Chapter 16.

    "Oh my god, I never knew someone could be so bored without calling it torture!"  Lucas complained for about the hundredth time that night.

    "Look, I'm sure it'll get better… I mean it's got to get better, right? It can't get any worse, can it?" Tim tried to convince Lucas.

    "I really hope not." Katie added.

    "Hey, pipe down you three… You're supposed to be representing the UEO." Crocker whispered.

    The opening speeches had been going on for over an hour now and everyone was beginning to get restless. Just then everyone began to clap, as the speeches finally ended and the people began to move out of there seats to mingle with the other guests. Captain Bridger had the shortest straw, as he had to sit on the table with Admiral Noyce and all the other big-wigs of the UEO. His table was closest to the platform, in which the speeches were being made. The crew from the SeaQuest had been arranged with a table at the back of the room.

    "I don't know about any of you, but I'm going to get some food. Anyone care to join me?" Ford offered.

    "I'll join you," Katie offered.

    "Me too!" said Crocker, already rising from the table and stretching out various muscles in his body.

    "I just need to stretch myself out." Lucas groggily mumbled.

    "A walk around the room should cure your aching muscles." Tim suggested. "I think I might join you."

    "Me too!" volunteered Ortiz.

    "Don't forget me," Ben declared.

    "How could we? You're always so loud." Lucas wittily replied.

    "Ha, ha, ha." replied Ben sarcastically.

    "This could be a long night," Tim whispered to Ortiz, who nodded in reply.

    The four friends walked around the crowded room, until at last they could feel their bones again. Attracted by the smell, their journey took them to the buffet table in the front of the room. The food looked appetising and soon everyone was tucking into their individual meals at the table. A much hassled Captain Bridger came over then.

    "How you guys coping?"

    "Just great. This is how I always wanted to spend my Saturday evenings. Stuck in a room full of people talking. Non stop." Lucas mumbled.

    "Well, at least you weren't sitting at the front where you had to actually look interested in what they were saying and not fall asleep at the same time." Bridger replied, earning a laugh from the rest of the crew. "Look I'm sure it'll liven up later…"

    Lucas just rolled his eyes and stood up from the table.

    "I'm going to get a drink…" At Bridger's look he quickly explained, "Non alcoholic of course, anyone else want anything?" The crew grunted in the negative and so Lucas turned round, bumping into a woman.

    "Oops! Sorry." Lucas gasped.

    The woman was deeply tanned and had brown, curly hair and wore a long red dress, which reached just below her knees. On her feet were sexy black boots, which seemed to reach where the dress ended. The woman didn't say anything at first, but slipped her arm around his waist.

     "I know you," The mystery woman purred into Lucas's ear. Lucas turned bright red and looked at her strangely, as he didn't recognise her at all.

    "Really? Where from? 'Cos I don't…" Lucas was interrupted.

    "We're almost related." She whispered.

    Behind Lucas, the crew were in fits of laughter at Lucas's reactions to the woman's advances. He was clearly clueless as to what to do next. Just then a gale of laughter and clapping erupted at a table nearby, but Lucas and the mystery woman ignored it. A man suddenly walked round the other side of Lucas and put his arm around Lucas's waist whispering,

    "I know you!"

    Lucas jumped a mile and out of both the man and the woman's grasp. Looking at the man, Lucas suddenly placed both hands over his mouth and the man laughed again.

    "Hi! It's me!" The man waved his hand as he spoke the words, and snapped Lucas out of his trance.

    Lucas ran forward and hugged the mystery man. The people at the table cheered again.

    "I'm sorry Lucas; I just had to do it! You're face was absolutely priceless, I wish I had a camera!" The man laughed again as Lucas looked as though he was still in shock.

    "Oh my god, oh my god!" was the only response they could get from Lucas.

    "Come on, sit down before you fall down," Captain Bridger was worried Lucas would collapse.

    The mystery man sat on the chair on Lucas's left side and began to wave his hand in front of his face. Lucas just slapped his hand out of the way.

    "Oh my god, he is alive." The man laughed, as Lucas scowled.

    "Course I'm alive! Why wouldn't I be?" Lucas asked.

    "Well, you didn't look it from where I was sitting over there." Another man had now silently joined them and was crouched on Lucas's other side, making Lucas jump before he hugged the other mystery man, who was the eldest of the three, but didn't go into shock as he had done with the other man.

    "I think a round of introductions may be in order here, don't you think?" Baz said, as he noted the confused looks on Lucas friends faces.

    "Well, I don't think Lucas is gonna be doing them," the younger man observed.

    Captain Bridger decided to be the grown up and introduce the people he knew.

    "I'm Nathan Bridger, and going round the table is Maxwell Crocker, Tim O'Neill, Miguel Ortiz, Jonathon Ford, Katie Hitchcock and Ben Krieg."

    "I'm Baz, Lucas's Uncle, and this is Matt, Lucas's brother and Matt's fiancée, Emily." Baz quickly introduced.

    "We were really bored, so when I saw you, I didn't want to just go over here and say hi, I wanted to make sure this was something you wouldn't forget in a hurry." Matt laughed. Emily, on Matt's request, sat on his lap and put her arms around her fiancée's neck, while Matt laid his hands around her waist.

    "Well, I'm sure there's no hurry in that." Ben was quick in replying.

    Baz grabbed a chair and sat on the right side of Lucas. The youth looked back and forth from Baz to Matt, before asking the pair,

    "Are you trying to corner me in, or something?"

    "Yeah, making sure you don't get into trouble… And don't say you don't get into trouble anymore because, contrary to popular beliefs, I do actually read your report cards." Lucas paled slightly and gulped. "Exactly."

    "They're not that bad!" Lucas objected.

    "Compared to what? A bank robber's report card?" Baz raised an eyebrow, as he waited for an answer. Lucas quickly changed the subject to Matt.

