Three Loves Seven, Chapter 28, Part 1 - "Would You Mind Chasing Down Some Pirates for Us? Please?"

Dear Gentle Readers,

Looking for street art or Malibu pictures? Sorry. That blogger is on vacation this week. However, the weekend storyteller guy is still on duty.

Are you a parent? Have you ever had some person who is NOT A PARENT try to tell you what it's like to relate to your own child or why your kid is doing something. Yeah, I hate those people too. Are they ever right? Hardly. Even if you don't have kids, just imagine some tyro trying to school you in something that you are expert in. Got it? Yeah! That's the burn I'm looking for.

Yup, as usual, our hero Dr. Wong finds another way to be a clueless jerk through miscommunication and rudeness when something of a crisis shows up, BUT because Mu needs something from him, she has to put up with his arrogant, insolent, and self-important pronouncements. It's like he feels his PhDs entitle him say whatever he wants. I hate when that happens.

Even so, I'm sure the Universe will find some way to correct him. Let's find out, shall we?


... as the story continues ...

Personal Journal

U.S. Time:             Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Island Time:        Dragon, Month 7, Day 12, Xingqi 2

Project Time:      Week 10, Day 3

The supply vessel arrived on Monday morning making its quarterly visit. All Islanders reported to assist in unloading, accounting for, and transporting provisions into proper storage. I asked if I might be of assistance, but Lee insisted that it was under control and that it was everyone’s job EXCEPT mine.

She almost bristled at my suggestion of being of help. “Your time is now very short. You should concentrate on doing your research work,” she snapped at me as if she were my boss. It was strange to find her defending my work. I think she did NOT want me messing up things and getting in the way. To my surprise I had become quite accustomed to acquiescing to her orders. But, as usually is the case, she was quite right. There was more than enough for me to do without taking on their labor. However, during my time with them I had likewise become quite accustomed to assisting in whatever tasks the enlisted me for. I had lost an inch off my waist, but my strength and weight had increased. I was also about two shades darker than when I had arrived.

They fed the men Monday night, preparing a large meal for them. After I finished up my day’s work and meeting with Seconds for tutoring, I was invited to sit and sup with the sailors and I was introduced as an NGO science worker and geologist. The Islanders did not join them. Ling, Nu, and Xiao Mei were the ones assigned to bring out their food. When the girls came in hearing distance, the men fell silent and dropped their heads. One of the young men seemed to keep his eyes constantly on Nu such that it caught my attention. She actively tried not to return his gaze, but I caught her doing so a couple of times.

The captain of the ship was an older man that they called Captain Andou. I judged him to be about 64 but later learned he was more my age. Sun, sea, and salt seemed to have put a lot of visible mileage on him. He had a crew of three young men whose ages seemed to vary from 20 to 25? My untrained eye judged them to be maybe Indonesian or Filipino or maybe Melanesian? As dark as I thought I had become they were three shades darker—small but lean, tough guys who made me feel quite stout. Stick boys like these in an American classroom where they are ethnic oddities, and a host of scholarly expectations and stereotypes descend on them and their families. And for the most part, they buy in.

And for the record, I don’t think every Asian kid needs to become an engineer, really I don’t. But I DO believe every KID needs to study physics and engineering.

Here on this boat, in a world where most everybody looks like them, these boys were free to carry on the family business of sailing and shipping. They all moved with grace and bravado and deliberation and carried a quality of fierceness in their gait. They were taciturn for the most part. The skipper and I chatted a little about the weather on the seas and the specifications of his boat over supper. Skipper said they would leave in the morning. Apparently they had some kind of regular delivery and pickup circuit they made to various islands.

Feng and Lee had prepared some Island livestock and food products for them and asked me to deliver them later that evening.  There were several cages with birds in them and Lee had given me a few bottles of homemade spirits she had distilled. Their main ship was anchored in the middle of the harbor and the lighter craft was at the small dock. They were camped out on the beach and Skipper invited me to hang out a bit with them. I brought set of pressure gauges and a wrench set that I knew I would no longer need and offered them to Skipper. At first he refused, but then I put them in a pile next to their gear that they had set in a corner and said I would pick them up later, which I had no intention of doing, and that was the end of that. To the young men I handed each a small diamond surfaced-sharping stone, (I saw that they all carried knives) which they gratefully accepted. This was some of the trading stock I had brought along. They had nothing on them to trade, so they gave me bandanas off their heads which I gladly took. I gave Skipper my “space” pens and waterproof field markers that I had on me, as well as a pocket-knife screwdriver set and he gave me a large shark tooth pendant. I was happy I finally had met some people to whom I could unload my goodwill cargo as it was intended.

