Back on land, the seals are still rummaging and pillaging through what is left of the penguin village. All the penguins have been rounded up and loaded onto the ship at this point. Leo and Aspen hang back, as they await a report from their subordinates.
The two seals who had been pursuing the Penguins finally make it back to them. They are panting and exhausted from the chase. Clearly, it was to no avail. They are empty-flippered.
Aspen asks though the answer is obvious. "Any luck?"
In between breaths, the second seal reports. "Afraid not. They outsmarted us." The two are leaning on each other, gasping for breath. They weren't used to terrestrial hunts like that.
"I know the feeling." Leo remarks, glum but not surprised.
With the worst possible timing, Shawl's gritty voice comes bellowing through the walkie talkie. "Was the mission successful?"
"Oh, Shawl!" Leo puts on a cheery façade for his boss.
Aspen matches his energy. She certainly didn't want to be the one to have to tell him. "What a fantastic surprise."
On the other side of the walkie talkie, Shawl is in his lair. He slides himself, pacing in the dimly lit control room. Anxiously he awaits the news. Hopefully they could put this quest to bed and carry on with the mission. Hydra stands back to watch. With an ear lifted in the air, she does her best to eavesdrop. It's not that she didn't want the seals to succeed. It's just that she hopes it's her own team that ends up bringing in the ever-so prized penguins.
Shawl groans. He slides a ginormous flipper down his face and snout. "I'll take that as a no."
Aspen tries to sugarcoat it. "Well, not exactly."
Leo chimes in a little too eagerly. "We did catch the remainder of the penguins, but just not the penguins."
"I'm assuming when you say, "the penguins", you're referring to our primary objective – Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private." Shawl gets snippier with every word.
"Yes." Leo squeaks.
Shawl lets out a roar that radiates throughout the entire, hallow space. Upon its completion, he slumps down and leans on the side of a captain's chair.
Back in the village, Aspen looks around. Look, at all they accomplished and he still isn't happy? Perfectionist much? Maybe she can reason with him. "I don't mean to sound like a quitter, captain, but maybe we should cut our losses. You know, we accomplished what we were after. We have all the penguins. What are four measly ones compared to the entire world's free-range population of penguins? They can't do anything at this point."
Leo, intending to be helpful, naturally feels the need to add his take. "I mean, all this is about is just a longstanding grudge against those four birds in particular, anyway."
The thoughtless comment sends Shawl reeling. He leans into the walkie talkie with a much darker, aggressive tone. "That grudge is the thing that haunts me every night and day. The thought of four penguins, let alone chicks, making a fool out of me. I've captured far stronger, far stealthier penguins than just a bunch of chicks. I will never be satisfied until I have them in my own flippers. You have no idea what they're capable of, as long as they're out there."
Hydra sees her chance to intervene and pounces. She slithers her way onto the captain's chair and steps onto the armrest. "That might not be the case."
"Hmm?" Shawl looks up to where she is perched.
"You see, I've always thought that they were more than just average penguins." Hydra lounges back in the chair, once she's gotten the boss's attention. It's a bluff but whatever gets her in goods with the boss.
"Of course." Shawl nods vigorously. Finally, someone who gets it.
Back at in the village, Leo and Aspen collectively roll their eyes.
"But what sets them apart from other penguins can easily be taken away." She nabs the air with her claws.
"How so?" Shawl is cautiously intrigued by her words. What is it that sets them apart? He himself had asked that for many years.
"Just trust me." She leaps down from the chair and begins to walk off. Just as she is about to exit the control room, she looks over her shoulder. "I've got a plan. I just better get my cut for this." She warns before strutting out.
Aspen inquires. "You really trust her?"
Shawl is rather blunt with his words. "Well, she's done a better job in her short time working here than you two have done over the course of years." He stands up and regains his composure. They still have a chance, and he isn't going to give up.
"Ouch." Leo mutters, still over the walkie talkie.
A smirk comes to Shawl's face, revealing his jagged teeth. He turns his head slightly, hinting at the occupied birdcage behind him. "Plus, our captive would be awfully disappointed if our little heroes were to abandon their cause."
Hours have come and pass, and the Penguins are still rowing. The sun is nearly setting and their flippers are tiring. Luckily, they find themselves sailing somewhere up the Amazon River. This is where they will be staying the night. Not a moment too soon, as morale and energy are at an all-time low.
Skipper groans out his command. "Kowalski, what's the status on our pursuers?" He does not have enough energy left to give anymore umph into his words.
"Haven't seen them since approximately 575.57 meters back, sir." Kowalski drones on. With a halfhearted stroke, he pushes back the river water with his oar.
Skipper leans back to stretch. That was a lot of time he spent hunched over the vessel. He straightens up and looks around. A dense curtain of trees aligns each side of the river. This place should have plenty of coverage. The rainforest seems like the perfect hiding spot. "Excellente, I think this is as good a place as any to stop for the evening. We'll hit land, before it gets dark."
