Lincoln hovered above the Mediterranean sea, keeping his steely gaze focused on trying to spot a sign of the sinister ship sinkers. There didn't seem to be any odd activity going on, which didn't help his villain-spotting skills one bit. This made a lot of sense-from what the Commissioner had said, it sounded like these dastardly devils were more likely to reside under the surface. But to scour through the murky depths and explore the ocean floor would have taken so long, who knows how many boats and ships could have been sunk while he was searching? No, better to try to find some lead as to their whereabouts before searching all willy-nilly.
What an odd expression that was. Willy-nilly. Who was this Willy, and what was it about him that people called him 'nilly'? Unless that was his surname. William Nilly. Not a very dignified name, really. Maybe that's why he was so famous. A foolish name and a penchant for acting in an irrational manner, he seemed the very sort of fellow that was ripe for ridicule.
So caught up was Abe in his thoughts about Mr. Nilly that he almost failed to spot an ocean liner making its merry way along the sea. But fortunately, he did spot it. And thus did a masterly plan come into fruition. Sparing no time, except a small moment to write down 'Willy Nilly' in his notebook, he flew down to the ship's deck.
"Excuse me, sir," he said to a passing steward. "Could you take me to the ship's captain? I have to speak to him urgently."
"Well...it's against the rules to let passengers speak to the captain," mused the steward.
"I admire your dedication to your job, son. But I have to point out, I'm Abraham Lincoln."
"Hmm, that is true. Oh, alright. Let me show you to the bridge."
"Well, what a surprise," said the captain, as he answered the door to Abe. "What can I do for you, Mr. Lincoln?"
"Captain, have you heard about the attacks on ocean vessels that have been taking place in this part of the ocean?"
"I sure have. I admit I'm a little scared, but I'm not going to let these fine folks ruin their holiday over a little scary shipwrecking."
"It's good to see you're dedicated to your passengers' safety captain, but I think I have a plan that might be of interest to you. How about you put all your guests into the lifeboats and take them over to Morocco for the day. Say it's a chance to experience how the ancient settlers discovered that fabulous country. Take the crew too, give them a nice day's rest."
The captain rubbed his beard. "Say now, that might not be a bad attraction. But who's going to look after the boat?"
"You leave that to me, sir. I have a use for this boat, a use that might lead to me taking out these violent sea-dwellers once and for all. You see, I'll use this ship as bait to lure those villains out of the water. Then, after they've struck, I'll follow them to their lair and then force them into a surrender, thus ending their reign of terror once and for all."
"You're not going to let the boat sink, are you?" asked the captain suspiciously.
"Um....maybe," Lincoln admitted. "Actually that's a major part of my plan, I'm afraid. Thinking about it, that's probably not going to be beneficial to you in the long run, is it?"
"Not really. Can you do a plan that doesn't sink my ship?"
Abe considered this. "Well that's going to make it a lot more difficult. I kind of need to use this ship as bait."
"But you can't let my lovely boat sink," the captain protested. "It's full of all my passengers' things! Not to mention my crew's! And my own!"
"I realise that sir, but think of what's more important. A few material possessions, or the chance to stop a menace of the seas?"
"That's easy for you to say, Mr. Lincoln," the captain frowned. "You don't have a cruise company to report back to. I won't let you have this boat if you're going to sink it."
"Alright, fine," Abe sighed. "I promise I won't let this boat sink. Fortunately I have a new plan that won't result in anything on this ship going below the surface."
"You sure?"
"Positive. Probably."
A short while later, Abe was all alone on the boat, watching the guests make their way to shore. He was fairly sure that his new plan would not result in the boat sinking. Pretty sure. Like, 67%. Ish. Now he just had to wait for the ship sinkers to show themselves. Was there time for a game of shuffleboard? Heck, there's always time for a game of shuffleboard!
No comments:
Post a Comment