A certain Labrador boy - Reg Slivko

One.

Charlie Weaver whooped out in celebration with her sister as she hung up the last piece of film in the sibling's darkroom, both proud of the photos they had managed to preserve and display. Charlie looked closer at the photo that was hanging at the back of the room, studying the picture of soldiers sleeping in a tree.

Unlike her sister who studied anti-war photography, Charlie took photos of the environmental features and impacts and was therefore known in the world of conservation, visual evidence of heart breaking scenes being the main source of funding for activists. She would often pass on her work to museums or conservation groups who were standing up to the war but now it was over, she was preparing to hand in a collection to the metropolitan museum of art, who were creating a gallery on the war and the soldiers. Even though she was only nineteen, she had been working with her sister since she was eleven so with that kind of experience she thrived in her business.

Charlie walked away from the hanging pictures and to her sister who was concentrating on creating a new developing mixture. Charlie smiled and wrapped her hair up quickly into a loose ponytail, just as the phone rang, successfully scaring the shit out of the girls. Mason moved to the phone straight away and answered it as Charlie was covering her ears and screaming "Answer the phone woman!" into her older sister's ear.

In a rush Mason answered quickly only to pay more attention as she carried the phone over to the worktop. "Hey Jerry. Tell me did we get it?" Mason asked, catching Charlie's attention. The younger blonde jumped over to her sister and sat in front of her impatiently. " We did!" She whispered shouted, causing Charlie to whoop in excitement but soon stop at Masons harsh glare. Charlie could hear Jerry list off the location so in a rush, she quickly leant over the worktop so Mason could write the location on her arm. "The Athena, docked in Bangkok at pier 14 six o'clock tomorrow night. Okay." Mason mumbled. With a toothy grin Mason said goodbye and the two girls looked at each other in silence for a minute. "We're going on the expedition." Charlie mumbled and Mason ran over to her sister, showering her in a bear hug. The Mason's screamed in pure glee as they jumped up and down, but Mason quickly composed herself and ordered "Pack a bag Charls. We're going on an adventure." Charlie nodded and added on "We can leave in an hour if I pull in my favour from Tommy." and the sisters ran out to the flat above the darkroom, eager to pack their bags.

Charlie sighed as she zipped up her travel bag and then her jungle backpack, and she looked around her room. Her walls were covered in photos from the war, but there were no sad ones. It was filled with pictures of her and Mason and her and soldiers when the war didn't really seem real. She had the addresses of at least thirty soldiers from the navy and army alike, as they all found strong friendships with the young photographer. With a smile, she walked over to her dresser and pulled out her mother's necklace, a beautiful pearl hanging delicately on a gold chain. She quickly stuffed it inside her bag and grabbed her lucky red bandana, wrapping it safely around her wrist. With a small nod she walked out of her room to find Mason already at the door, both of their passports in hand.

The next day at five twenty in the evening, the sisters were walking around the harbour in Bangkok, the younger being far more energetic. Charlie smiled as she ate the random fruit that she'd just been passed and she smiled when she realised it was a mango. Charlie looked rather like a young child at the zoo on their birthday, her camera hanging around her neck as she snapped several photos of the people and the ship. She had on a reasonable mini skirt and a sleeveless cyan turtle neck much like her sister, except Charlie hadn't curled her hair, leaving it in it's normal beach waves. Mason kept fairly quiet around the port, obviously on edge about the whole, it's been 24 hours and I'm in Bangkok situation. Charlie stepped away from her sister for a second and turned in interest to the soldiers who had just pulled into the port, and even though she could barely see them, something was familiar about the four blurry green guys on the other end of the pier. Before Charlie could get a better look, Mason had dragged her by her backpack to a short man in a light blue jacket who was chuckling with his friends.