“Halt, goddamnit!” yelled David. But it was too late. The fight was on.
The first male boarding was caught by a front kick from Heidi as the tourists huddled in the back of the boat. The man was knocked over the gunnel and into the ocean.
The second one was the dark tanned original speaker, with a nasty looking fishing knife in his hand. He was focused on Heidi Faust, so he did not notice David leaping to body slam him on his left side. A lead sap David had inherited from his father flattened the man onto the bottom of the tourist boat.
The Seminole tribal member came up with a twelve gauge pump shotgun from under a fishing net. As he raised it, Wild Bill demonstrated the long reach of his social tentacles by grabbing the barrel of the firearm with one grasping Squid hand and shoving it skyward. The Squid’s other hand wrapped extra long digits around the man’s throat. Bill yanked the Seminole in reach of his thick limbs and wrapped him up like a constrictor snake.
The fourth Boston Whaler crewman froze in the bow of the tourist boat.
“Hands up, cabron!” ordered David. The slightly built man jammed his hands up as if he was reaching for heaven. David had him down and handcuffed in record time.
“David,” called out Bill. “The human who went overboard has not come to the surface.”
“Aw, shit!’ As David started to shuck his equipment belt, Bill shoved his prisoner towards the lawman. David was forced to grab the Seminole, noticing his face was a bit blue from the constriction of the large Tschaaa limbs. Then the cephalopod was over the gunnels and into the ocean. Of course, he was the logical pick for ocean rescue. He was a true amphibian. In short order, Wild Bill was shoving the unconscious man back onto the boat.
“He does not breath,” Bill said.
“I got it,” said the woman called Heidi. In moments she was performing CPR on her former enemy. A couple of tourists moved to help. With that, David turned his attention to the other three crewmen. With Bill’s help, all three were in the bow of the Lawman’s boat with zip-tied hands.
“My ribs are broken,” complained the Seminole. David snickered.
“Never wrestle with a Squid,” said David. “Especially a big fellow like Wild Bill here. I’ll put money on him wrestling one of your ‘gators.”
“He’s breathing!” Heidi called out.
“Good,” said David. “Less paperwork.”
The nearly drowned man joined the other three in the Open Fisherman. The three conscious men glared at David and Bill, the ‘sapped’ one was still out for the count.
“You’ll be going into the local lockup provided by the Admiral,” explained David. “Next time, don’t try attacking women or Lawmen.”
He noticed Bill was holding his translator/computer up as if using a camera to film the occupants of the tourist boat. The sizeable Tschaaa male then put the device back hanging on his body. Bill then raised his social tentacles in a gesture of great respect.
“What’s up, Bill?” David asked.
“It is She. The Breeder of the Tears.”
“What?” asked David. Just then, Heidi came to the connected gunnels.
“Sorry if I caused a ruckus, Agent,” the young lady said.
“You are She. The one who met Cassandra before she became Cassandra,” stated the Tschaaa. With the comment, Heidi began to blush and fidget as she spoke.
“Man, I wish people would forget about that. It was by sheer chance…”
“I remember now,” interjected David. “First kindly contact between females from both species. Cassandra was part of the Great Compromise meeting which happened years later, yet mentioned the contact it as a prime reason to ask for peace.” The Lawman frowned.
“Too bad it couldn’t have happened sooner. My Dad would still be alive.”
Heidi gave him a bit of a hard look.
“I was also the bodyguard for Director Lloyd. So I guess that cancels things out.”
“No,” argued David. “I know that story direct from the horse's mouth. Abigail, the Avenging Angel. She is the cousin of the Agent who broke me in. Brynhilde Jorgensen. They were both at the Meeting of the Females, which led to the Great Compromise.” He paused.
“Then to Director Lloyd stopping a specific Lord from sending more Space Rocks down on us, for which he died.”
A tear started to run down Heidi’s cheek, but she stopped it with a swipe of her hand.
“It will all soon be ancient history,” the former Coastie stated.