Once they slowly row their way to shore, they beach the sailboat along the grassy bank. Rico and Kowalski get to work groggily. The two hop out of the boat and onto the shore. With the little energy they have left, Rico hacks up a rope and Kowalski runs it over to the nearest tree. He makes sure to tie it tightly to avoid the possibility of the boat sailing off without them.
The other two penguins join them on land. Skipper, visibly exhausted, tries to muster back up some energy. He places flippers on his hips and puffs out his chest. "All right, men! Let's get going. If we're going to be hiding out here, we better start setting up camp."
Skipper glances around at his team huddled together. Each looks more tired than the next. All that rowing had done a number of them. It might be s struggle to get that same spirit back up again. That is at least before they take a nap or more like a good night's sleep. But that's time they didn't have. They needed to build a shelter before dark. Despite the visible dark circles under Kowalski and Rico's eyes and their hunched posture, Skipper can't seem to look away from Private's teary eyes.
Private straightens up but not in his normal excitement. It is more of an anxious movement. "Just until we come up with a plan to save the penguins, right?"
Skipper's eyes dart away in response to the question. He fumbles over his words. "Yeah, huh-uh. This is only temporary." It suddenly felt as though the rainforest had upped its humidity.
Skipper shifts his focus to taking the command. "All right, Rico, why don't you work on putting together some source of shelter. Private, you go with him. Kowalski and I will go see if we can catch ourselves some dinner."
The thought of dinner perks Rico right up. "All right!" He rushes into the forest like a cheetah. The faster he can get his work done, the faster it will be time for dinner. And food never ceases to inspire Rico.
Private, on the other hand, lowers his head. He tucks it down and waddles somberly after Rico. This was all very good and necessary, but what he really wants is a plan to save those villagers and his parents. Perhaps, Skipper's right. A meal certainly would make him feel better.
Skipper watches Private disappear into the brush. It pained him to see the little guy so upset. He was failing him… No, he was protecting him. This was for their own good. He had to think of it like that. It was his job to do what was best for them… even if they didn't want it? No, that didn't seem right. He is deep in thought, when sound of twigs crunching redirects his attention.
Kowalski reports to Skipper, with a flipper-full of twigs and branches. "Just give me one second to construct us some makeshift fishing rods from these sticks and vines."
Right before Skipper's eyes, Kowalski shapes up two fishing rods completely with the materials he had found.
"Impressive!" Skipper nods.
Kowalski, feeling confident, explains how he did it. "It was simple really. All I needed to do was look past the functional fixedness of the objects around me and put all the parts together. Plus, given the nature of our foes. I think it would be best to avoid leaping in the water to fish any time soon."
Skipper stares on. He understood about half of that. "Good point." He's dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Rico and Private are already gathering materials for their shelter. In anticipation, Private hurries to get the job done as fast as possible. He would really rather have his brothers all together given the circumstances. Anything could be hiding in the forest. The incident back in Australia proved that to be the case. However, gathering wood was a decent distraction. It appears it might have worked a little too well, as he nearly topples over. His flippers are completely filled with logs. He balances them under his chin.
Private catches himself. "How's the shelter coming along, Rico? I've got more wood!" He calls over to Rico who is a few feet away crafting a shelter.
Rico exclaims, spinning around to face Private. "Tada!"
He reveals a cozy, quaint shelter that he has constructed in the span of a few minutes. It looks too good to be true. Private is rather impressed.
Private gasps in amazement. "You built that already?"
"Yup." Rico nods with a smile.
Private waddles closer. He just has to see it up close. Rico had really outdone himself this time. "Well, um, it looks quite nice actually."
Just as Private is about to step inside, the ceiling of the structure caves in. It all crashes down.
"Whoopsie!" Rico shrugs, as Private stares down at the rumble that would have leveled him.
By this time this is going on, Kowalski and Skipper are sitting at the riverbank. Their poles are cast in the water, as they sit back and take in their surroundings. There is a sudden tug on Skipper's line but there is really no big rush to reel in the catch. He spins the reel back to pull up a large fish, round fish.
"Ooh baby!" Skipper cheers for himself.
"Ooh! A pirapitinga! They're only native to the Amazon." Kowalski inspects the fish. His eyes light up, as he marvels at the specimen. It is quite the sight, and he is fascinated. He has never seen one of those in real life before.
Skipper plucks dinner off the hook and recasts his line. "Got to admit, aside from the whole fleeing a band of malicious leopard seals, this whole traveling the world thing is great." He reclines back. This was a nice little spot to settle down.
"Certainly." Kowalski chuckles in agreement. After all the stress they had just been through, it was good to kick back and relax for a few minutes.
