Missions of the Retrieval Team - Land of the Kilts

[Sionnach]

too good, so far

[davedove]

Scene 5

The Castrated Monkey, a seedy bar in Georgetown, Guyana

“Tell me again why we’re here,” Greg said to me as we walked up to the seedy bar in the questionable part of town.

“We’re here to meet our guide,” I told him.

“And what kind of guide hangs out in a bar like this?” he asked.

“One of the best,” I told him.

We stepped into the dark bar and looked around. A large group of men were standing around a table on one side of the bar. Seated at the table were three people: a rough-looking local man who probably hadn’t bathed in months; an attractive dark-haired woman, dressed in khaki shorts and a green tank top; and a short, heavyset man who was dressed like a typical tourist, except for the bright green gloves he wore. The three were engaged in a drinking contest.

“There’s our guide,” I said, motioning towards the table.

“The guy with the gloves?” Greg asked.

“That’s Frank McGrath; he’s a member of X Marks and I’ve worked with him before. Let’s watch this to see how it turns out.”

As we watched, the local man at the table downed a shot glass of liquor and set the glass back on the table upside-down. He grinned at the woman in confidence but then his eyes glazed over and he fell over sideways with his chair.

The crowd around the table all laughed at the man and then turned to watch the woman. She wiped a bit of sweat from her forehead before picking up her own glass. She downed it quickly and closed her eyes in a grimace. She quickly recovered and placed the glass on the table.

Frank looked at the woman confidently and reached for his glass. He downed the liquor and put the glass down with no sign of discomfort. His broad smile was wide with confidence.

The woman watched Frank closely. She was hesitant as she reached for her glass, but she again downed the golden liquid. She shook her head to clear it as she placed the glass back on the table.

Frank’s face showed even more confidence as he reached for the next glass. He raised the glass in a toast to the woman before bringing it to his lips. He threw his head back as he drained the glass. He did not put the glass down, however. As he threw back his head, his motion continued and he fell over backwards, unconscious.

The men surrounding the table all cheered for the woman as she picked up the next glass and drained it. She reached over and gathered up the pile of money that was sitting on the table.

Greg looked over to me. “That’s him?” he asked. “That guy passed out on the floor is our guide?”

“I never said that,” I told him and waved to get the attention of the woman.

“Liz,” I said.

The woman looked in my direction at the mention of her name. Her face broke into a wide smile as she recognized me.

“Dave!” she bellowed as she stepped over and wrapped her arms around me.

Greg was watching this exchange. “I take it you know this woman,” he said. “Is she our guide?”

The woman and I broke our embrace, but still stood with an arm around each other as we looked towards Greg.

“Greg,” I said, “let me introduce you to Ms. Crane, another of my associates and our guide for this mission.”

Ms. Crane left my side and moved towards Greg. She ignored the hand he presented and grabbed him in a hug.

“Greg, luv,” she said. “It’s good to meet you. Just call me Liz.”

Greg was a bit flustered with her actions, but hugged her back. “Uh, yeah,” he answered. “Pleased to meet you.”

Ms. Crane pulled away from Greg and turned back to me. “So, where is the rest of our team?” she asked.

“They’re with Falcon at the airport. Greg and I came alone to get you,” I answered.

“Well, let’s go then!”

“What about him?” Greg asked, motioning to Frank on the floor. Frank was sleeping peacefully, with a big smile on his face.

“You’re right, we can’t leave him here,” I said. “Help me pick him up and we’ll take him with us.”

[Livingston]

Geeeze Dave. Hanging around you is going to get me in trouble....








with my wife!

[davedove]

Geeeze Dave. Hanging around you is going to get me in trouble....








with my wife!

Did you see my other thread to see who I cast as Ms. Crane.
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/m...474/index.html

[Livingston]

Yes........... 'nough said!!





Of course it's a good thing she has dark hair. If you had a redhead playing that part... well, let's just say the funeral would be early enough to still enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.

[Coemgen]

Fortunately, I'm able to use my mad Eagle Scout skills to keep us alive … for now, anyway …

[davedove]

Scene 6

The bad part of town, Georgetown, Guyana

As Greg and I carried the still groggy Frank down the street, Ms. Crane suddenly stopped us with her head raised, as though she were sniffing the air.

“What is it?” Greg asked.

“We’ve got company,” she said.

Just then, a large group of over a dozen rough looking men stepped out of the shadows and surrounded us. I recognized some of them as part of the crowd who had witnessed the drinking game.

“Where do you think you’re going, lady?” asked one of the bigger ones.

“My friends and I are calling it a night,” Ms. Crane answered. “Now, if you don’t mind, we will be on our way.”

