I know, I know, a lot of you are expecting Monster World to receive an update. And I'll get to it. It's just taking time to think up ideas for a good battle that's on foot rather than in Evas. Don't worry, though. Chapter 5 (I know it would technically be Chapter 6, but I plan to delete the prologue and make it its own, separate story, as well as fix contradictions in the prologue). Fair warning: Rei's gonna get some pretty good jokes in Chapter 5.
In the meantime, here's a series I've been working on since 2011. It's actually its own Wiki, but I was new to the Wiki scene at the time, and a lot of it is unorganized and never gets hits except for me. So, I decided to take it here to Fanfiction and make it a full-fledged story.
The first season will consist of twelve episodes, all re-writes of TUGS (I know TUGS had thirteen episodes, but I couldn't come up with a good name for Boomer's replacement). After the first season, all episodes will either be adaptations of Theodore Tugboat episodes, or entirely new stories.
On with the first chapter!
Hello there. My name is Robert Star, but everyone calls me Captain Bob. I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Now, you may be asking: why am I known as Captain Bob? Well, it's because I'm the owner of a fleet of tugboats in Halifax known as the Morrison Fleet. What you may know as the "Great Ocean Tug & Salvage Co.", the Morrison Fleet is everyone's favorite tugboat fleet in the port. Now, where to start…oh yes.
2008.
The Port of Halifax was one of the busiest ports in the world, as well as third-most busiest in Canada. The port was important to all of Nova Scotia, as it served as a sort of lifeline to the whole province. Freight also frequently travelled to and from New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, all coming to or going from Halifax. The Great Recession did little to lighten the amount of ships coming and going each day. No one knew the port better than the friendly tugboats of the harbor, whose strength and big hearts made them popular with everyone from cargo ships to cruise ships.
Important jobs often kept them working night and day. My tugs, the Morrison Fleet, were no different. I had a harbor tug named George, Oliver, a railway tug whom I had given another chance, and had mostly cleaned up his act, three switchers, Theodore, Hank, and Emily, and Foduck, my ocean-going tug. They were a good crew, always striving to be the best in the port, not always succeeding, but proud of their work.
I remember when we got our first big break. It started like any other day. At dawn.
"Good morning, Morrison Fleet", I said through my megaphone that I always used to address my tugs, "Today, I've chartered another switcher from down the coast to help out with the extra work. Saint John, to be precise. Hank, she'll be working with you. Show her the ropes."
"Right, Captain Bob," replied Hank, "Eh, what's her name?"
"Molly," I replied.
"MOLLY?!" spluttered George, "You mean the very tug who stole MY award back in back in '94?!"
"Might teach you a thing or two about barge-towing, eh, George?" laughed Theodore, who was joined by Emily shortly thereafter.
"I resent that!" shot back George.
"Settle down", I said, "Give Molly a chance. Now for the really good news. After a lot of hard bargaining, it looks like I've managed to land a contract with Cunard for one of the only liners left in service. The Queen Mary 2!"
The tugs blew their horns in excitement. With the Queen Elizabeth 2 scheduled for retirement later that year, they would only have the QM2 for the occasional visit. Princess Cruise's ships, on the other hand, were a different story. They were a haughty sort, who didn't want to be towed. They insisted their port thrusters were sufficient for docking, but local ordinance stipulated that ships absolutely could not move under their own power so as not to disturb the marine wildlife.
"When she arrives this afternoon, the Morrison Fleet will bring her in to dock, but first we gotta prove ourselves. George, you're in charge."
"Aye-aye, sir!"
"Oliver?"
"Sir", responded Oliver.
"You're leading."
"Right."
"Theodore, Emily, you're on the side push."
"Not YOU, Hank," sneered Oliver, "This is no job for tugs lacking a V-Name!" It had been several years since Theodore got his V-Name. He chose "The Vital", as he was often vital to the day-to-day operations of Halifax Harbor.
"Yeah, that's right," added George, "V-Tugs only, Hank!"