I noted that they had a couple of jet skis hung off the sides of their ship and asked what they used those for. It didn’t seem like recreational equipment was anything a freighter would want to waste tonnage on. He said they were actually indispensible in their short-distance work. Skipper said if I wanted to come on board, he had some gifts more appropriate that he would like to give me, but it seemed like too much trouble, so I declined. I also had a suspicion that the less I knew about their work the better.

We uncapped the spirits and all took a drink together. I was glad I was able to retrieve some American cigarettes from my drone delivery and offer them smokes. We taught each other some songs and then I bid them good night and exchanged our wishes that we would meet again someday.

Little did I realize that “someday” would be the very next day in different circumstances.

* * *

This morning, Tuesday, I reported to the Dragon Domain to continue my photographing and analysis of exposed layers on the hill outcropping near to the granary that I had begun the day before. Ling came running and calling my name. It was about 9:30 a.m.

     “Dr. Wong,” she said, “my mother and Auntie Mu need you to come with me.”

     “Certainly. Let me put my cameras away in the lab and I’ll be right ...”

     “Now please,” she said it with urgency. Eight and Eve arrived next.

     “What’s wrong?” I asked.

     “We will put away your equipment Professor,” said Eve.

     “Sounds serious,” I said.

Ling said nothing else and took me to the boathouse.

     “Nu is missing,” said Mu.

     “So you need me to help look?”

     “We’ve already done that,” said Mu. “I believe she is off the Island.”

     “How is that possible?” And then I remembered the supply ship had embarked early that morning. “You think she’s on Skipper Andou’s ship.”

     “I know she is. There is no other explanation. And she is there against her will.”

     “You can’t be sure about that. It’s not my place to tell you about your own daughter, but there were three young men about her age on that ship. I think she was eyeing one of them and he her.”

     “No. She is not interested in that way with boys of that sort.”

     “So it’s a kidnapping you’re saying.”

     “Yes.”

     “I can get the military to respond pretty quick. I’ll call them.”

     “We prefer NOT to involve the military authorities,” said Lee.

     “And why not?” I asked.

     “They are Dog Islanders,” said Mu. “It is an internal matter with our own people.”

     “Have you radioed them?”

     “No answer of course,” said Lee.

     “So what would you like me to do?”

     “We know it’s an imposition and that you have work to do . . .”

     “Fuck the imposition. What do you want me to do?”

     “We have the larger seagoing boat. I believe you used it once? Would you be willing to take it on the high seas and retrieve Nu?” asked Mu.

     “It’s a big ocean out there! And you just said they unresponsive to radio contact.”

     “We know exactly where they are going and the route they will take. If you take it out and keep the engine just below the yellow you WILL overtake them. They were low in the water so they are moving slowly. We are the first stop,” said Lee assuringly.

     “These men. Do they use … firearms … regularly in their work?”

     “Are you asking if they are pirates?” asked Mu.

     “I saw mounts on all sides of their boat. They were too heavy-duty for fishing poles. So, yeah, I guess I am asking. Because if you’re wanting me to chase down a pirate ship, even one that is off duty acting like it’s a freighter, I am going to become very scared and the answer will be ‘no.’”

     “Normally, I would say you would have good reason to be afraid,” said Mu. “But I think you probably should be fine with this mission.”

     “Do they have long-range weapons?”

     “Of course.”

     “Will I have any weapons to answer in kind?”

     “No. And it’s probably best that you don’t anyway.”

     “I need you to tell me everything about that crew,” I said.

Mu looked at Lee.

     “I am going to run the final preparation checklist,” said Lee. “YOU tell him. It will be ready in 30 minutes.” She stepped down into the boat to open up the engine compartment. Mu motioned me to step outside.

     “Andou is a very faithful expatriate citizen of Dog Island. One of the young men on his crew, Hari, is his youngest son. Two of the crew are his brother’s sons, the ones with the spiky haircuts, and the other with the bold meander tattoos on his arms is someone I do not know, but his tattoo says he is a kinsman. I will say at this point only that Nu and I have a blood relationship to that clan.”

