Chapter 21
It didn't take long for Tulio and Linda to prepare for the day on the water. By 7: 15, their bags were packed, and Tulio and Linda walked downstairs with the bags.
"Where is Fernando?" Tulio inquired while carrying a bag to the first floor. "He didn't tell us where he ran off to."
"Knowing him," Linda replied, "he's probably enjoying the nice morning."
"Would've been nice if he could've helped us!" Tulio complained.
"It's not like we had that many bags," Linda defended.
"Still," Tulio continued to complain.
The two reached the first floor and saw Fernando outside on the sidewalk.
"I told you he was enjoying the outdoors," Linda joked.
"Well next time he could be enjoying the bag carrying," Tulio struggled with the bags. Fernando turned around and noticed his parents coming up to the door, and went over to the door to hold it open.
"Thank you!" Linda said gratefully as she walked through.
"Carry a bag next time," Tulio said as he walked through. Fernando laughed a little.
"We need to walk to the main street if we want to find a taxi," Tulio suggested.
"I'll scout ahead and find one!" Fernando yelled with excitement as he grabbed a bag and ran down the street.
"See?" Linda pointed at Fernando once he was out of earshot. "He grabbed a bag. Happy now?"
"Yes!" Tulio replied trying to get the point across, while at the same time laughing a little. "That's all I asked!"
When they arrived at the street, Fernando had summoned a cab, and the cab was awaiting them on the side of the street.
"Got your cab!" Fernando stated as he helped put the rest of the bags in the trunk.
The three entered the cab, and Tulio told the taxi driver to go to the Conservatory. The driver acknowledged and drove down the road towards the Conservatory.
It is not a short drive from one side of the city to the other. It took 15 minutes of weaving through city traffic to finally get to the Conservatory. Once they arrived, they proceeded to remove their bags from the trunk of the cab and pay the cabbie. The cabbie thanked them and drove back down the road.
"Come on," Tulio pointed in front of him. "The truck and boat are in the back!"
Linda and Fernando followed Tulio to behind the Conservatory building, where they found an SUV and trailer containing a boat. The SUV was at least 15 years of age, but the boat was a virtually brand new medium sized fishing boat. Both the boat and the SUV bore the Conservatory logo.
"New boat," Fernando noticed, "but old truck?"
"That truck was bought with insurance money after my father died," Tulio explained, feeling a little uneasy. "He donated a large portion of his assets to the Conservatory. That truck hasn't been replaced because it was bought a week after my father died. It keeps his memory alive."
"If there's money," Linda said, "why not buy a new one?"
"Like I said," Tulio repeated. "They want to remember my father."
"You can use the truck," Fernando said. "Buy the Conservatory a new one. We could use a new truck at home."
"But we have nowhere to put it," Tulio replied solemnly.
"We'll just have to park it out front," Linda suggested.
"I'll be back at work tomorrow," Tulio closed the conversation. "I'll discuss it with the treasurers and other finance guys. For now, let's get this baby on the water!"
The three threw their bags into the back of the SUV and hopped in. Tulio turned the key, and after a few seconds, the truck finally started. They pulled out of the back lot and drove down the road, headed for the marina.
For those who aren't familiar with the large marina in Rio, it can be easily found by viewing photos of Sugarloaf Mountain from Christo. Near the base of Sugarloaf lies a large dock with massive yachts and other vessels. This is the very marina that Linda, Tulio, and Fernando were headed to. Normally, the marina is very crowded during the day. They had made it early enough to avoid the large crowds.
Tulio pulled the truck and trailer up to the small boat launch and proceeded to back the trailer up into the water. The back wheels of the trailer slid under the crystal clear waves, and the boat was almost completely in the water. Tulio parked the truck and got out. He unlocked the straps that hold the boat in place, and the boat slowly drifted off of the trailer. Tulio got back into the truck, and backed up into the parking lot nearby.
The couple and adopted child made their way out of the truck and grabbed the bags out of the back lift gate.
"So we just get in the boat?" Fernando inquired.
"Don't tell me you've never been on a boat before," Tulio said in disbelief.
"I haven't…" Fernando looked at the ground.
