Mo & Curio & Old Man Rivers Gimp

The long gun had reach and firepower. It was an easy stretch for him to figure they had more weapons aboard. Also, they had a plan and a mandate.

And me with this fuckin' peashooter! Christ! I've never even shot this thing before!

Curio readied the gun as Eddie entered the backwater. Immediately, the area grew tighter around them. Whereas the river was a mile wide and sunlit, the backwater had trees on either side and was only two hundred feet wide at best. He laid the boat to starboard to avoid a tree hanging dead on the port side as he turned to aim at the Bayliner. When they were only a hundred feet from the mouth of the backwater, he chanced a shot with one of his five bullets.

He aimed for Moses but the Texan saw it coming and ducked slightly as he yanked Curio to the ground. The soft-nosed bullet punched out the windscreen. He saw Moses clutch his face and roll out of his seat.

"Fuck you!" He screamed at the couple as the unguided Bayliner sliced to port. Moses managed to get a hand on the wheel and right his course to shoot the gap between the island to starboard and the bank of the river to port.

"Shit! Hard right!" Curio screamed as she saw the leaning tree on the port side.

Moses' face was peppered with bloody gashes and imbedded shards of Plexiglas.

"I can't fuckin see! He hit me in the face!" Blood ran into his eyes and he clawed at his face to clear his sight. "Fuck!"

"Move, baby!" Curio pushed past him and stood behind the wheel as he fumbled on the floorboard behind him for a gallon of water. He grabbed it and wrenched the cap off.

Eddie cut his power and wheeled the boat around, knowing he had the turning advantage and Moses was incapacitated. Curio bore down on him full speed, unwilling to cut the throttle and give him time to think and get set for a steady shot. Moses dumped most of the jug on his face, forcing his eyelids open to clear the blood. With a blunt swipe of the hand, he wiped the shards of Plexiglas from his wounds

Eddie came out of his turn and nosed the throttle ahead two-thirds. The sleek Nautique purred and smoothly planed out as designed. His turn went shallow and the prop churned up the soft alluvial muck behind him. He juked to starboard, passing them port-to-port.

There she was, standing naked behind the wheel, trying to reach for her Luger on the passenger side dash but not daring let go of the wheel.

"Die, you naked ass bitch!" Eddie screamed and fired three more shots at her as he passed them fast.

"Fucking shot me! I'm hit, baby! My leeeggg!" Curio felt a bullet whiz thru her hair. She could smell the singe, knew since her hair was cut so short, that bullet should have killed her. Another .38 slug creased her ass cheek, burning a furrow across the skin and punching through the hull at the waterline. It stung like hell until the third shot passed right through her right calf and punched another, smaller hole in the hull. The soft-nosed bullet's impact knocked her leg aside. The pain was electrifying. It was nothing she had ever thought possible. Only her vise-like grip on the wheel kept her from being knocked to the floor. She immediately hopped on her good leg, swearing.

Moses wiped his face as clean as he could with a loose t-shirt and saw the tiny entry hole on Curio's calf start to ooze blood as she raised it to keep her weight off it. Rage boiled within him, directed more at himself than his quarry.

"That fucking fucker!" He roared and trembled with fury. Water was trickling in through the holes in the hull.

Got her! Eddie saw her leg kick to the right as one of his shots hit it. Now they both had something else to think about besides him at least. Adrenaline was kicking in hard. He knew he had to do something. With only one more bullet, his options were limited. Of course, they did not know he had one shot. The only useful shot he could make was either a lucky hit on their motor and run like hell. Or hitting one of his attackers in such a way they had to make a decision about their life or his death in an instant. He could not merely gun it away from them regardless. With the rifle aboard and their faster boat, the open water was a deathtrap.

Not that in here ain't a deathtrap, too. He turned the Nautique around and saw Curio doing so as well. Laying the .38 across the windshield, he took aim, trying to keep her head down until he could pass them against and get another try at them without the protection of the bow. The pair was now the hunted, not the hunter. He wondered how they felt about that.

Moses was on his feet in an instant, Cletus in his hand. He sighted in and saw Nesbit already had the draw on them. Then the Nautique turned a few degrees to port, putting them on a collision course as Nesbit saw Moses aiming.

"Shoot or turn, asshole!" He punched the throttle ahead, ducking behind the console.