“No, honored lady, it will not.” The Squid translator seemed to give the Tschaaa’s voice more gravitas.
“It is a history that helped my species to find its way again. We are again creatures of Mother Ocean, not eaters of monkey meat.”
“May I touch your face, Heidi?” asked Bill.
“Aw, hell. Sure.” Another tear started down her cheek, and Wild Bill captured it. He transferred the moisture to his hidden mouth.
“I have tasted your salt from Mother Ocean. I am honored.”
Heidi turned away. “I need to get my passengers back to land.”
“Sure,” said David. “I’ll find you later for a report.”
He watched as the former Coast Guard member calmed her passengers down then ran the boat to shore. Wild Bill, one large eye on the prisoners and the other on David, another Squid trick, spoke.
“Is she an attractive Breeder?”
“Right now, she is a very sad one,” answered David. “Bad memories do that.”
David turned towards Bill.
“Thanks for handling the nimrod with the shotgun. And saving the drowning guy.”
“That is what we do David, Yes? As fellow lawmen?”
The Ranger’s aon grinned at the great bear of a creature. Funny, he thought, he was already thinking of Bill as a “he”, not as a Squid, an It.
“And now, Wild Bill, we get to do what lawmen dislike but spend a lot of time finishing.”
“What is that, David?”
“Paperwork.”
The next day Heidi Faust found them as they prepared their boat for another patrol. Wild Bill with his great sight saw her coming a half mile away.
“The Breeder of the Tears approaches, David.”
“Where, Bill?”
“There, David,” the Squid answered as he pointed with his long social tentacle. David strained his eyes to see and only saw a blurred figure.
“Damn I wish I had your eyesight, Wild Bill.”
“And I have always wondered how it would be to walk so easily upright, on just two legs So David, we are even in unfulfilled desires.”
David chuckled. Bill was becoming quite the philosopher. He sat down and waited until Heidi was closer, then the Lawman up onto the dock and walked to greet her.
“Well, Ma’am, what brings you here?”
“To give you a statement, as you asked,” Heidi said that with a warm smile and eyes that twinkled in the sunlight. “And to apologize for being so short with you.”
“Water under the bridge,” replied David. “I have some statement forms here. You have some time right now?”
“Yessiree. Day off. The Admiral told me to have some fun, that I was getting grumpy.”
Heidi sat on the dock and quickly wrote a statement. As she did, David kept glancing at her. The Tschaaa male noticed this.
“So, David is she a Breeder of great potential?” Wild Bill asked. “Is that not what the large mammaries signify?”
The face of the Ranger’s son turned a bright red as he began to stutter. Heidi’s mouth fell open. Then she started to laugh. Then it turned into a tearful belly laugh as she saw David’s stuttering attempts at answering.
“Did I say something-odd?” Asked Bill. “I thought I understood Human Mating activities and strategies.”
“Dammit, Bill! There are just somethings you don’t say to a lady,” David finally sputtered out. Heidi wiped her eyes as she controlled her laughing. She grinned at the two Lawmen.
“David, no worries. That is no
t the first time some Squid made similar comments due to my nice rack.”At Heidi’s comment, David began to blush again.
“Oh, come on! Oh, that’s right. You’re an old-fashioned Texas Boy, right? I recognized that drawl. So your Mom never said ‘rack’ in front of you.”
“No Ma’am. At least not talking about her own breasts.”
“Please, quit with the ‘Ma’am.’. It makes me feel ancient.”
“Okay-Heidi.”
Heidi paused and examined him. Then she spoke.
“Agent, can this former Coastie buy you dinner tonight? Or is that too forward?”
“After working with Brynhildr, nothing is too forward or blunt, ”said David.
“So. What’s the answer?” Prodded Heidi.
“Yes, Ma-I mean Heidi. But we won’t be back until about 6:00pm.”
“Fine. I’m a night owl anyways. Meet you back here at the dock.”
“Hey, I’ll need to take a shower…” David began to protest.
“No, you won’t. We’re going to a little Dive that has the best raw oysters. Nothing fancy.” Heidi winked at him, and David tried not to blush again.