"Make sure you don't bump into her, Oliver!" said Hank, cheekily.
"One incident back in '95 and I'm still getting flak for it?" grumbled Oliver.
"Well, you did bang Theodore up quite a bit" said Emily.
"On your way, Hank" I said, "Show Molly how to get the work done and fast!"
"Yeah, right, OK then, sir!" said Hank eagerly.
"Now, the rest of you. I want you all finished early so you can get yourselves looking spic and span for the QM2 this afternoon."
Our biggest rival was the Knudsen Fleet. Since their start-up in 2002 and their suspected foul play in the sinking of the entire Alstom Fleet, they had looked for ways to obstruct us at any opportunity. Not helping was the fact that the fleet was under the control of Stephen Zero III, otherwise known as Captain Zero III or simply Captain Zero. His great-grandfather and mine, Captain Star, had competed in the American city of New York, which was known by many back in the 1920s as Bigg City Port.
Captain Zero was addressing his tugs: Jeremy, Jebediah, Jack, Jip, and Jug.
"NOW LISTEN TO ME AND LISTEN GOOD!" he shouted, his megaphone quivering as he did, "THE MORRISON FLEET ARE ABOUT TO GET THE CUNARD CONTRACT!"
The Knudsens groaned. They knew the ocean liner contract was valuable, especially with the imminent retirement of the QE2. They, on the other hand, were stuck with a contract with Carnival. And everyone in Halifax knew that Carnival ships, much like the atmosphere their crews perpetuated, were loud, rambunctious party animals who kept up the whole port till all hours. The more affable Celebrity and Royal Caribbean ships were Morrison contracts.
"AND I'M NOT HAPPY!"
"We're not smiling, Captain Zero!" said Jeremy, the lead tug of the Knudsen Fleet.
"I'm glad you don't find it funny, Jeremy. Now I want that contract and you're going to get it for me!"
The Knudsens grunted in agreement. Jip, though, was confused.
"But, how? I thought that-"
"I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO THINK!" snapped Captain Zero, "You're a team! The best! The better looking! The more powerful! And dare I say more devious!"
"I like that bit about better-looking!" said Jack.
"Yes, but what's devious?" asked Jip.
"What's DEVIOUS is what's necessary to make an honest living in the current economic climate! The stock market is in dire straits right now, and we need all the money we can get!"
"Oh."
"Now fire up your engines and get that Cunard contract! There's no time to lose!"
"No problem!" said Jeremy with confidence, "That bunch of clap-trapped sardine cans are gonna find they missed the boat or my name's not Jeremy!" The other Knudsens laughed, except for Jip.
"But it IS Jeremy. Isn't it?"
In the morning, Foduck had an important contract down the coast with Tex the Oil Rig. So, I was to lose his great strength on the day when I needed it the most.
He was refueling for his long voyage when Hank floated up.
"Hey, Foduck, the QM2 is coming in this afternoon. 'S pity you won't be there."
"I know," replied Foduck is his smooth way, "I really hate to disappoint her."
Then Hank remembered Molly.
"Hey, I'm looking for a switcher named Molly. You seen her 'round?"
"Afraid not, Hank. The only faces I've seen today are you and Petra, if she counts."
Hank groaned. "Well, she'd better show soon. Gotta a lot of work to get done this afternoon."
"I'll be back tonight. Oh, and Hank, look after the QM2 for me, will you?"
"I'll see if I can, but I'm not on the tow."
"Don't see why Captain Bob didn't. You've towed the QE2 several times without incident. Then again, this is the QM2s first visit to Halifax."
And with that, Foduck departed to tow Tex off.
Hank went off to find Molly, weaving amongst the small cargo ships. George passed by with Brunswick Barge, hauling a load of freight offloaded at the container dock, where Catherine was docked, being unloaded by Clayton. Nearby, Jebediah was in a shouting match with a Carnival ship over his loud music. Hank chuckled at the sight, and continued on.
