Missions of the Retrieval Team - Land of the Kilts

[davedove]

Closing Scene

Dining Hall, Great Hall of X Marks the Scot

We were all gathering for a celebration at the Great Hall to commemorate the rescue in South America, a formal event, of course. I was speaking with Jamie and his wife as we waited for guests to arrive.

Arlen had been assigned the duty of announcing the arrivals and we heard him call out. “Ladies and gentlemen, Livingston.”

We turned and saw Greg making his way carefully down the stairs on a pair of crutches. His lower leg was in a cast.

“I’m so sorry about your accident,” I said to him.

“Yeah, can you believe it?” he answered. “All the way to South America, jumping from a crashing plane, fighting off soldiers, falling from a cliff, and I wind up breaking my ankle by slipping in the shower!”

As he moved off, Jamie and I couldn’t help but chuckle lightly to ourselves.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Arlen announced, “Elizabeth Crane.”

As Liz descended the stairs in her gown, Jamie’s eyes opened wide in recognition.

“Yes, Jamie,” Liz said as she approached. “You do recognize me.”

“Elizabeth Crane,” Jamie asked, “youngest daughter of Lord Robert Crane, of the House of Lords?”

“The very same,” Liz acknowledged, accepting Jamie’s handshake.

“But what are you doing in the jungles of South America?”

Liz laughed at that. “That’s the same thing my father keeps asking. I suppose you could blame it all on my uncle; he’s my inspiration. My father has four other children to take over for him and I wanted to do something different with my life rather than attend society functions. My uncle, who is also the youngest of his siblings, first spent some time in the military and then moved on to the life of an adventurer. After I took my first trip with him, I was forever hooked on the life.”

“Then how did you become associated with Dave?”

“Her father hired me,” I answered. “He claimed that his daughter had been lost and he wanted me to find her. Well, it turned out that he was just trying to bring her home so she would fit his image of a proper daughter. I found her, but also found out the truth. She returned with me to his home, she confronted him, and I returned the advance fee he had paid me. She has always been there when I needed her.”

Liz put her arm around me in a friendly hug. “And one couldn’t ask for a better employer,” she said.

Arlen announced the next arrival. “Ms. Partridge, of the Mata Hari Institute for Culinary Excellence.”

We turned to see Ms. Partridge descending the stairs in a lovely pink gown. She approached and kissed me on the cheek.

“Mr. Dove,” she said, “this is such a lovely party.”

“Then you should thank our Moderators; they are the hosts,” I responded. “Ms. Partridge, this is Jamie. Jamie, Ms. Partridge from the M.H.I.C.E.”

“Ah, yes,” she said, taking his hand, “Ms. Pleater has spoken of you.”

“I am pleased to make your acquaintance,” Jamie responded. “My wife, Star,” he said, introducing his wife.

After the ladies made each other’s acquaintance, Ms. Partridge turned back to me. “How goes the research in South America?” I asked.

“Ms. Pleater is currently there with a small team,” she answered. “Unfortunately, it appears the plants you discovered the natives using don’t seem to retain their properties when they are away from the tepui for very long. When picked, they retain their freshness for about one day and then become inert.”

“Can’t you just transplant the plants elsewhere? Those plants would be a great boon to medicine,” Jamie asked.

“Indeed they would,” she responded, “but the plants are the same species as ones we already know. The best she could determine is that there is something about the environment of the tepui that triggers the healing qualities.”

I noticed a very uncomfortable woman across the room. “Please, excuse me ladies, Jamie,” I said and walked towards her.

Ms. Pombo stood alone near the bar, sipping on her drink.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m not accustomed to this,” she replied. “I’m just a simple police woman. I shouldn’t be at a fancy party like this.”

“You’re looking at it all wrong,” I responded. “Of course you belong here; you are with me.” I examined her well-fitting dress. “And you look absolutely wonderful.”

“I know,” I continued, “you’re from Brazil. Would you like to Samba?”

Her face broke into a grin and she offered her hand. As I led her onto the dance floor, I signaled the band to play.

[davedove]

Commercial Break

A Private Home

We see an impeccably dressed, older man walking through his home.

“Hello,” he says. “I’m sure you all know me. My name is Hamish.”

The man walks into a closet, which is filled with kilts.

“And this is the famous Kollection,” he says, indicating the kilts.

“Like you, I want to keep my most cherished possessions safe, so that’s why I have had the Freelander 5000 Security System installed.”

He closes the vault door behind him and activates the switch on a small panel set into the wall. The label on the panel reads ‘Freelander 5000’ and we see the display change to ‘Active’.

The man walks away. From the shadows we see three masked men slip into view.

The first man attempts to break through the vault door. As his tools strike the door, electricity shoots through his body.

The second man attempts to disable the control panel on the wall. When he attempts to open the panel, the floor opens under him. We hear his screams as he falls.

The third man apparently decides that the security is too hard to penetrate and turns to escape. His foot crosses a beam of light and a metal box drops around him.

Hamish steps back into view. He is holding a small glass of spirits.

“The Freelander 5000,” he says and toasts the camera, “to keep your possessions safe.”

[davedove]

Thanks

Well that’s it for this tale. I hope you enjoyed it.

Except for the members of X Marks the Scot, all the characters in my story are fictional.

Although I am sure that there were many expeditions to explore Guyana, Colonel MacGregor and his men are pure fabrications, as are the natives of Hekata.

The tepuis do exist, just as I described them.

Unfortunately, the drug and human trafficking also exist and much of it does occur in the uncontrolled reaches of Guyana. We can only hope that some day these dealers in human misery will be brought to justice.

Be sure to stay tuned for my next story: A Spin of the Kilt.


Credits

The Staff of X Marks the Scot:
Tattoo Bradley
Starbkjrus

The original expedition to the Amazon:
Panache
Cajunscot
Coemgen
Standard
Wompet

The rescue team:
Clockwork John
Livingston
Jock Scot
Birddog and dogs
vmac3205 and dogs
Frank McGrath

The stars of my commercials:
Three unknown ladies for Emma perfume
vmac3205 and her dogs for Doggy Sweet Breath
Panache for the Perfectly Portable Mirror
Livingston and Pleater for I.C.E. Balm
Ms. Thrush, Ms. Hawk, Ms. Raven, Ms. Swan, Ms. Stork, Ms. Crane, and davedove for the X Spa
Hamish for the Freelander 5000 Security System