“Oh no, we do mind,” said the big man. “You took our friend’s money, our money, and we want it back.”

Ms. Crane stood defiantly before them. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I earned that money fair and square and you’re not getting a bit of it.”

“You’re going to give us our money, lady. And, because you’re being so difficult, I think you’re going to give us something else to make up for our trouble.” He glared at her lecherously. “We’re going to have some fun with you.”

I noticed Ms. Crane subtly changing her stance. “Be ready to get low and keep an eye on Frank,” I whispered to Greg.

Greg looked at me, his eyes wide with understanding, and gently took all of Frank’s weight away from me.

Ms. Crane glared at the largest thug. “I don’t think you’re man enough.”

Anger crossed the big man’s face and he lunged for Ms. Crane. He had just made a big mistake.

I had recognized Ms. Crane’s change in stance; it was a fighting stance. She had trained quite a bit to develop her own unique fighting style that could best be described as a blend of the Brazilian art of Capoeira and good old bar room brawling.

When the big man lunged towards her, she had sprung backwards onto her hands. At the same time, her feet came flying upwards, catching the man under the chin. His head snapped backed and he flew over backwards, hitting the ground hard.

I quickly released my hold on Frank and spun around to face the men behind us. At the same time I had pulled out the telescoping batons that I had hidden under my shirt. Flicking both of my wrists, the batons slid out to their full length.

Greg took Frank’s weight from me and quickly eased him to the ground. He then assumed a fighting stance of his own.

The other toughs hesitated. In just a moment, their leader had fallen and their supposedly helpless prey had turned into competent and ready fighters.

“Do any of you want the same?” Ms. Crane demanded of them.

The men all looked around at each other, unsure of themselves.

“Get out of here now!” Ms. Crane ordered.

The men all turned and moved quickly away from us.

“Well done,” I said to her as we all relaxed.

“Nothing to it,” she answered. “Thugs like that are all basically cowards, only preying on the weak. If you stand up to them and take out their leader quickly, they don’t know what to do.”

“Nevertheless,” I said, “let’s get out of the area before they remember they outnumber us.”

Greg help Frank back to his feet and we quickly moved down the street.

[Livingston]

Did I happen to mention that I've studied the marshal arts for a few years? Granted that was mumble mumble years ago but some things you just don't forget.

[Arlen]

I like this lady already!

[davedove]

Scene 7

Rented hangar, Georgetown Airport

“According to the suppliers and government officials we have questioned,” I said to my assembled team, “Todd and his team were headed to the Guyana Highlands in the southwest portion of the country, near where the borders of Guyana, Venezuela, and Brazil all meet. Unlike the better-known tepuis in Canaima, in Venezuela, there are some smaller, completely unexplored tepuis. We suspect Todd was heading for one of those.”

“Unfortunately,” said Ms. Crane, “that region is still very wild. We could search for years to find traces of a team as small as Todd’s.”

“Is there no way to narrow down the search area?” asked Jock.

Ms. Crane pointed to the area on the map on the wall. “The tepuis we are interested in are all in this general region. If we first do an aerial reconnaissance, there is a small chance that we could locate some sign of the missing team. If that doesn’t work, we have no choice but to go in on the ground.”

“I have arranged for us to use a small passenger plane,” said Ms. Falcon. “It’s big enough for our entire team with lots of windows. We will search the area with that as long as fuel holds out.”

“Hopefully,” I said, “we can find a clue to the team’s whereabouts and then search the narrowed area from the ground. We have the last location of their tracking signals, so we can start there. Unfortunately, it has been a few days and they could have covered a lot of ground in that time.”

“There are other concerns,” said Ms. Hawk. “The national borders in that area are not clear and are in dispute. Both Todd’s team and our own have clearance from the Guyana government, but we have been unable to obtain the same clearance from Venezuela.”

“So we may run into the Venezuelan army?” asked Greg.

“The possibility exists,” I answered. “Hopefully our Guyana permits and a fast explanation will convince them that we truly are a rescue party and not trying to sneak across the border for illegal purposes.”

“Which brings us to my next caution,” Ms. Hawk continued. “There is a lot of illegal activity that takes place in Guyana, most notably both drug and human trafficking. Not only will we need to be careful, it could be an explanation for the loss of Todd’s team.”

“One other thing,” said Ms. Swan. “We still don’t know what caused the loss of the tracking signals. Whatever stopped their signals could affect us as well.”

“Any questions or concerns?” I asked.

When no one brought up any more issues, I continued. “Okay, I will contact the League to let them know our plans. I suggest you all get some rest. We take off at first light tomorrow.”