Presently, he encountered Theodore, who was coming from upriver with a barge loaded with lumber. The forestry industry was important to the Morrison Fleet. Emily followed closely behind towing a grain ship.
"Hank, you find that switcher yet?" asked Theodore.
"No, not yet" replied Hank.
"Well, she's looking for you. Probably over there."
Hank then heard an unfamiliar horn.
"Well, I'd better go look for her. And fast. Henry Eben is due in half an hour."
Unbeknownst to Hank, a boat was moving amongst barges loaded with coal. All of a sudden, Hank found himself colliding with someone!
"Hey, watch out!" he shouted. The boat hit him with a dull thud. Hank looked at the boat. It was a tugboat roughly his size wearing a yellow military beret. Its coloring was pale, and it clearly hadn't been washed in sometime.
"Uh, sorry 'bout that, sir" said the tug in a feminine.
"Well, watch out in future" replied Hank with a smile.
The tug cleared her throat. "I was, uh, I was looking for Hank, sir?"
Hank grinned. "Well, you just found him."
Molly was shocked. She had just rammed into the tug she was to work with! First day in Halifax and not a very good impression, she thought.
"Oh! Uh, Molly, sir!"
"Well, it's good to meet ya. C'mon, let's get to work. We got a cargo ship due in a half-hour. His name's Henry Eben. My co-workers, the Morrison Fleet, are docking the Queen Mary 2 this afternoon, and if we shift it into high gear, we'll be finished early enough to watch."
"Yes, sir!" replied Molly with great eagerness.
Hank was becoming exasperated. He liked having authority for once, but being called "sir" was a bit too much for him. Now he knew how Foduck felt.
"Now-now look, Molly," he started, "You only Captain Bob 'sir'. I'm just Hank, alright?" And he backed away to find Petra so they could head out to meet Henry Eben.
"Yes, s-" Molly stopped herself from saying "sir" again, "Uh, sure thing, Hank."
Meanwhile, at the estuary, Jeremy and Jack encountered a cargo ship. Izzy Gomez, his name was. Yes, the same Izzy Gomez. His owners couldn't bear to sell him for scrap, so they kept refitting him to meet modern standards until he was up to modern safety standards. 70+ years, though, didn't change his cheap ways.
"Well, well, well!" said Jeremy as he and Jack floated up to the former tramp steamer, "Look what the tide's brought in! Izzy Gomez! Ha!"
Izzy began his conning again. "Hey, you guys, I need a tow."
"We don't accept bananas as payment!" retorted Jack, referring to all the times Izzy had tried to bribe them with bananas.
"Ehh, big shots, you towing the QM2 or something?"
"What do you know about it, you ancient Latino piece of scrap metal?" asked Jeremy.
"What I know, I seet around waiting for nobody to tow me, the QM2, she come in this morning, suddenly everybody busy."
Jack was shocked. Passenger ships were usually punctual, never late, never early, barring weather conditions and currents. This was a first for him.
"But, she isn't due till this afternoon!"
"Shut up, dinghy-brain!" snapped Jeremy, "Come on!" And Jeremy and Jack departed to tell Captain Zero as Jack muttered under his breath. Leaving Izzy Gomez, no less.
"Ay ay ay, what a day. I gotta get a tow and unload these bananas! And where have I seen all thees before?" Izzy counted himself lucky he had refrigeration onboard now. His bananas wouldn't spoil while he was waiting.
Back at the Knudsen pier, Jeremy and Jack delivered the news.
"You sure about this?" asked Captain Zero.
"Seen it with my own eyes!" replied Jeremy.
"Yeah, we both seen it!" added Jack.
"This couldn't be better!" said Captain Zero, "Now I want that contract and you ARE going to get it for me!"
"Yes, sir!" replied Jeremy with bravado.
