Devil's Lunch bit

Vridi Canal was choppy water, and the engines were on again as we navigated the oil tanker berths, ‘Ro-Ro’ jetty and fishing quays.

Eventually we moved under the Boulevard de Gaulle and into the Ebrie Lagoon and suddenly we all scrambled to Irish as he took a rifle, looking in the distance at a launch coming from the Biafra area with Irish muttering about weapons as we interrupted him and Mr Hoo and myself almost producing pistols to make an impact. 

They saluted us with Mr Hoo nodding like a Christmas toy and we moved just off the ‘Isle Desiree’ and I was certainly desirous of some tranquillity and not seeing Mr Hoo feeling superior or Irish’s taste for weapons or Benny licking his jaws at a chance of getting women; why the misery did they struggle to slaughter us—this crowd had suicide tattooed on their heads.

We cut the engines, lowered the foils and waited. The boat which looked like they leased it arrived alongside and we wrapped the boats together, moving the crates on-board while they threw more bags onto us. After another two hours we moved on, passing Abra down into the deeper ways to Grand Bassam; moving out by the Morin and into the Comoe. 

From there down to Moossou near Bouet was clear, and we reached the pier near Assoyam where we could drop anchor knowing good depth existed.

Irish and Benny were already working on the crates with Mr Hoo still salivating.

While the contents headed straight into the freezers as we once again stocked up on essentials such as frozen burgers and coffee that Mr Hoo would microwave. 

There was again another MG4, M27 and Mr Hoo told Irish to educate me on the MG4.

The M27 seemed to belong to Mr Hoo, however my G36 headed for Scooter like an old friend. 

We had no plan to let the Major have an automatic gun besides the pistol, but Mr Hoo had another carton, and from this he produced X3 Tasers and what read like jungle knives. 

The Major seemed to have accepted me as Mr Hoo’s No.2. 

I supposed I could stay sober unlike him and we overlooked his sherry stocks in the ‘V’ as he required them, but the Major saw his term was up and so was he if he allowed anybody the option 

We had to locate these Raiders and snuffed them out of the industry, but we never thought they would know where to pay us the compliment of a visit before we could warmly shake them by the throat, but that was what happened.

“Mr Hoo and I finished our 6 hours on and he announced a squad meeting to say he was changing the crew routines.

The Major became the third cabin guy with one alternative attending. 

The Major’s band would be Benny; mine would be Irish and Mr Hoo would take Scooter, but we would carry knives and Tasers on all occasions as standard.”

Mr Hoo listed potential target areas worked by the Pirates, and for once we did actually listen. 

The Vitre Isle dwarfing Morin was too far away, so we would study Bouet and moved ashore. 

We required stuff from Carrefour, although God only determines what or where we would place it apart from in Mr Hoo’s gullet when it was empty—and don’t stay up as we don’t want anyone choking in bed?

We checked fuel, and there were two Petrol Stations we could use and the Major wasn’t to drink it. 

There will be alcohol on board for those not on watch but no abusing it or most would travel over the side…? And the Major with it!

All standard stuff, you would think?

“One query, Mr Hoo,” said Irish, “What defence can we adopt if they fire at us?”

“Irish. They want us for disrupting their encampments and enterprises. If they don’t start firing then you don’t…?”

“If they are preparing to shoot us, Mr Hoo?”

“If they open fire, then return their fire until they stop.”

“It seems a little nefarious, Mr Hoo. They can open fire on us and we can not prevent it, but we can’t kill them before they kill us?”

“We are not taking captives, which does not mean kill them; Taser them if they are close; aim for the limbs if they are not and then move. We just need them to have their intentions disrupted and small boats sunk… the bigger ones if we can destroy them but the small ones and people are the aim since without the small ships they can’t get crews out to the larger boats.”

I interrupted at this point as it sounded like gibberish, “How are we supposed to stop the hijackings, apart from being sitting targets until they exhaust all the ammunition?”

“What we don’t have is permission for, is to disrupt any hijacking of the tankers or do anything in public that gets our enormous faces across the news. Our business is the guys’ on-shore and guys; we do it.”

“So they are again free to exploit opportunities to hijack. What is your cut, Mr Hoo, as we get collected by those who hijack?”