Page 48 of Garr

No! It has to be at the right moment. Get the damn boat fixed.

Incompetence. He was surrounded by incompetence. They could still make an impact if they started shooting now, but they wanted it to be bigger. According to the parade route, they would be passing an island that was decorated with trees, a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and paths lit for the holiday season. There would be hundreds, if not thousands, of people they could get to.

In the distance he could see the lights and felt the giddiness of reaching his goal. Just a little further, and everything would belong to him. He would have partners in other parts of the world wanting more weapons, he would have chaos in this country, leaders divided, and he would ultimately play the hero.

Boss, we can’t get the boat started. Someone is giving us a tow.

“Great, just great.”

“Looks like you boys are having trouble,” said the man in the small boat. He wasn’t dressed in costume, but his smaller boat had lights around it. There were three other men in the boat with him that looked friendly enough.

“Yeah, we don’t know a lot about these boats,” said Arvel. “We just need to catch up to our friends.”

“Sure, sure, no worries,” smiled Ryan. The man noticed his prosthetic arm and frowned at him. “Oh, don’t worry about this. I can do anything anyone else does. I’m a bit of a mechanic, so let me see if I can lend you a hand. No pun intended.”

The men on the pontoon boat laughed, welcoming him on board. Ryan stepped up, followed by Chief and Gator.

“Nice job on the decorations,” grinned Gator.

“Oh, it wasn’t us. Some fine-ass-looking women from the church helped us. I might have to stay and see where they live,” smirked Cord.

“Is that right?” grinned Gator with a snarl.

“Hey, this engine is a mess,” said Ryan. “We’re gonna need to give you a tow to get this fixed.”

“Really? Damn, boss isn’t gonna be happy about this,” said Arvel.

“Boss?” asked Ryan.

“Oh, we have two boats, and our, uh, act was together.”

“Well, don’t worry about it, boys. We’ve got a different act for you,” smiled Chief. The men stared at one another, then back at the other men. Realizing that they might be in more trouble than they could get out of, they reached for the weapons beneath their seats, only to be met by blinding fists and then blackness.

“That was fun,” smirked Ryan. “I’ll drive this back toward the lake and anchor it. The timer will be set for a spectacular parade of fireworks.”

“You’re really on your puns tonight,” grinned Chief.

“I try. I never mind giving up a hand for friends.” Ryan couldn’t help but laugh at himself as Chief and Gator groaned at his pun. They followed him into the lake, where he anchored the boat, leaving the ammunition behind but taking the guns. The two men were cuffed to the boat, unable to move.

Gator tapped his comms.

“Packages are wrapped and ready. Have fun, fellas.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

“What do we do now?” asked Samson.

“Now, we get to have some fun,” smiled Luke. He gave a nod to Eric, who steered the boat around the boat in front of him. Behind them were six smaller boats giving directions to others in the parade. Dan and Rett, East and Conor, Leif and Major, and finally, Patrick and Cowboy.

As the floating parade began to thin out, boats parked alongside the bayou and small islands, the boat they were really concerned with seemed to be oblivious. When the boat in front of them stopped, Brockman stood from his throne.

“What’s wrong?” he asked his driver.

“I don’t know. Everyone seems to be moving to the side of the river. That guy is blocking us.”

“Fuck! We have to get in the middle of these boats again. Move around them.”

His man nodded, trying to maneuver the boat around the others. The steering wheel tugged in the opposite direction, and he frowned, pulling on it again. When the engine began to sputter and cut out, he turned to the angry face of his boss.

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