Oliver was passing nearby with the railway carfloats Cheech and Chong. He ignored what was going on at the Knudsen dock, focusing on trying to shut up the chatterbox carfloats he was forced to endure. It might have been better if he had listened…
Lucky's Yard was where all the harbor's boat repairs were made. They handled everything from rowboats to aircraft carriers and everything in between. Nearby was the British Petroleum dock, where Sigrid the Supply Ship lived. One of the Morrison Fleet's jobs was to take empty oil tanker barges out to Owan the Oil Rig for filling, then take them to the oil refinery in Dartmouth. On this day, though, Hank and Molly were bringing supplies from Pier 47 to Sigrid, who would then take the supplies to Owan or Tex. But with Tex down the coast with Foduck that day, she only had Owan to supply that day.
"Hello, Hank" greeted Sigrid as Hank and Molly came up with their barges, "who's your new friend."
"Molly, meet Sigrid. She's a supply ship who goes out to the oil rigs past the estuary."
"Pleasure to meet you, Sigrid" said Molly politely.
They tied their barges to the dock, unlashed their tow lines, and moved out of the way so the dock workers could unload the supplies and transfer them over to Sigrid. Once this operation was complete, Sigrid was ready to depart.
"Thanks for the supplies, guys" she said, grateful.
"You're welcome" replied Hank, "We can't wait around though, Sigrid. This afternoon, the Queen Mary 2 is coming in. If we finish early, we can watch."
"Okay. Bye guys!" And with that, Sigrid departed for Owan.
"Alright, see ya." Then Hank saw three of the Knudsen tugs congregating under Benjamin Bridge. "Hey, wait up. What are those Knudsens up to? No good I bet".
Indeed, they were. Jeremy was speaking with Jip and Jug.
"Now listen, Foduck is up the coast with Tex out of the way. George is the strongest Morrison left. If we knuckle him , we'll have the Cunard contract."
Jip was unsure. "I know, but he's bigger than me-"
"HE'S TOWING BARGES, DUMMY!" snapped Jeremy. Sometimes he couldn't put up with Jip and Jug's stupidity. "His route is close to the mud banks, okay?"
"Yeah, so?" Jip said quietly.
"So? You stuff him onto one! Okay? Stupid?!"
Jug spoke up next. "You've done it before to yourself, Jip" he said in his Peter Lorre-esque voice, "You should soon catch on."
"Yeah, I'll…catch on, Jeremy" said Jip.
"You'd better! Do it fast and get back fast! Now GIT!"
Jip began thinking about to go about this. Then, it hit him.
"Devious, man, devious!" he said to himself. And with that, he and Jug departed to find George and put him out of commission.
Meanwhile, Emily came up to Izzy.
"Ey, Emily, old friend! I need a tow."
Emily didn't want to disappoint a friend, but she was on a schedule.
"No time to argue about fees today, Izzy" replied Emily.
Izzy was aghast. "When do I argue, compadre? It's C$100."
Emily couldn't argue there. C$100 was the towing fee. C$1,000 was the fine for moving under your own power. "Yeah, yeah, okay. But fast. We're bringing in the Queen Mary 2 this afternoon. And I'll need time to get ship-shape."
"Ay, but senorita, the QM2, she already here."
Emily was speechless. Punctuality was a quality of ocean-going passenger ships. Never early, never late (bar weather conditions).
"What?! She can't be!"
"Si, I heard her already!"
"Oh my god…she's early! Gotta tell the others! Sorry, Izzy. I'll tow you later!" And Emily left with a huff to find Theodore, leaving Izzy all alone again.
"But compadre!" he whined. It was no use. When Emily was in a fervor, there was no stopping her.
Jip and Jug knew exactly where to find George. They were waiting for him. Sure enough, George came along with Brunswick, who was loaded with freight from Top Town.
"Need a hand, George old buddy?" Jug asked innocently.
"Well, guys, I…"
Jip played along. "Well, it was a…nice day, George, and we thought we'd try to…spread a little happiness."
"Yeah, like helping our mates."
"Can't get past to see one struggle."