"Well there's a first time for everything," Tulio pronounced with spirit. He got into the boat and placed a key into the ignition. Quickly, the boat started, and the engine revved.
"All aboard the Cerulean!" Tulio called as Linda and Fernando boarded the boat. Tulio backed the boat out of the boat launch area and set course to go around Sugarloaf.
"You named it the Cerulean?" Fernando was surprised.
"It's got a nice ring to it!" Tulio called back over the loud sound of the engines. "So anyways, the backside of Sugarloaf is a great spot for fishing! My father used to take me there to catch huge fish! We should have some good luck this morning! This is when they feed!"
After about 10 minutes of high speed boating, Tulio finally stopped the boat on the other side of Sugarloaf. He looked up and noticed the towering cliffs and the observation deck at the top.
"Haven't been here in a while," he said as he turned the boat engines off. He walked over to the other side of the boat and grabbed a large fishing pole on the floor of the boat. He then sat down into a lawn chair and cast a line out into the water.
"Here," Tulio picked up another pole and smiled as he looked at Fernando. "Come give it a shot."
Fernando grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to Tulio. He smiled as he grabbed the pole form Tulio's hand and tried to cast it out. It didn't go very far.
"That's okay." Tulio tried to cheer Fernando up by patting him on the back. "Reel it up and give it another shot!"
While Tulio was showing Fernando how to cast the line, Linda tried to relax in the little sun that she could get. With sunglasses on and a comfortable sunbathing chair to lie on, she got comfortable quick.
After a few attempts, Fernando was finally able to get his line out far enough to be near Tulio's spot. He smiled and cheered "Yes!" when it finally made it.
"See?" Tulio congratulated him. "You just have to try a few times. Now we can just sit back and wait."
Linda tried her best to get a good nap while she attempted to sunbathe. After a few minutes, she figured that everything was falling into place for her to enjoy a relaxing time on the water. Her silent serenity was broken, however, in the form of a large splash.
The splash was abrupt, and Linda looked up in a flash to see what had happened. The water was splashing back down where it had been rocketed into the air from contact with a falling object. That object broke its surface tension. Under the water, Linda could see the object that had been dropped, and she noticed that it was returning to the surface. She squinted in the sunlight to see a little better. When the object finally rose to the surface, she jumped up off of the sunbathing chair and screamed.
A few minutes earlier, when Linda had first started sunbathing, Tulio and Fernando had just gotten both lines out into the water. It was only a matter of a minute that Fernando's bobber went under the water.
"You got something!" Tulio quickly leaned forward and pointed enthusiastically to the submerged bobber. Fernando grabbed the pole in excitement.
"Is it pulling?" Tulio inquired.
"It just feels a little heavy," Fernando replied.
"Well," Tulio replied, "reel it in anyways. It's probably some trash, but at least we'll be cleaning out the ocean!"
Fernando quickly reeled in the object. As it moved under the water, Tulio could see multiple colors: red, blue, and yellow.
"What is that?" Tulio said to himself out loud under his breath. As it came out of the water, both of their pairs of eyes widened. Fernando's line had caught onto the deceased body of a Scarlet Macaw. It had a large stab-like wound in its thorax, and its face showed complete agony. Tulio was heartbroken.
"Let me see," Tulio couldn't believe what it was. He took the hook out of the wound and held the bird in his hands. "What happened to you? What could have done this to you?"
As he examined the bird's wound, Linda's deafening scream drew his attention to her, as she was now standing up with her hands over her face. She was now sobbing hysterically. Tulio flew up out of his chair and ran to comfort Linda.
"What's wrong?" Tulio had no idea what was wrong with her. Through her jittering and hysterical tears, she pointed her arm out into the water. Tulio turned and gasped under his breath. In the water was another dead bird. Further away from them, another splash could be heard, and Tulio and Linda looked over to see where it had come from.
"We need to call someone," Tulio said in shock as he walked back over to the boat controls. "I don't understand. How could this have happened? What is wrong with the birds?"