As the former Coastie walked off, with a slight extra sashay of her hips, David could not help but watch. Once she was out of earshot.
“That, Bill, is a fine figure of a woman.”
“So, I was correct, David?” Asked the Squid. “She is a Breeder of great potential.”
“Bill, friend, please quit while you are ahead.”
The rest of the day was reasonably regular. The two Lawmen chased a could of Human fishing boats away from the reefs of the Tschaaa Creche and the Young, and Bill told a couple of young Warrior Squids to quit trying to scare the few pleasure craft around.
The Conche Republicans were quickly rediscovering the ‘tourist life,’ which meant snorkeling and a Skidoo or two zipping around. The equivalent of Tschaaa Teenagers, discovering their warrior roots, loved to harass the Republicans.
“Kids, they are all alike,” opined David.
“The young are unruly at times.”Said Bill.
“By the way, Wild Bill, just how old are you?”
The Squid paused in thought. Then he answered.
“I believe I am about eighteen in Earth years. Tschaaa mature faster in the Ocean so that by sixteen Earth years we are adult.”
“So, Bill, you will be looking for a Breeder?”
As the Tschaaa known as Wild Bill began to turn the Open Fisherman towards their berth slowly, he answered.
“If I can prove my superior abilities as a male, I should be allowed to mate by my Sire and the Creche.” Bill then paused before continuing.
“But things are…changing. Many of the younger males like myself look at you Humans and the sexual freedom you have and they…wonder.”
“Well,” said David. “As they say, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Different or new is not always better. We humans, at least we males, are horny, want to mate for many hours of every day. It can cause problems.”
As David finished his statement, Wild Bill began to accelerate the patrol craft.
“Then I guess, David, we must get you to shore so you can explore ‘problems’ with the Breeder Heidi.”
David snorted, then spoke.
“Are you developing a human sense of humor?”
“David, that is a possibility. Your species seems to be having much more of an effect on our culture than ours has on yours.”
“Great. Ten limbed comedians,” said David. “That is all we need.”
“Comedian?” asked the Tschaaa.
“I’ll explain later.”
Heidi met David and Bill at the dock, helped them clean the boat and stow the gear.
“Hey, Heidi. We can do this,” protested David. “No need for you to get wet and sweaty.”
Heidi had laughed and grinned at the lawmen.
“That is my natural state these days. Wet and sweaty. Boat work is not like in all those old television commercials, where the bikini models never had a hair out of place.”
Wild Bill had gestured with his tentacles to signify some confusion.
“Commercials?” the Squid verbalized.
“Short videos used to sell items to us which we did not really need,” answered David. Bill gestured, relating a bit of surprise.
“I still do not understand how you humans traded goods, bought and sold I believe are your terms. Within Creches, everyone shares everything, with the young getting the best food and shelter.”
“How about between Creches, Wild Bill?” asked Heidi.
“We trade food, tools, beautiful gemstones, and seashells that are especially desired by the young. We also swap for tools and weapons, at least any excess we have. Creches work together to produce the machinery we need in Mother Ocean.”
“Then how did you build all your starships, Wild Bill?”
“Heidi, we cooperated in the early days of our space travel. When the Meat Sickness, the White Plague, all Tschaaa were forced into a frenzy of effort to build the ships needed to transport over half of our population to where we knew was plentiful Meat. Earth,” the Tschaaa quickly signed and gestured with his tentacles sorrow and concern.
“I hope I do not cause you both unpleasant thoughts about the past,” Bill added.
“Water under the bridge,” replied David. “Today is a new day. Now, please excuse us, Bill, but I believe Heidi here still wants a date, which means sharing food, drink, and conversation.”
“Part of the mating ritual?” Wild Bill asked, David began to blush, and Heidi laughed. She linked her arm through Davids.
“Come on, David. If you blush anymore, you are bound to have broken blood vessels.” She turned towards Wild Bill and added, “I promise David will be back in one piece.”