     “So you’re coming along with me on this mission then?”

     “No. It will be just you.”

     “Why the hell not? You’re my insurance they don’t slit my throat or take me out with a rifle. They don’t know me.”

     “Listen carefully Clete. The Princesses of Dog Island are pledged to each other and to the Island itself that none will leave until the coming of the Prince.”

     “The Firsts and the Seconds both?”

     “Yes.”

     “What if this Prince guy doesn’t show up?”

     “It WILL happen. And it will happen in my lifetime.”

     “What about Xiao Mei, The Questor? She’s supposed to leave.”

     “She was granted a special office, sanctioned by the Sea Witch. THIS incident is a break of faith.”

     “It’s not a break of faith if, like you say, this was involuntary.”

     “I don’t want to argue about the effects of intentionality or if intention event exists as a reality now. You MUST bring Nu back.”

     “What happens if she doesn’t come back? Do you all turn into pumpkins or something?”

     “CLETE!”

I swear the woman was going to pick me up and throw me down, she gave me a look so mean. She turned away, bent over, and fell on her knees. And started crying in her hands.

     “The Heavens are so cruel! Why did it have to be someone like you at a time like this?”

     “Look, I’m sorry. That was way outta line. I don’t know what comes outta me sometimes.”

     “I don’t know what happens. No virgin princess has ever left. There is an oracle When hope dies, the Island dies. I’m concerned. Very concerned.”

     “Why entrust me with this if it’s so important? Your Protectorate is much better equipped for this kind of thing.”

     “Ever since you arrived Clete, I have asked myself why are you here? You tell me Clete, why are you here?”

     “I’m here to conduct a survey.”

     “No, no, no! Others have tried before. Why did the Island permit you on?”

     “An Island does not have a conscious will.”

     “Never mind. It’s useless to discuss this with you. I thought you would help. Oh Nu! I’m sorry.”

     “Mu. If you want me to do it, just tell me that it’s not going to be dangerous and all I have to do is pick her up at sea.”

     “You want me to lie? Is that it?”

     “Yeah. I am. I pay attention when people who are highly skilled in the use of language carefully use the subjunctive mood. I don’t make life-and-death decisions based on superstitious hearsay. If you ask me to do something risky I need information. I don’t appreciate just being ordered around either.”

     “What difference will my telling you a lie make?”

     “I don’t have to take blame if it turns out badly.”

     “How can you be so morally ambiguous? My respect for you is going down fast. You know what you are? You are a true reprobate.”

     “I’m in the oil business. I’m used to being insulted.”

     “I’m sorry. I’m very upset right now. I’m not thinking at my best.”

     “We have some time while Lee works on the boat. I want you calm down and listen because I have some very frank things to say to you.”

     “You are entitled. I am asking you to do something difficult. Go ahead.”

     “I have gotten bits and pieces of this ‘fanciful lore’ of yours over the past weeks, and I think you are allowing yourselves to be unduly bound to some superstitious legend that you are blindly following only because of some over-sensitivity to keeping tradition. That’s fine if you want to choose a subsistence lifestyle for yourselves, it’s your choice. But your superstitions are handicapping your daughters’ high achievement and potential by binding them here. As an educator and as a lifelong professional developer of resources, I find that morally reprehensible and intolerable. Maybe it would be different if you were a bunch of ignorant, uneducated, knuckle-draggers who were not interested in fully developing your faculties, but you are nine sophisticated intellects yourselves who persist in this backward thinking, dragging your daughters down.”

Her look turned black. She was angry.

     “You don’t know everything about us. Try not to judge us too harshly.”

     “I’ve seen enough. I know an injustice when I see it. YOU are the bad guys!”

     “That's what you think? And why do you care?”

     “It’s your own fault. You drew me into your daughters’ lives by asking me to teach them.”

     “You could have refused. In fact you were advised to limit contact with us.”

     “I care about people I teach. It’s a failing of mine.”

     “That is probably the only trait of yours that I find admirable, Dr. Wong. Everything else is reprehensible. It's your only good point.”

     “Strength? Hardly. It's all reactionary. Blame psychology. It’s because I never had children of my own. I probably have some kind of severe compensation complex. My entire family was taken from me. Do you have any idea what that means or what that does to you?”

     “I am learning right now.”