George had fallen for it. Jip and Jug had him right where they wanted him.
"Thanks, guys!" replied George, "Now, I'll be back in good time for the QM2."
George had no idea the Knudsens had laid a trap for him!
Back in the harbor, Theodore, Emily, and Oliver were being freshened up. They were worried. George hadn't come back from his job yet. Presently, Hank and Molly came along.
"Hank, have you seen George?" asked Theodore.
"No, is there a problem?" replied Hank.
"The QM2 is due in early. We need him to bring her in."
Hank thought about the places he went that day. He had only seen George in the main harbor with Brunswick.
"No, I only saw him in the main harbor coming from the container dock."
"Well, you two, go find him. The rest of us will have to try to manage until he gets there. C'mon, guys!"
At that, the three V-tugs departed. Emily and Oliver were downtrodden.
"The Queen isn't going to like this one bit" said Oliver sadly.
"No, she won't" agreed Emily.
Sometime later, the three tugs were bringing in the Queen Mary 2. The fire launch tug, Red Fin, was watching, as were several shrimpers and motorboats. Thousands of people lined the shores to watch what would soon be the last ocean liner head to the dock. Theodore was now leading, with Emily and Oliver on the side push. Theodore would rather be on the side push with his girlfriend (you read that right), but Oliver had never docked an ocean liner, while Theodore had, and thus gave him the lead position. With only three tugs, there were no tugs on the rear to push, making Theodore's job even harder. Not helping was the water traffic that was having trouble getting out of the way.
"I hope George gets here soon, Theodore" said Emily, "This ain't gonna be an easy one."
"Yes, where is he?" replied Theodore, "We'll never manage without George!"
"I'm worried about this" said Oliver, raising his wheelhouse, "we'll need help to dock her!" Oliver growled silently to himself. "Come on, George! Where are you?"
Hank was due to find out. There was George, stuck on a sand bar and tilted to the left. The freight Brunswick had was stolen by Jip and Jug, and their skippers had taken spray paint to him again, tagging…unpleasant symbols on him.
"There you are!" exclaimed Hank, "George! What's happened?!"
George's skipper was standing on Brunswick with soap and water, trying to clean away the tags.
"I'm not sure. Jip and Jug were lending me a hand and next thing I knew, I was on this sand bank. Then their skippers stole the goods and tagged Brunswick. They went for help."
Hank was now pissed off. This seemed to be something they would do.
"No they didn't. They're crooks, those two! Probably gonna sell those goods to terrorists for money and weapons. Come on, let's get you outta here."
Before he could, though, the QM2s distinct horns sounded off.
"There's no time! That's the QM2! She's at the pier! You go and take over for me! Theodore will tell you what to do"
"But I'm not a V-tug!" Hank protested, "Oliver's liable to get pissy!"
"You can do it! Get going! We've got to show the QM2 the stuff the Morrison Fleet's made of! And if Oliver gives you any grief, tell him to piss off!"
"Alright, here goes nothing" Hank said with uncertainty as he motored off. Molly was inspecting the accident and followed Hank at once.
The Morrison Fleet was doing their best without George. And for a while, it looked as though they were going to make it. But Jeremy was still waiting for another chance.
"Looks like your plan didn't work, Jeremy!" said Jip.
"If I could only get rid of that switcher Molly!" fumed Jeremy.
"Thinking devious, Jeremy?"
"No! Just thinking contract! Look! They've slowed her right back!"
Indeed they had slowed her for docking. As the tricky part of the docking operation started, Jeremy watched closely. Hank and Molly were working hard at their new job when Theodore ordered Molly to ease back.
"This is where we win the contract!" said Jeremy excitedly.
Jeremy had seen his chance. When he thought no one was looking, he moved hard on Molly.
Molly went in to the rudder of the big liner!
"Hey, what's going on back there?!" shouted Theodore, "she's out of control, aft!"
Jeremy moved to aft, as he intended.
"I've got her, Theodore!"
