A Curse of the Heart - Jungle Cruise

~Submarine~

"Oh, now where has she gone? AH! What are you doing?!" MacGregor cried as Frank took one of his suitcases and tossed it off the side of La Quila. Clearly he was now more absorbed with that than with his sister's sudden absence. 

Frank tossed another case into the water with a splash! "You can't bring all this. It'll sink us before we even leave the docks."

"But, but-" MacGregor began to protest. "My tennis racquets!"

Toss, splash! 

"Assorted shoes and daywear?"

"No." Splash! 

"Light reading and bathing costumes?"

"Definitely not." Splash! went another case full of items much to MacGregor's horror. Splash!

"All right Frank, I think you've tortured the poor man enough," Rafaela told him.

"The liquor?" MacGregor said next when Frank held up yet another case. 

Frank set this one back down, this one with great care. "This one can stay."

"Oh, good." 

Rafaela rolled her eyes.

Mangos chittered and tried to climb from Rafaela's shoulders and onto  MacGregor's, perhaps to comfort him, but he did not like that very much and shoved the monkey away. "Lily, time to go!" He called.  "Lily! Oh, now where's she gotten to?"

"Got everything? Let's go." Frank was ready.

"I am not leaving without my toiletries!" MacGregor was now dragging a particularly heavy case across the docks. He hauled it on board with a lot of grunting.

"What about leaving without your sister?" Raf reminded him. 

"Hey! Shut down that engine!"

Sudden shouts drew their attention to further up the docks where three men were chasing them down.  She recognized them as some of Nilo's men.

"Okay, time to leave!" MacGregor hastily decided, promptly hopping aboard. "Why are they chasing us?"

"I have no idea," Frank answered casually - much too casually. 

"Oh Frank, now what have you done?" Raf sighed.

"Why do you automatically assume I did something?"

"It's a safe assumption the majority of the time!"

"But not all the time!"

"Lily!" MacGregor cried suddenly, as a flock of birds ascended into the sky suddenly, just knowing his sister was behind it all. 

"Take the wheel!" You knew it was something serious when Frank asked someone else to take over steering the boat. "Turn starboard, resume heading."  He jumped off the side and went chasing after Lily, leaving Raf in charge.

It took them a while, but finally the two rejoined them. 

"How nice of you to join us," MacGregor joked as he helped Lily aboard. 

"Why didn't you jump in the water?" Frank asked her. 

"I don't want to talk about it."

"She can't swim," MacGregor answered for her, she flashing him a very displeased look. 

"You booked a river cruise and you can't swim?!"

"I had no intention of swimming!" she shot back.

"What about the twenty guys chasing us around town?"

"What?" cried Raf. 

"I-I may or may not have something in my possession that may or may not be of interest to other interested parties, and may or may not be of great value," Lily hastily answered.

As if on cue, something began rising out of the water ahead of them. 

"Who are those guys?"

"Oh my gosh-"

"Ay dios Mio!"

It was a submarine. The top hatch swung open and a figure popped their head out.  "Hallo!"

Frank blinked back.  "The price just went up."

The sub was definitely armed, that became quickly and strikingly clear, and armed with guns pointed directly at them. 

"Batten down!" 

"Guns! Down!"

Bullets seemed to fly in all directions. All four dropped down to the deck.

"What happened?" Lily cried when the boat made a strange sound. 

"We lost all power. Raf, I'm gonna need you to take the wheel again," Frank declared. 

"Okay fine, but what are you doing?"

He didn't respond, just jumped off the boat and onto the docks. 

Having to focus on steering the boat, while also trying to avoid the spray of bullets, she couldn't see what he was doing, but clearly he had a plan - well, so it seemed.  Hopefully.

Frank was back, but they weren't safe yet.  

"Is that a-"

"Torpedo!"

"Oh my God-"

He took over steering once again - they were headed right for the docks.

They were going to crash! 

"Frank! Frank! Frank!" cried Raf. 

"Frank! Frank! Frank! Frank! Frank! Frank!" Lily echoed.  "What are you doing?!"

"We can't outrun it!"

They hit the dock directly ahead of them, lurching upward - and crashing right through the hut ahead. This made them avoid the torpedo, however, which instead went crashing right into Nilo's part of the docks.

Frank laughed and whooped. He and Raf hugged. Then he shared an awkward hug with Lily as well and when MacGregor went in for a handshake, Frank hugged him as well. 

"Please tell me this wasn't exactly the kind of adventure you were hoping for," MacGregor said to his sister as they headed out of the harbour and on their way downriver. 

"On the contrary." Lily smiled. MacGregor sighed. 

Thank you all so much for all the reads and comments, I can't keep up!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :) I'll try to be more diligent about updating, but my work is really busy right now! Thanks again as always!)