Fernando and Linda sat down in the boat with somber attitudes and slight jitters as Tulio started the boat and sped back around Sugarloaf Mountain. After about 10 minutes, they were nearly all the way around. Out of the blue, a massive explosion rocked the area just around the curve of the mountain. The three flinched when they heard the explosion.
"What is going on?" Linda said after the blast in confusion. "There are dead birds in the ocean and now things are blowing up!"
"Definitely not a normal day in Rio," Tulio replied. He then spoke quietly to himself: "Then again…When is there EVER a normal day here?"
Once they had rounded the curve of the mountain, the site of the explosion came into view. The lower gondola station that took passengers to the top of Sugarloaf was in flames.
"Oh my goodness," Tulio said while looking up at the flames wile piloting the boat. "They said those things would never break."
He pulled the boat up to the boat launch and jumped off. Fernando helped grab things with Linda while Tulio ran to the truck. In no time, he was back with the truck, and backed it up to in front of the boat. He proceeded to get back out and push the boat into the trailer, strapping it in.
"I'm sorry today didn't go so well," Linda said while grabbing things. "I promise you we will do this much more often when we have time."
"At least I gave fishing my best shot!" Fernando replied, grabbing the last of the things. "I'll get better as time goes on."
"That's the spirit!" Linda replied cheerfully as Tulio motioned to get to the truck. They threw the items in the back of the truck and got in. Tulio began driving away from the boat launch and out of the marina.
Sirens could be heard everywhere. Police, firefighters, and ambulances from around the city were converging on the location. Tulio had made it out just in time to avoid getting boxed in by emergency vehicles.
"I can't believe this," Tulio began again as he drove away from the marina. "Those birds did not just drop out of the sky. Something killed them." He smacked his hands off of the steering wheel. "I have to do something!"
"There's nothing you can do," Linda replied, putting her hand on Tulio's shoulder. "Maybe it's best if we don't get involved. The forest solves its own problems, right?
Kepler flew away from Christo in displeasure.
"Underappreciated," Kepler mumbled to himself. "That's the right word. After all I do for them, after all I DID for them, and I get this. Heh, I'll show them. I'll show them that I can strike fast, too. Let's check up on a little buddy of ours."
A few minutes passed before Kepler reached the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. The sun was beaming down on the water, and it was the perfect day for anything. A few people were up early to view the sights. Hiding from plain sight however, a very familiar face was lurking on the other side of the railing, out of view to the onlookers.
Kepler landed on the railing. He began scanning the area just over the railing. He finally came to an area near the gondola drop-off point. As he peered over the railing, he saw a pinkish bird with bloody wings looking down the massive mountain to the valley below. Kepler looked down at who he knew was Sanchez.
"See now why you can't just go around killing people?" Kepler boomed down to Sanchez. Sanchez flinched after being surprised but didn't look up. Kepler took a small rock and threw it at Sanchez, who seemed unaffected. "I know you can hear me, bozo. I didn't rip your ears out, you know."
"Don't you think you've caused me enough pain already?" Sanchez said quietly without moving his head.
"You plan is becoming more and more known to me by the minute," Kepler revealed. "The friends you know can fix you right up. Soon enough, you'll be back to claim your revenge. It's just way too predictable, Eduardo."
"Very good guesses," Sanchez replied quietly, "but at the same time, you stand there realizing that you can do absolutely nothing about it. All of the petty little rules that you follow prevent you from doing anything that you want to do to me right now." Kepler was becoming agitated. "I don't even have to look at you to figure out that I'm building that anger of yours again. You wanna talk predictable? Heh, look at yourself."
"I am quite capable of breaking my rules," Kepler replied with a clenched beak. "You don't know how close you are to losing everything I've let you keep. Anything you still have, I can arrange to take from you in an instant."
"You seem to have your agenda figured out already," Sanchez smirked. "Probably didn't even expect this."
Kepler sensed a trick, but before he could turn around to brace himself, he was struck on the side of the face by a talon and fell over the railing to a small ledge a few feet below. Kepler landed on his head, so he was in a daze, unable to get up. Sanchez stood over him and chuckled evilly. The figure that hit Kepler from the side flew down from the upper ledge and stood over him as well. The figure was blurry, but Kepler could make out the colors.