The unimaginable had happened. The Morrison Fleet had been forced to accept help from the Knudsen Fleet!
Jeremy chuckled to himself. "Oh, so THAT'S devious!" exclaimed Jip.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Izzy had seen the whole thing, but he remained quiet.
The other Knudsens cheered for Jeremy, as Molly stood still, dejected, especially after hearing Oliver shout that it was all her fault.
"Glad to be of service!" said Jeremy, as he backed away satisfied.
Ashamed and confused, Molly couldn't explain what had happened. So, she slipped away while the Morrisons were still busy. Theodore went off to get Guysborough the Garbage Barge so they could offload waste from the liner. Emily also came with Barrington Barge, who was loaded with provisions for the trip home to Southampton.
That night, there was an impressive fireworks show welcoming QM2 to Halifax. She would be staying overnight so engineers could carry out repairs on her rudder, as well as allow time for waste to be offloaded and supplies to be loaded. Theodore and Emily, being switchers, were use to this kind of back-and-forth work. Oliver had taken George and Brunswick to Lucky's Yard. Fortunately, they weren't damaged, and George went off to join the festivities and bring supplies to the QM2.
Molly was in the estuary, watching dejectedly. She had screwed-up royal. No one would ever forgive her, not here or back in Saint John.
"Oh, no one's ever gonna talk to me again" she said sadly, and slunk away.
Meanwhile, at the Knudsen dock.
"Well, well, well" said Captain Zero, "I congratulate you two!"
"Ah thank you, sir!" said Jeremy and Jack.
"Ah yes, good man, Jeremy. No attitude. Now, one more thing, uh, no one saw you, eh? Not even the bitch?"
"Who, Molly?" said Jack, "No, sir, no one saw us."
"Good! That's very good! I'll offer our services to Cunard tomorrow! Maybe we could also get the Holland American contract in the process!"
"Poor little Molly" said Jack, "Just wasn't her day, was it?"
"Ha ha, no it wasn't" agreed Jeremy.
"Ey, I think Emily forget me. Good thing I've got refrigeration for this load of bananas" said Izzy sadly.
Back at the Morrison Dock, Emily went to her berth. The docking operation had been a disaster.
"Hello, Emily" said Hank.
"Oh, hello, Hank" said Emily, somewhat dejectedly.
Hank had noticed Molly was missing, and had grown fond of the switcher.
"Hey, maybe I should go find Molly" said Hank.
"What do you mean? What for?" asked Oliver, in a slightly hostile tone.
"Come on, Oliver, we all make mistakes. She must be feeling terrible."
"Oh, hey! Guess what? I don't give a DAMN! That cow might as well have cost us the Cunard contract!"
"Who you calling cow, asshole?!" shouted Emily.
"Molly, that's who, skank!"
"Shut the hell up, Oliver!" demanded Theodore.
While the two-on-one shouting match was going on, Hank moved up alongside George.
"Hey, what do you say, George?" he asked.
"Ah, it's up to you" was all he said.
Hank knew what he had to do now. He built up power in his engine and set off.
"Well, don't wait up."
"There he goes" grumbled Oliver, "Always playing Mr. Nice Guy! What a bore."
"Hank's got more courage than you, Oliver!" said Theodore.
"Oh, shut up!" he fired back.
"Ugh, I can't see much" said Hank. Indeed, the fog had settled in, as he went into the canals. He started calling out for Molly.
Molly was sitting by a dock, wallowing in her sorrows.
"I'll never live this down" she said tearfully, "Just when I really had a chance! Oh, no one's gonna want me now?!"
Then she heard Hank call her name.
"Hank?! Oh no! He'll never forgive me!" And she sped off as Hank was about to round the bend. As he did, Carl, a Canadian National GP9m, rumbled overhead with the nightly local train serving all of the docks.
There was more to come. Hank nearly collided with Carla the Cool Cabin, who blared her horn and shouted angrily.
Now Hank was getting impatient. "Molly! Where are you?!"