Curio cut the throttle back to nearly idle, letting Nesbit close on them full-bore and Moses got a sight picture. The boats closed on one another at nearly fifty miles per hour. At the last possible second, Eddie could see Curio was locked in on his face. Her pretty face registered only rage and malice as the rooster tail erupted again behind their Bayliner. She even hunched forward, readying for impact.

That crazy bitch! He cut his throttle back a third to give himself a extra second to maneuver and cut his wheel to port, trying to put Curio between Moses' long gun and the Nautique.

Moses saw the feint to the left and tried to get a round off before he lost the position. When he pulled the trigger, nothing happened.

Fucking safety! He felt like an amateur in a split second. The boats missed each other by six inches, scratching each other amidships as she turned the wheel to starboard and leapt...all five feet of bloody, beautiful, naked Curio into the Nautique. She landed with a thud and a hellish scream between the padded engine cover and the aft end of the hull. She collapsed in the space between.

"What the fuck? Curio!" Screaming in shock, Moses grabbed the wheel and cut it hard, the Bayliner rocking violently as the wakes from the two boats began clashing against each other as they rebounded from the tight banks on each side of the battle. He punched the throttle as he came about from a near-dead stop in the choppy slough. Wiping fresh blood from his scalp, he clasped Cletus by the pistol grip and laid it across the shattered remnants of the windshield. The boat swung around sharply, slinging Moses to the left. He reached without looking for the dagger's handle he had impaled in the hull as a handgrip.

It was missing.

Eddie watched as Curio Phelonie leapt like a cat, wearing only a pair of sunglasses, and landed behind him as he tried to avoid swapping paint with the Bayliner any more than necessary. Knowing Moses was holding the rifle, he gunned the motor ahead full, trying to put distance between them so Moses would be hesitant to fire on him, with his woman in the boat. Eddie was scared now. He saw the look on her face as she tried to plow into him head-on behind the wheel of a boat. There was no fear, only a spiteful smirk.

She knew I would chicken. Crazy sexy bitch!

He looked over his shoulder; she was trying to get on her feet. Her shot leg was enshrouded in smeared blood. A lot was smeared on the padded engine cover she broke her fall on.

"I'm gonna kill you, you fucking cocksucker!" She railed at him as she tried to get a balance on the bad leg. He knew she was keyed up on sheer hate, probably not feeling the leg at all. Suddenly she had a knife in her hand, gripping it for a downward stabbing assault. He cut the wheel from side-to-side violently, throwing her to the floor.

Curio collapsed on her unsteady feet, smacking her head against the side of the hull. Keeping her wits, she looked up at him and flipped the dagger over in her hand. Gripping the blade, she threw it at Nesbit.

Quick as a whip, Eddie felt a searing pain in his back. "Ahhh! Goddammit!" The Spyderco was imbedded to its hilt in his left lower quadrant.

Kidney! Shit!

Immediately, he knew all chances of him getting away, however slim they may have been anyway, was nixed. He needed medical attention, fast. The only possibility was to somehow get clear of those two and make a full throttle dash up to Robinsonville. Lay on the horn, jump out and say somebody tried to rob him and stabbed him. Of course, it meant cops searching the boat and questioning him. Probably meant he may end up being killed in a hospital bed before he got his story out. But all those were potentials. The certainty was that if he did not get loose of Moses and Curio and get a doctor to look at his back, he was a dead man. Sooner rather than later.

Moses closed on the from behind, the Bayliner still having the speed advantage on a straightaway. Curio tossed the knife into Eddie's back, just as she practiced countless times before behind his house. Shot, naked and still able to instinctively go for the kill in whatever manner she could muster, he shook his head in incredulity. Reaching up on Cletus, he flipped the bipod down and sighted in one-handed as he steered the boat. Curio stood up again, ruining his shot.

"Dammit baby, just duck for me!" He could see Nesbit still had the pistol in his hand. And she was empty-handed.

Curio staggered to her feet, spitting blood from a cut on the inside of her cheek. Eddie reached behind his back and pulled the knife free. Now he held the .38 and the dagger in one hand and the wheel in the other. Nervous about Moses, he decided to not rock the boat and knock her to her feet again, lest he open himself up for a shot. He could see the Bayliner closing on him again. Moses hunkered down behind the scope.

One shot... Eddie dropped the knife into the driver seat and shook the wheel again. Curio fell again, grabbing the engine cover to minimize her fall. She tried to rise again and her leg slipped on the plastic carpet. Looking down, she realized the carpet was slick with water and her own blood.

