7

Sukandar's Island

Rock woke up and rose from his bed. His new "home" ain't bad at all, it's a small hut with a bamboo bed, a table and a chair. The bed is covered with mosquito netting, a must on the tropics. Served on the small table breakfast; rice and fried fish with a single banana. On the chair is a new set of clothes, Rock was amused to discover it was a white shirt and black slacks, complete with a necktie.

After breakfast and washing, Rock went out of the hut and walked around the camp. A beefy bodyguard named Abdul guarded him at all times, refusing to have a conversation. It doesn't matter, Rock is already doing intelligence gathering on his brain. He is allowed to wander around as long as he is escorted by Abdul, and he is taking this opportunity to find the nukes.

The camp is about two acres big. It's a ragtag collection of huts in which the pirates and some families live. There is a pier large enough to handle many bancas. On the rear is an uninhabited jungle filled with wild animals and snipers read to kill intruders and those that wanted to escape. Women washed clothes and cook food while the men trained for combat in rifle and blade fight. Rock watched in fascination as a pirate took out four men using a wooden training sword.

"You like martial arts?" a female voice spoke behind her.

Rock looked back and saw Sukandar walking towards him. The pirate queen is dressed in a brightly colored batik kebaya. As if on cue, Abdul walked away, leaving Rock and Sukandar to watch the training together.

"Not really," Rock replied. "I did study kendo back in Japan when I was still in college. But I didn't take it seriously."

"Our martial art is called penchak silat," Sukandar explained. "It is very different from kendo. The goal is to kill your opponent in the quickest way possible. Silat exploits every weakness, takes every chance to hit a fatal blow. While other martial arts pride itself on honor and sportsmanship, silat has twenty ways on crushing testicles."

Rock swallowed, hard. "I don't wanna know."

Sukandar laughed. "Come here, I'll show you something."

Sukandar led Rock to her hut. She opened a wooden chest and took out a long object wrapped in batik cloth. She removed the batik and shows it to Rock. The wooden sheath is wrapped in gold and encrusted with jewels. "This is the weapon of my ancestors," she declared, drawing the kris, the traditional Indonesian sword. The wavy blade has intricate designs carved into it. "This has killed many, but not in my hand. In fact I'm looking for someone worthy enough to be decapitated by this weapon."

Rock frowned, failing to see anything funny on Sukandar's dark humor.

Sukandar sheathed the sword and handed it to Rock. "Take it."

Rock was surprised. "What? Why?"

"You'll need it."


A few minutes later, Rock is running on the jungle, Sukandar's kris hanging on his back. He has expected something to happen to him, but never thought about this. Rock stopped to catch his breath but ran again for dear life as Abdul chased him on the thick vegetation.

Sukandar wants to test Rock, to see if he is worthy of surviving in the camp. The test was simple; go to the jungle and kill Abdul and bring back his head. Of course, Abdul's orders are to kill Rock and return his head as well. Bets were exchanged, but no one gave Rock a serious chance of surviving. Abdul is one of the best blade fighters of the camp.

So Rock ran for it.

"Boy!" Abdul shouted. "Come out and I will make your death quick and painless!"

Rock has to do something to even the odds. He has a sword but he had no illusions on taking out the cobra-fast martial artist in a fair fight. Thinking quickly, he tried to think on what he can do, but fear engulfed him as Abdul comes closer and closer.

"Boy! I'm running out of patience!" Abdul shouted again.

Rock needs a long distance weapon. If only he had a gun, or a bow, or a spear…

Lights pop out on his head. Rock removed his necktie and used the kris to cut it open. He tied this and that, fashioning a crude David slingshot. Now he had to find a good rock, no pun intended.

Rock continued running, continually searching the ground for anything that could be use as a projective. He'll only have one shot, so he has to make it count. Finally, after a few seconds, he spotted a white flat stone of the ground. Rock took it and found that it is perfectly aerodynamic.

"Hey boy! Time to die!"

Rock loaded the sling and spun it in the air, storing energy. Abdul came out of the tree line. Rock released the stone. The projectile flew at 40 miles per hour. This is the first time Rock has ever use a sling and he is not confident with success, just prayed that the stone would disorient Abdul long enough for him to get close.

The stone struck Abdul between the eyes. David slaying Goliath.

But Abdul is not dead. He cursed in pain, dazed and confused. With a blood-curling yell, Rock descended on him, bringing down the kris in a kendo slash.


Sukandar and his men waited on outside the tree line, everyone is excited for the outcome of the test. Sukandar herself stood quietly, arms folded on top his massive chest.

Suddenly, a figure in white came out.

Cheers erupted as Rock exited the jungle. Blood covered him like paint. On his right hand is the kris, on the left is Abdul's head, dripping blood on the soil. Rock tossed the head and it landed in front of Sukandar.

The pirate queen's mouth managed a tight smile. Her lips were predatory.


Black Lagoon

"Anything?"

Dutch shook his head. "No. This place is not Sukandar's base. Just a supply depot and staging area. Turns out, the Lagoon ran out of fuel so they have to stay here for a while. Luckily we caught them before they go."

"How about the prisoners?" Revy asked.

Dutch shook his head. "There were no prisoners. You executed them all."

"I did?" Revy asked innocently.

Dutch glanced at Lotton. "Dude, you can go now. You didn't sign up for this."

Lotton shook his head. "Hell no, Dutch. I'm staying. I have no previous engagements and besides, Rock is a friend of mine. "

"He is?" Revy asked.

"Sod off," Dutch scolded her. "We'll need extra hands anyway."

"So what's the plan?" Lotton asked.

"We need to speak to Chang."