Molly was nearby, and spotted Hank closing in. She groaned and began dreading the tongue lashing she would get.
She backed away and muttered "I don't wanna talk to you". Hank caught a fleeting glimpse of her.
"Are you there?" All he saw was an empty canal and a Toyota on the dock. "God, it's so hard to see."
Then he spotted a familiar sight.
"Jenny! Maybe she's out there!"
And so Hank departed to the estuary to see Jenny Lightship.
Molly saw her chance to escape undetected.
"Maybe I should just go home. Nothing left here but angry, foul-mouthed watercraft and mobsters."
Arriving at Dender Rocks, Hank found Jenny Lightship being refueled.
"Hi, Hank" she said silkily.
"Ah, Hank" said another voice.
"Jen-oh Foduck! Ah, thank goodness you're back!"
"Yes, only just. Why, what's the problem, boy? Everything went alright with the QM2, I hope?"
"And why shouldn't it?" asked Jenny.
Hank successfully covered up the mishap involving Molly, then asked if they had seen her. They hadn't, so Hank went off again.
"Bye, Hank" said Jenny.
Molly had just passed Ceilidh's Cove. She was headed back to Saint John.
"Just gotta get home" she said weakly. "Man, this fog is thick, I can't get my bearings! I just…I don't know which way."
"I wonder where Molly went?" Hank thought aloud. "It's so creepy and chilly out tonight." Then, he saw a shape in the fog, and some lights.
"Hey, what's that? Who's there? Oh," he groaned, "Izzy, it's you."
"Eh, and about time, too. Emily promised me a tow."
"Ah, well, I've gotta find Molly!" exclaimed Hank.
"Why, what's the matter?" Izzy asked sleepily.
"Well, she disappeared. I suppose she's ashamed after causing the accident with the QM2."
Izzy remembered the whole incident…then had a case of déjà vu, when an accident pretty much like this happened back in Bigg City Port in the 1920's.
"Molly didn't cause no accident. Jeremy pushed her, I saw it."
Hank was astonished. "What?! Are you sure?!"
"As sure as I got a load of bananas and I need a tow."
Angry didn't begin to cover what Hank felt in that moment.
"I had a feeling those Knudsens were up to something! I gotta tell the others!"
"Hey!" whined Izzy, "What about my tow? Ugh, stupid Canadian gringos. Making laws to cater to tree-huggers!" He was, of course, referring to the laws putting restrictions on movement within the port.
Hank returned to the Morrison Dock, blaring his horn loudly. Theodore, Emily, George, and Oliver awoke with a start and grumbled.
"Hey, everyone wake up!" cried Hank. "Listen! Izzy told me he saw everything!"
"What? Sleepy Izzy? What did he see?" said Theodore incredulously.
"He saw the accident, I mean he saw why Molly had the accident!"
Oliver raised his wheelhouse in disgust. "So what? She had it and that's enough!"
"But it was Jeremy who hit Molly! He made her lose control! Izzy saw it!"
The other Morrisons were now all hopping mad. Hitting a tug was one thing. Hitting a FEMALE tug was crossing the Moral Event Horizon!
"Ooh, I wondered why Jeremy appeared so quickly!" exclaimed Theodore in anger, "You're right, Hank! Izzy could have seen everything!"
"He did!" replied Hank, "Look, you just gotta believe him! Molly isn't a clumsy tug! I can tell by working with her!"
At that point, Theodore and Emily were sold on the idea.
"Alright, alright" said Emily, "Now, you've looked everywhere for her, right, Hank?"
"Yeah, everywhere! Even as far out as Jenny!"
Theodore was deep in thought, then produced a reply.
"Hmm, well, if I were Molly, I guess I would be trying to make it home. I know I did after that encounter with that naval ass, Burton, on my first day back in '93. Communist spy, indeed…"
"Come to think of it, though" said George, "I did hear a tugboat engine an hour ago. It didn't sound like a Morrison or a Knudsen. It must have been her."