"Dickhead." She muttered. Eddie fired his final shot at the Bayliner and threw the gun at it. He missed with both. The channel was widening. Turning to face Curio as she scrambled to her feet again, he clasped the dagger in front of him.

"Come on, you wild ass whore! You fucked with the wrong motherfucker today!"

Curio looked past him. Less than a quarter mile, the channel was nearing the end of the island. She could see the gap in the trees where the channel widened and meandered to the right as it accepted the river.

There was a giant Corps of Engineer dredging platform anchored at the mouth of the channel, unused.

No way around it and no fucking time unless the motor stops... Her eyes widened and immediately she reached down and started popping latches on the engine housing.

"Not this boat, bitch!" Eddie started to lunge at her.

Curio pointed behind him. "Behind you, you stupid asshole!" Eddie smelled a trick and took a step toward her. She crouched, readying herself to defend against him but Eddie's right shoulder exploded in a red mist before he got an inch closer. The dagger went clattering to the floor beside her. She lunged for it quickly and grabbed it. Jumping up on her good leg, she took one more look at the dredge ahead and charged Eddie, screaming maniacally.

Moses saw the bend in the channel approaching and noticed the dredging rig as soon as she did. He expected her to point it out to Eddie but realized as fast as she did there was probably not enough response time for even he to turn the boat and he was probably not going to cut the throttle from sheer fear of the Bayliner catching him. Curio ducked to the ground, trying to pop the engine cover loose.

Eddie lunged at her and Moses got a perfect bead on him. He hit him in the right shoulder, knocking the good arm holding the dagger useless.

Nesbit screamed and slumped to his knees between the front seats, clutching his crumpled shoulder, shrieking in agony. Curio was upon him in an instant, dagger in hand. She glanced at the dredging rig, only seconds from impact.

"This is from Grizzly, you sorry fuckin' thief!" She slashed his throat open and grabbed the throwable life preserver from its mount next to him. With a running leap over the stern of the boat, she screamed, "Shiitttt!" and hit the water hard. Moses watched her skip like a stone a few times as throttled back to idle and turned the boat sharply to cut his momentum. The dagger went somersaulting across the water a few times and disappeared.

Eddie lay in shock, hand on his gurgling throat as the Nautique collided with the giant pontoon ballast of the dredge and disintegrated. Moses watched as pieces flew high into the air and fell back into the water after a few pregnant seconds. Curio went under for a few seconds, her wind knocked out by the impact of the water. Feeling herself floating submerged, she snapped back to life and swam for the surface. When she kicked a few times, she broke the surface. Unable to catch her breath, she waved frantically to Moses.

He pushed the boat quickly to her.

"You okay?" Her face was panicked. "Baby! Talk to me!" Moses cut the throttle to idle and let the momentum carry him to her. He began to smell gasoline, saw a sheen spreading toward them as the Mississippi spilled part of its girth into the channel beneath the dredge.

Shit, we're downriver of a gas leak!

Curio finally sucked in a lungful of air, choking and coughing before tears caught her unaware and she sobbed.

"Fuck, Moses. Baby, I think I cracked a rib!" She stammered and coughed, retching on the muddy water. "I'm hurtin!" She pulled the life preserver to her and laid her head on it. Moses could see the rainbow hues of the gas and oil slick clearly.

"Baby, come to me! Hurry! That gas could go up!" Sobbing in pain, she thrust out flaccidly with her arms and legs, looking more like a damaged tan frog than the hyper-confident and gorgeous woman she had been just ten minutes before. She left a trail of her blood behind her as her leg oozed.

Moses finally closed on her enough to get his strong arms under her shoulders. He rolled her into the boat, still clutching the life preserver, and laid her across the rear seat. As she reclined on the seat, coughing and crying softly as she tried to get her shit together, Moses noticed for the first time the water inside the boat had enough volume to be noticeable. His eyes glared at the stream of water steadily pouring in through the two bullet holes. One was the diameter of an acorn. The other was a walnut, though. And it was a few inches below the waterline.

"Shit! We're sinking!" He kicked off his sandals and plugged his big toe across the larger breach.

Gripping her bruised side, Curio sat up gingerly. The gas in Eddie's tank found a hot place on the crankcase of the destroyed Nautique and erupted in flames and black smoke.