“There is a concern?” asked Bill. Even David laughed as he walked away with Heidi.
David soon noticed that Charlie’s Tacos was a “dive” in the purest sense. It was in the basement of an older hotel so as a customer walked from the sunlight into the establishment, it took quite a few moments for the eyes to adjust. The clientele were all rough-looking residents of the shore and sea, and so for a few seconds, David wondered if he would have to fight his way out. However, everyone seemed to know Heidi as there was a round of greetings and a table was explicitly moved for her. She was definitely a regular. Ice cold mugs of beer appeared without any verbal request, followed by a large platter of fresh oysters. Crackers, cocktail sauce, hot sauce, and recently baked bread followed. As Heidi took a large drink from her beer, following it with a shucked oyster, David chuckled.
“You don’t stand on ceremony, do you, Heidi?”
Heidi smiled with twinkling eyes. “Life’s too short and violent these days. I like to go with the gusto. Now, try this hot sauce on an oyster. Homemade locally and hot.”
“We’ll see about that, my lady,” replied David. “You forget I come from a land of hot Mexican chiles.”
Heidi soon discovered that David had told the truth. She could see he was used to the hottest of food on the Scoville heat scale. He sweat a bit, which she thought was a healthy reactions, but neither did he start gulping beer, nor did his eyes bug out.
“This sauce is right tasty. Adds some kick to the oysters,"David opined.
“You are not a big raw oyster fan, are you?” asked Heidi.
“They are okay. But I have to admit, I like cooked food, including fish. Ichiro Yamamoto tried to make me a fan of sushi and sashimi. I did not take to it.”
Heidi laughed, then turned and waved at the bar staff. As if by magic, two plates of fries, onion rings, and corn tacos appeared, all cooked of course. David grinned and dug in.
“This is more like it. American staples.”
“Yeah, David. I figured a Texan would like more fried stuff. However, raw oysters and I are a fixture here. I’ve been a regular since I showed up in the Keys, about a year after the Tschaaa came.”
&nb
sp; “So, Heidi, then I have to ask something,” said David. “I hope it won’t piss you off.”
The former Coastie shrugged.“Not much bothers me these days. Other than idiots who poke the bear by bothering Tchaaa young.”
“So, how did you come to like Squids?” David asked. “Not just tolerate, but like them?”
Heidi paused in thought for a moment, and then answered. “Well, because I worked for Director Lloyd here in the Keys, I had a lot of contact with them. They were all around the channels and cuts, especially the teenagers’, the young males were trying to act like warriors. None wanted to eat me until Torbin Bender and company attempted to kill Lord Neptune.” She sighed. “I had more grief from my fellow humans than from the Squids. Cassandra showed me more empathy than all those Kraken assholes.”
Heidi fixed her eyes on David. “I lost just about everything after the Rocks hit. But it was a human that killed a young boy that was like a son to me. The only person I loved who died thanks recently to a Squid was Adam Lloyd.” She chugged the rest for her beer, then waved at the bartender.
“Shot Time,” she called out.
“Hey, Heidi,” David said. “I did not mean to ruin the mood.”
“Nothing some whiskey can’t solve,” she replied. “Now, my turn.”
“Yeah?”
“So, Rangers Son, how do you like working with a member of the species who got your father killed?”
Now it was David’s time to pause. Which he shouldn’t have had to, as he had been thinking about this the past week.
“It's…complicated,” he replied.
“How so?” asked Heidi.
“You know I did prison time, right?”
“I heard rumors that a lawman who had been a convict was coming. But since half the Florida Keys supported smugglers at one time or another, what people did in the past macht nichts.”
“The Tschaaa space rocks broke me out. I was serving twenty to life for murder. So I owe them for that.”
“But Squid Minions killed your father, Ranger Jackson,” stated Heidi.
“Yes. There is that.” After answering, David threw the shot into the back of his throat and down to his stomach.
“Whiskey helps dull things,” said Heidi.
Free Range Protocol- Tales of the Tschaaa Infestation Page 33