Unshaken

A Bright, Bouncing Boy

Liam woke the next day ready to get out of camp. Dutch seemed angry and anxious, which Liam fully understood why. The way Dutch felt was the way the entire camp felt. He rode to Saint Denis.

He rode by the stables near the pond. He saw a European man yelling. "Bastards! Total bloody bastards! Why do I waste my time, why?" The man yelled in a strange accent that Liam hadn't heard before. "You okay, buddy?" Liam asked walking up to him on the dock. He was standing near a strange machine of controls. "Fantastic! You Americans are nothing but shysters and traitors and slippery-tongued ball suckers!" The man yelled in frustration. "I am inclined to agree." Liam said with a laugh. He brushed Liam's comment off and walked to his machine. "Here, help me please. Back to work with a bloody smile." He said crouching down opening a chest. "No problem Marko, you are the great genius, so we shove the hot poker up the ass. Say thank you, Marko!" Marko said picking up a small boat and handing it to Liam, who was trying his best not to laugh.

"What are you, some kinda European toy maker?" Liam asked, examining the boat. "No, I am a fucking genius with poker up the ass, like I say." Marko replied sticking a rod into a hole on the the boat Liam was holding. Liam found his attitude amusing more than anything. "Toy maker... hello? Do I look like a should entertain children?" Marko said twisting another rod into the boat, and looking at Liam sternly. "No..." Liam replied. "No, he says, no. I am the savior of mankind, buddy." Marko said taking the boat from Liam and placing it on the water. "Yes... you meet him. Professor Marko Dragic." Dragic said standing up, bowing. "The one the silver tongued American betray and not pay the money to, yes. He total shit man!" He yelled angrily.

"So, what's this toy about?" Liam asked, reaching for the controls sticking out of the table. "It is not a toy, big nuts." Marko said, stopping Liam from grabbing the controls. Liam walked to the boat on the water and crouched to see it. "It is demonstration of my genius of my ideas about the source of life." He said passionately. Liam examined it for a moment, and made a conclusion. "Ah, it's a toy boat!" Liam said standing back up. "Yes, it is a "toy boat" that I can power using electricity and waves you cannot see." Dragic said winding up a knob and lightly shocking himself on a bulb sticking out of the contraption. "Good for you... waves I cannot see." Liam said to himself sarcastically. "And still the investors will not come, just a couple of old ladies and a moron." Dragic said, messing around with his contraption. Liam watched for a moment until they heard voices in the distance.

Liam looked to see two ladies and a man approaching. Dragic shot up. Liam walked back over to the machine to get a closer look. "Ladies, gentleman! Echanté." He said greeting them, kissing their hands. "My friends, you are about to witness history. A demonstration of my infinite insight." He said, pushing Liam out of the way. "All of us, we feel old. You, you are old." Dragic said pointing to one of the women. Liam turned his head away to hide his laughing as the offended woman gawked. "But, maybe, I can make you immortal." Marko said as Liam watched in silence. "Using waves you cannot see, I will power this-" Marko said cutoff by another man approaching.

"You're a goddamn fraud. And this buffoon, dressed up like a buffoon is a stoolie." The man said. Liam looked down at his clothes. He was wearing a button up shirt, pants and boots. He didn't think what he wore were that abnormal. "I watched them conspire, you morons." The man said flicking his cigarette and walking off. "What... I never met his buffoon before two minutes ago! Isn't that right?" Dragic said running up to Liam. "Which part of it?" Liam asked, not understanding the full context. The professor frustratingly sighed.

"So, professor, show us your magical toy boat. Only this time, let the buffoon control it, check if there's any funny business." The man with the two women said. "No, this ain't nothing to do with me." Liam told him. "Come, please, please, it is easy, any moron could do it. And I am about to prove that." Dragic said pulling Liam to the machine and backing everyone else up. "Here, take this, this, and... don't touch that." Marko instructed Liam, showing him the controls. "Use this one to steer and this one to shoot torpedos, okay?" Liam pulled the levers, causing the ship to move by itself. He was in shock. "Yes, now blow up the little battles ships and avoid the sea mines. They have magnets attached." Dragic instructed. Liam pulled the lever to shoot the torpedo. A little missile shot from the boat and destroyed a battle ship. "Yes! If this silly dimwit can use torpedos on boat to destroy battles ships, imagine what technology can do in the hands of certified geniuses!" Dragic said. Liam was too occupied to care. He ended up hitting a sea mine, which Dragic became upset about, but the boat was still moving.

Liam shot two more of the battles ships. "Alright, all clear." Liam told him. "Aha! Yes! You see what he does? Now bring the boat back to the dock." Dragic said. "That sure was something, but I don't know if anything was proven here." One of the women said. Liam didn't understand what she didn't know was "proven." "Let me just reload her." Marko said, bouncing in excitement to the boat. "This is really remarkable." The man said. "This is a demonstration of my prowess, sir. The real miracles require investment." The professor said with his European laugh.

"Now the dimwit will use invisible waves to destroy the little sailing boats before they get to other side of pond." Marko said as Liam started again. He went towards the south side where men were placing the boats in the water. He was able to take out all three with the professor's satisfaction. "Look who rules the seas!" Liam yelled. "Good. Now bring the boat back here. Fool proof! Undeniable fool proof. But you are not fools. And unlike fools, not fools and their money are difficultly parted." The professor told them as Liam drove the boat back.

Liam smiled from ear to ear with amazement from the contraption. Dragic laughed and jumped with excitement as the boat pulled up. "As I say, any fool!" Marko said motioning to Liam. "What is that?" Liam asked with excitement himself. The crowd clapped. "It is the stuff of life, sir!" Dragic replied. "It's incredible!" Liam told him. "No, no, no. Incredible things are in my lab back at Doverhill. That will astound all of you." Dragic told them. He then looked to the man: "Mr. Marcelle, can I count on your support?" Marko asked intently.

"Well, this is expensive." The man said. "This is immortality, sir. Perhaps, over lunch?" The professor proposed. "Maybe." The man said. "I'm gonna go." Liam told Marko, walking off. "Oh yeah, and thank you. If you're ever up near Doverhill, pay me a visit. There, I will really amaze you." The professor said with enthusiasm. "Sure." Liam said walking off. As he made his way to his horse, he quickly realized that the others chose not to invest. Marko started to cuss them out and call them traitors. Liam laughed as he climbed on his horse. He wrote down in his journal to remind him if he was ever near Doverhill to head to the professor's lab.