't get enough of your sexy body."

"Stick it in, Mikey! I'm fucking shaking - I want your cock so bad!"

I slid it in as slowly as I possibly could. She keened & whined the whole time - and my nuts churned even harder. Her body was perfect and I couldn't get enough of it.

I kissed her hard, leaned back, grabbed her ass, lifted it up, and started slamming it onto my angry rod. She growled - and took the punishment for a couple minutes and then warned me that I was gonna make her hurl. I rolled us over - so she could hang onto my neck, and then went back to fucking my cock with her pussy.