    "What you doing here?" Lucas asked.

    "You know. The UEO needed a representative and I was volunteered." Matt replied.

    "That's only because you took…" Emily began, but was silenced before she got any further. Baz didn't look very amused.

    "You did what? I thought you were the older and more mature person…"

    Lucas knew there was a lecture coming on and so left to get a drink, like he'd been planning to do in the first place. Walking up to the drinks table, Lucas made his selection and turned around, almost bumping into the person standing directly behind him.

    "Oops! Sorry 'bout that." Lucas turned bright red.

    "That's OK, Lucas."

    Lucas stared at the man, before recognising one of his uncle's work colleagues, Barry. Barry had mousy brown hair and he made the long, boring meetings he had to attend when his uncle was busy, less boring by pulling silly faces at him from behind the person, who was talking. Lucas had always liked Barry, because he was great fun to talk to.

    "Oh! Hey Barry! Wassup?" Lucas asked.

    "Nothing interesting to talk about. You? I heard your on SeaQuest, how's that been for you?" Barry replied, helping himself to a drink.

    "It's great. You get to play computer games with billions of dollars worth of computer equipment, providing the Captain doesn't find out. He's nice enough about it, though." Barry nearly chocked with laughter on the drink he had began to sip slowly. After he had recovered, he said,

    "Did I hear Baz lecturing you two about not playing practical jokes just now?"

    "Yeah, why?" Lucas was curious, as Barry and Baz often worked close together and were good friends.

    "OK, now Baz is hardly an angel either. And I'd hate to see Baz telling you two off, when he's done things hundreds of times worse… Also I need to get back at him somehow." Barry explained, with a mischievous glint in his eye. And with that Barry began to explain the pranks Baz had pulled.

***

    Matt was beginning to get bored again. He suddenly realised how long Lucas had been and looked over at the drinks table, where he saw Lucas waving frantically at him to come over. Matt frowned, confused. Lucas realised Matt wasn't getting the message, so he used sign language across the room and hoped Matt would still remember it from when they learnt it as children.

   "Matt, come over here and get a drink. If you need to reply, don't let Baz see you."

    Matt signed back,

    "Why?"

    Lucas replied,

    "I'll explain when you get over here!"

    Realising Lucas wouldn't explain until he went over there, Matt excused himself by saying,

    "Excuse me, I have to go and get a drink." Baz raised his eye brow at the emphasis on the word 'have', but didn't say anything.

    He walked over to Lucas, who was talking animatedly to an older man Matt didn't recognise.

    "Matt, this is Barry and he works with Baz, Barry, this is my brother, Matt." Lucas introduced quickly. "OK, now apparently Baz has been pulling a few pranks of his own he 'forgot' to mention in his little speech back then. I'm going to embarrass Baz like he did to us, but I need you're help. Here's what we're going to do…" Lucas huddled closer to Matt and the plotting began.

***

    Lucas and Matt walked casually up to Baz, Matt sitting in Lucas's chair and Lucas bending down, so he was the same height as Baz and placed his arms around Baz's neck. Baz looked a bit worried, while the rest of the crew were watching with keen interest,

    "Baz…" Lucas began.

    "Yes, what are you up to now, you little horror." Baz's voice faltered slightly.

    "You know when you were lecturing us about playing pranks?" He continued,

    "Yes," Baz repeated himself.

    "Well, is there anything you'd like to tell us? Anything at all. Remember, we're here to listen and not to judge." Matt took over, trying to sound like a Samaritan.

    "No, why would I want to?" Baz stared at Lucas, who still had his arms around his neck and trying to figure out what they were up to.

    "Well, we know differently." Matt concluded.

    "Oh? Really?" Baz was really nervous now.

    "Then why didn't you tell us about the time where you gave one of your friends dog food to eat, after you were harshly criticised on your cooking?" Lucas started, before Matt took over.

    "Or the time you drew on your bunk mate's face with permanent marker and made sure his alarm woke him up ten minutes before he had to go and do a public speech?"

    "Or the other time when you hid all the anger management manuals when you knew your friend needed one." Lucas sounded very disappointed.

    "Where's the trust here? I mean you find out the stuff we get up to…" Matt tried to sound hurt, but failed miserably.

    "So now we have found someone else, who will be our human report card. So every prank you pull, every telling off you get, we'll know. Oh yes. We'll make sure we know about it." Lucas concluded, taking his arms off his uncle's shoulders at last.

    Baz had gone crimson with embarrassment, but faced Lucas and asked,

    "How did you find out about all of that?"

    Lucas just pointed to the table, where Barry sipped some more of his wine and waved at them. Baz shook his head in disbelief, as Barry started to walk casually towards the table.

    "So! What's new?" Barry sounded casual, while Baz was trying to think of a witty reply. In the end he gave up trying to the and said,

    "It was you!"

    The table burst out laughing at Baz's simple statement. Barry, shaking with laughter, just nodded.

    "How could you?"

    "I was bored and I needed a laugh. I just thought it was very wrong the way you were telling Matt and Lucas here off for a couple of minor pranks, and you've done things they probably never would have dreamed of doing." Barry rightly pointed out.

    Baz pretended to sulk, but the façade ended soon. Barry joined the table as well and the group talked late into the night, before they were sent back to their hotels. In turned out that Matt, Emily, Baz and Barry were staying at the same hotel, but had arrived just in time to have a shower before going to the party. Lucas was so tired out from the party; he collapsed on the bed and fell fast asleep. Bridger looked at the sleeping boy before pulling the covers over his sleeping form and climbing into his own separate bed.

TBC…

Don't worry, this is leading somewhere, honest! I'll try and get the next part up ASAP, but I have no idea what I want to happen next. We'll see anyway.