"She must have gone upriver, then" said Emily.
"Of course! She must have gotten lost in the fog, went in a circle, came through the harbor, and went upriver! Come on, everyone!"
"Now, the rest of you, follow Hank!" ordered Theodore. "I'll stay here and tell Captain Bob!"
"Poor Molly" cooed Emily, "We've done her wrong. Well, us girls have to stick together. Let's go!"
"I'm with you, Hank!" said George. "C'mon, Emily! Oliver!
"Seeing as I'm doing nothing better…" said Oliver.
And the Morrison Tugs set out to find Molly. It's as well that Hank and the other set out to find Molly. She'd been holed, and was in danger of sinking.
They found her beached on a rock.
"Oh, not the Morrisons…" muttered Molly.
"Hey guys, I found her!" called Hank. "Man, what a mess. We're gonna need Bobby."
"Ah, just go away and leave me. I've cause enough trouble. Rather drown than be yelled at."
"Uh, well, actually, we found out it wasn't your fault" Oliver said, "So everything's alright now."
"Wha?" said Molly.
"Hehe, an apology from Oliver!" said Emily, "I don't believe it!"
"D'ya think…Captain Bob would have me back?" Molly asked, hopeful.
"Yeah, I'm sure he will!" replied Hank, happily, "Izzy told me everything!"
Realization dawned on Emily when she heard that name.
"Holy crap! Izzy! I completely forgot!" And she raced off to give Izzy a tow.
News spread the next morning. And needless to say, Captain Zero blew his stack!
"SO IT TURNS OUT YOU WERE SEEN!" he shouted furiously.
"Impossible!" exclaimed Jeremy, "I made sure!"
"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME! YOU WERE SEEN! NOW CUNARD KNOWS WHAT YOU DID AND WE DON'T GET THE CONTRACT! AND NOW CARNIVAL'S CANCELLED THEIR CONTRACT WITH US AND GONE TO THE MORRISON FLEET! DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH MONEY I'VE JUST LOST! THIS'LL TAKE FIVE BANK ROBBERIES TO RECOUP! WHAT KIND OF IDIOTS DO I HAVE WORKING FOR ME?!"
"Really devious!" said Jip, absent-mindedly.
"Shut up, Jip!" snapped Jeremy.
"Uh, sorry about that sir" Jack quickly recovered.
The others quickly apologized as well.
"SORRY! SORRY, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, ALL OF YOU!"
"A few days ago" I began, "we salvaged the tugboat Molly, and she was taken to Lucky's Yard, and I'm glad to tell you little damage was done."
The Morrisons all sighed in relief.
"As for the Morrison Fleet," I continued, "we've learned a valuable lesson here. A lesson about trust and friendship. I think we have Hank to thank for that. And for the rest of us, about jumping to conclusions before knowing the truth."
A guilty look was plastered on Oliver's face.
"Now I know you're all proud of being Morrison Tugs, but the most important thing in my fleet, after hard work, is that my tugs always be true, honest , and forgiving. And now, if you'll look to port, I would like you to welcome our new recruit! Molly!"
It was indeed Molly, now wearing Morrison Fleet livery. A big grin stretched across her face, and was mainly directed at Hank.
The Morrison Fleet cheered and honked for their new co-worker.
"I am proud to have you on my fleet!"
Hank pulled up alongside Molly.
"Hey, welcome aboard. You look great, Molly!"
"Thanks, Hank! Nice new colors, eh?"
From that day forward, Molly the Vehement was a permanent member of the Morrison Fleet. Not only did I get a new addition to my fleet, I also got two contracts for Cunard and Carnival, all thanks to Izzy Gomez. Now, don't you worry about him. He stopped being cheap…for a time, before lapsing back into his old ways. Old habits die hard, it seems. Little did we all know how crazy the summer of 2008 would be, as the economy made the Knudsens and other dangerous characters bolder and more desperate to make a quick buck…