The figure was of very similar construction to Kepler's size, but its body was of much different tones. Instead of dark blue feathers like Kepler's, the figure's feathers were a lighter, more cerulean color on its back, and a darker, blackish-blue color on its chest area and neck. The back of its neck and head were slightly brighter than its chest, but slightly darker than its back. Its chest had some slight black spotting, but it was just barely noticeable. It had a yellow ring around its eye and a small yellow crest on its lower jaw, virtually the same as Kepler. Kepler's eyesight was just beginning to improve when the mysterious figure spoke.
"Are you sure this is the one that did this to you?" the figure asked Sanchez. Kepler realized that it was the same voice from atop Christo when he was spying on Sanchez speaking to a mysterious figure.
"I know it was him," Sanchez replied. "I can't fly because of him!"
"Now I told you that keep this conversation out of the ears of the enemy," the figure spoke, disappointed. "To be honest, I didn't wanna have to do that. More luggage to carry around, Eduardo. There's only one way down the mountain for you." He looked over at the gondolas making trips up and down the mountain. "In his current state, we just can't deal with him."
Secretly, as they were discussing, Kepler was building the strength to forcefully break away from the two and take off like a rocket back to Christo. Once those words were spoken by the figure, Kepler was ready. Kepler quietly whispered, "I don't have to be your luggage". With the strength he had, he threw his body up onto his feet and beat his wings as quickly as he could to try to get away. He soon realized, however, that he wasn't even flying. The bird now had his wing around Kepler's neck in mid air, a near impossible feat, unless the bird was extremely strong.
"You underestimate my intelligence," the bird smirked. "Now, you're no longer tough luggage to carry around." With one pull of his wing, the bird flung Kepler into the rock face of the mountain, knocking him out on impact. "Now you're just a carry-on."
While this intense endeavor was occurring on top of Sugarloaf, and Tulio, Linda, and Fernando were on their boat, Kipo's friends were making trips with the bodies to the ocean just beyond Sugarloaf. One of them was carrying a body to the area near Tulio's boat, when he noticed Sanchez and his friend dragging a dark blue bird that he recognized was Kepler. Without thinking, he dropped the body he was carrying and swooped down to Kepler's aid. Sanchez's friend noticed the incoming bird and ordered Sanchez to defend. He put Kepler's body aside and went up into the sky to greet the incoming bird.
Kipo's friend wasn't prepared for a fight. He was smashed into head on by Sanchez's partner and crashed down onto the concrete. He was hurt badly and couldn't move much. The bird came back down and stood over him.
"Let you serve as yet another example of why any victory will cost your friends," the bird smirked again. A gondola had just come up to the top of the mountain. He pushed Kipo's friend into the open gondola door and it shut. He grabbed a rock and flew on top of the gondola, opened a door to the gearbox, and shoved the rock in. the rock stripped the gears, and they lost grip on the cable that carries them to the top. The gondola crept off of the platform, and once it was in the open air, began to pick up speed. Kipo's friend laid unconscious inside with no one to help him.
"So what do we do now?" Sanchez asked as they watched from the platform.
The bird thought for a moment and then turned to Sanchez with a content look on his face. "You're as useful to me as a gun with no bullets. Extra weight." With that, Sanchez nodded, closed his eyes, and dropped over the edge of the platform. He plummeted to the water below in silence. The bird walked back over to Kepler's body, picked it up, and took off towards the Costa e Silva Bridge.
The gondola continued to pick up speed towards the bottom terminal with Kipo's friend still inside. With no one to save him, another life was about to be lost.
So, I hope that giving you insight to the next chapter helps to hold you over until the whole thing comes out! This one took a while. Careful planning and time management had to take place to line the events up as well as they did. That intentional fall by Sanchez is very symbolic. If you think you understand why, feel free to write what you think in the comments. Not to mention, Kepler's been taken hostage! And who is this strangely colored guy? I'm sure it's looking very obvious by now who it is. Again, write what you think!
Looking ahead to Chapter 22: the fate of Kipo's friend, the conclusion of the funeral, getting a little help from another new friend, and maybe a little bit of Tulio and company!