Man, Mu was good at that. REALLY good. She was going to get even better.

     “Will you help us? Will you help me? Please. I’m her mother. She is everything I have.” Mu was starting to tear up. She was breaking. She had been stone solid right up until this point. “I realize she will leave me at some point. But not now. Not yet. Not like this . . .”

She could not finish her sentence. The Island’s “Iron Lady” was breaking. This was my chance to get at some truth.

     “Here’s my reading of what’s going on. Your daughter is 19. She’s been an adult in your culture for sometime now. She is doing what young adults do. She’s making a major jump for it. It looks to me like she is ready to make a conscious choice to build her own life separate from you; just as you did from your mother. Is her passport missing? Are her personal effects gone?”

     “I know what you’re getting at, but I assure you she has not left on her own.”

     “You can’t know that for certain. Maybe you’re in denial. If I overtake Skipper Andou’s boat, and if they allow me to board without violence, I will ask Nu if she wishes to return. If she says no, I’m coming back, WITHOUT her. If she asks my advice, I will tell her to keep going and leave this place behind, but stay in touch. Why? Because I believe the minute she sets foot on other soil, your faith will break, but it DESERVES to break. It is not serving you well. It has enslaved you. By her doing this, you will then be free from this mindless devotion to some crazy fairy tale. It will be the best thing that ever happened to you. You must let this thing die so that something else can grow out of it.”

     “You’re wrong, wrong. YOU’RE WRONG! And who are you to judge? What if something terrible happens then to all the rest of us. Can you live with that?”

     “What? Some woo-woo, island jungle curse? What do you fear will happen?”

     “Half of the island sank underwater the last time the last time the Gods of Fate were provoked.”

     “Out of respect to you, I am not going to say anything in response to that about correlation and causation. Tell you what, this is the help I will offer.”

I pulled out my satellite phone.

     “See this number? It’s not your navy, it’s MINE. I have someone who owes me a favor on the other end who is VERY skilled at dealing with pirates. He will stop them, he will capture them, and he will kill them if necessary because he absolutely hates, HATES renegade seafarers who create friction on the seas. Hit dial and I will call in that favor, THAT way you don’t have to put up with my skepticism about your beliefs.”

She grabbed the phone out of my hand and stared at the number for a long time.

     “You are a scoundrel. Did you know that? No, I will use your words, you are a real FUCKING BASTARD. Saying such things to me at a time like this. How DARE you!”

I think I saw Lee timidly peeking out at us from the boathouse. Mu saw my eyes wandering away. She whirled about.

     “LEE! Bring the duffle! NOW!”

Lee disappeared and came out quietly and hurriedly with a green duffle bag. Mu practically threw my phone back at me. She knelt down, unzipped the duffle and pulled out a couple of things. Her apparent rage subsided a bit, but I could tell it was lurking just below her now steeled exterior.

     “What’s that?” I asked.

     “Things that you will need should you go in pursuit. Special clothing, a flag, various artifacts.”

She took out what seemed to be a long, sheathed short sword. She drew it out and tested the sharpness of the blade with the flat of her thumb.

     “Dull and a but rusty. Needs to be sharpened. The sharping stone is in the duffle.”

     “Not much good against someone with a gun.”

     “A skilled knife master can defeat a pistol-wielder. But some weapons can be convincing if you only show them.”

     “I have not agreed to assist you.”

     “I know. I’m realistically weighing my options. This is an ancient heirloom of ours. The swordsmith  was quite gifted. It feels quite balanced even in my hand. And yet it has sufficient weight to carry itself into a target with the right push.”

     “Mu. You need to put that away right now. You are in an agitated state and probably not thinking clearly.”

     “Quite the contrary Dr. Wong. This situation has given me absolute clarity. And as sorry as I am to say it, your conjectures about Nu are not without merit. They’re unlikely, but … you’ve given me something to think about that I haven’t before. And she has met you, a man from the outside. And I invited that situation myself. And though it is small, now I have doubt. Is that your mission in life Doctor? To undermine certainty and belief?”

     “I like to think I’m in the business of uncovering and rejecting false assumptions.”

     “And what is the best way for you to conduct an investigation of what you think is true?”

I really did not want that job. But if Nu was really there against her will, which I doubted, it was a worthy effort. And so I caved.

     “Deal.”

© Copyright 2012 by Vincent Way, all rights reserved.