The Tragedy of a Pinball Wizard

Boarding the Ship

As the taxi began to close in on the American Captain's flying ship, Oliver urged the group to take a moment of pause.

"Slow down, Geeves." He requested. "We should discuss what the plan is before we get there."

"I agree. Do you have a plan, Oliver?" Mr. Otis asked.

"Look at the way the ship is moving." Oliver pointed out. The crew turned their gaze toward the ship ahead of them.

Suddenly, Geeves realized what Oliver was trying to get them to see. "Why, the ship still functions on manpower!" He announced.

"Exactly." Oliver confirmed. "Even though the ship can fly, it still needs to be rowed."

"Be that as it may, what are we to do with that information?" Wally wasn't sure where Oliver's plan was going.

"I say that once we board, we should split up into two groups. One should move below deck and find any way possible to get the ship to stop moving. Gaining control of the ship will be a great tactical advantage." Oliver explained. He turned to Mr. Otis. "How does that sound to someone with real combat experience?"

"Sounds like a great strategy to me! It's an honor to serve under you, kid!" Mr. Otis affirmed.

"And what about the other group?" Wally asked.

"The other group will move toward the main cabin and confront the American Captain!" said Oliver.

"What a wonderful plan, Master Oliver." Geeves replied.

"Then it's settled! Geeves, Mr. Otis, why don't you two take the lower deck? I'm sure that you can find some way to gain control of the ship. Remember, make it happen. By any means necessary." Oliver commanded.

"Right. By any means necessary." Mr. Otis repeated.

"That leaves Wally and I to confront the American Captain." Oliver resolved.

"I'm in. We can make this happen!" Wally encouraged.

"Alright, Geeves! Let's get back to it!" Oliver called out as Geeves resumed his approach toward the American Captain's vessel.

As they drew closer to the ship, things were eerily quiet. Their approach was uneventful. The ship's crew seemed to not notice that the crew was coming. Suddenly, a large explosion broke the silence. It took a few moments for the men to realize what had just happened and how close they had come to the abrupt and unexpected end of their quest.

To Oliver, time seemed to slow almost to a halt as he looked on in horror at the cannonball screaming past them, mere inches away from their car. Had it been any closer, Geeves would have had no time to duck out of the way.

"Oh my god, they're shooting at us!" Wally screamed in terror.

Another cannon blast rung out. This time, Geeves was on high alert and threw the taxi into an aileron roll maneuver to dodge out of the cannonball's path of destruction.

"That was so close! We almost just died!" Wally continued to cry out.

"That may be true Master Wally, but they've lost their element of surprise! They had their one chance and now it's been lost!" Geeves tried to reassure Wally.

"You have flight combat experience?" Oliver asked frantically.

"Not exactly. Back in the UK, I used to compete in dogfighting for sport when I was a young lad." Geeves explained while avoiding another cannon shot.

"You made dogs fight for money?!" Wally continued to behave hysterically.

"No, I know what he means!" Mr. Otis corrected. "Dogfighting is what we called close aerial combat in the service. I didn't know you could do it for sport! How did you do that without anyone getting hurt? That sounds so dangerous!"