"Oh fuck! That's gonna be noticed." Curio winced and laid back down on the seat in pain as Moses turned the Bayliner downriver and hammered down as the slick caught afire, spreading toward them.

"Shit hot! It's gonna set that island on fire and the dredge, too. Shit! Half the damn country gonna be putting in up at Robinsonville and coming down here to investigate."

He flipped the bilge pump on and hoped the water stayed out of the engine and transmission long enough to put some distance between themselves and the wreck.

"Lucky there warn't no crew on that dredge, baby. We'd be fucked if there was. That was stupid of me to follow that asshole in there without knowing what and who was on the other side. Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!' Moses tried to hold his composure. He could see she was in extreme pain. Her left side was bruising up. She spat a glob of bloody spit and snot over the side. The exertion of even that movement brought her hand to her side and she muttered, "Ow, ow, ow!" through clenched teeth. Clutching her side, she sobbed like a child.

"Here," he reached into the cargo compartment and retrieved a t-shirt. "Put this on, baby. There's gonna be people coming to the smoke soon. We gotta get downriver and get ourselves a hideaway in one of them sloughs until we get the boat squared away and get a band-aid on some of these war wounds."

"My ass is burning, baby." Curio rolled on her side, sniffling as she looked at her butt. "He nicked my ass."

"That ass is always burning, mon cheri. Just think if you really had that fat ass you always keep saying you have. He woulda plugged you dead in it. I tell you your ass ain't fat and you don't believe me. See? It could always have been bigger."

"My leg hurts. My chest hurts. My ass hurts. I think I sprang a titty when I jumped outta that fuckin boat." She looked at her leg. Immersion in the water had washed it clean but blood ran again her shin.

"Better a sprained tit than an actual cracked rib. We gotta get you patched up. Get you to the Delandry's and get some antibiotics in you. Soon."

"I just need some stitches. It's through and through. I'm hackin' it."

"Baby. You can't dip an open wound in the Mississippi. Half of the country flushes their shitters in it. It'll rot off in a week. But not today at least." He shook his head, as panicked as she had ever seen him. "Fuck, we're in a bind."

"Wonderful." She coughed and moaned as she sniffled.

He began pulling loose slivers of Plexiglas from the window frame and flipping them overboard. Suddenly, the mouth of the channel was upon them and then behind them.

The vast, bright world of the sun-soaked Mississippi suddenly enveloped them as they left the trees behind. Moses fumbled in the first aid kit until found a pack of heavy gauze and handed it to her.

"Come sit up front, lay your leg in my lap and lean back so people can't see you."

"You seen your face, Tex? You the one whose gonna scare the fuck outta people with the goddamned cattle slaughter you got on your mug. You don't feel that? It don't hurt?"

"Huh?" He looked quickly at his face in the rearview mirror as Curio hobbled up front and flopped into the seat. "Oh shit." Moses scowled and shook his head. His face was almost completely red from the blood trickling from numerous cuts and gouges.

"Fuck. We look like we just hit that dredge, not that fucking Nesbit. Shit, man!" Moses pounded the wheel. "We gotta get hid and quickly. Can you hand me that water jug?" The bright summer sun has never seemed so illuminating and hot upon him.

Curio reached around and grabbed the nearly empty jug. Moses took notice.

"Drink it. I just want the jug. You swallow much water?"

"Not too much, I think. I've swallowed a lot worst. I'm sure."

She shook the jug and swilled the last few cups.

"Grab that little pocketknife in the tool pack in that first aid kit and hand that and the jug to me." Moses popped the dashboard and pulled out his river map. The wind wailing through the busted windscreen made it a tough go as he unfolded it to where they were and crimped the excess paper away. He exchanged the map for the knife and the jug with Curio.

"Find channel marker 114Tango on there. We are just a little south of it." Moses flicked open the tiny Schrade and carved away the top of the jug, making a dipper. Never taking his toe from the bullet hole, he scooped up a half-gallon of water from the river and leaned over the side as he poured the water over his face, wiping his skin with his hand to scour the trickles of blood that were already hardened.

"I found it. And there is that backwater we were just in."

"Good. Hand me the whiskey, love."

"Not the best time to be taking shots, Moses. But I want one, too."

"And I agree with you. It's a goddamned shame. But I need it nevertheless." Curio found a bottle of Rebel Yell whiskey, unopened in the false bottom where Cletus rested when not in use. She handed it to him.