Skipper leans forward, getting excited. "I mean, could you imagine, sailing the open seas freely? Fishing wherever we please? An endless adventure with just the four of us."
"It is what we've always wanted." Kowalski smiles. The thought is tempting. He goes to sorting through the basket of fish they had already caught.
"Then, let's do it!" Skipper nearly leaps to his feet.
Kowalski hesitates. He certainly didn't expect such an abrupt statement, but he appreciates the thought. They have more pressing concerns at the moment. "But we're still going back for the rest of the penguins first?" He clarifies. Anything less would be unethical.
Skipper sighs and settles back down. "Right."
The two go back to what they were doing. Kowalski sheepishly breaks the silence. "You know, I'm kind of a bit anxious."
"Anxious?" Skipper laughs. That is an understatement. "Well, with those seals on our trail, I can see why."
Kowalski sighs. Skipper isn't getting his point. He has to elaborate. "No, I mean, aside from that. This is kind of preposterous but…" He shrugs and admits. "I'm a little nervous to see dad again actually."
Skipper tenses up. "Oh?" He doesn't look at Kowalski.
"Yeah, I mean, it's been years since he's seen us. I just don't want to disappoint him." Kowalski shrugs, not knowing what to say.
As Skipper chuckles, Kowalski looks up. The leader continues. "Disappoint him? Why do you think that?" The thought of Kowalski being a disappointment to anyone is inconceivable to Skipper.
Kowalski shrinks a bit and speaks with full honesty. "Oh, I don't know… I'm not as brave as you are, Skipper. I never have been. You're a lot more like dad than I am." This is the first time he's admitted feeling this way aloud.
Now, Skipper really doesn't know what to say. He has never been the comforting type. Hurriedly, he finds an escape route to this emotional sap trap. "Wow! This one's a big one!" He tugs at the fishing line, as if there is a large catch on the line.
Kowalski takes the hint and crumples. In tune with his brother's emotions, Skipper takes notice.
Skipper sighs. In fact, there were times when he was jealous of Kowalski. Though, he would never admit to this. Not ever. He sighs and speaks candidly. "How could he be disappointed of you? You're kind, caring, and ex-potentially smart."
Kowalski lifts his brow. "Exponentially?"
Skipper cheers him on. "Exactly! Anyone, especially dad, should be proud to have you as a son."
Kowalski smiles sincerely at Skipper. That really means a lot to him. He never knew Skipper thought so highly of him. However, Skipper does not return the gesture. Instead, he shifts uncomfortably in his seated position. Kowalski doesn't notice the change in Skipper's behavior, as he is still reflecting on his brother's words. Maybe he does have all of those things to offer.
Kowalski is almost afraid to push his luck with the next question. However, he's feeling bold and confident. Skipper would give him a straight answer surely. He knows that he could take it. "When we get there… Do – do you think Ma might be there, too?"
A silence follows as Skipper's eyes open wide. He wasn't expecting that question.
Given the response from Skipper, or lack thereof, Kowalski stammers on to elaborate. "I mean, you know how Private was saying she might be there. I was just wondering what you thought."
Skipper sighs, and fixes his gaze on the water ahead. It's a sore subject, to say the least. "You know Ma." He clears his throat, giving himself time to formulate his words carefully. "I mean, after all these years, the very odds that she would have still survived…"
He can't say bring himself to say it directly.
"You're probably right." Kowalski nods, clearing his throat, as well, to choke down the water coming to his eyes.
Skipper stands and gives Kowalski a manly pat on the back. "We should head back. It's getting late. I'm sure the boys have finished putting together our shelter."
Once they arrive at the camp, they find Rico still hard at work. He unsuccessfully tries to patch up the roof of a shelter. With every lob up to the top of the crumpled structure, another piece of wood comes crashing down. It is not the sight they want to see. However, it is good to be reunited with their younger brothers.
It is mere seconds before Private is standing right in front of them. "Hi guys!" Private cheers. He is a lot peppier than he was before. It seems his demeanor took a complete 180.
Skipper takes note. "Well, aren't you the chipper one? Back to your normal self, I see."
Private's eyes are wide with restless excitement. "Yeah! I feel great! I was looking around for firewood when I found these really good berries!"
Kowalski repeats skeptically. "Berries?"
Soon enough, Private reveals the berries he is raving about. He sticks out his flippers to show off a mound of round, purple berries.
"I know that you brought back dinner, but they were just so good that I had to share them with you guys! I hope you don't mind." Private speaks about sixty miles per hour.
Skipper chuckles. He appreciates the sudden enthusiasm. "Not at all."
A little too assertively, he snatches Skipper's flippers and delves out some of the berries. He is careful not to spill any of the contents. "Here, take some!"
"And, Rico, you had some too?" Kowalski questions.
Rico perks up. "Yup!"
"Okay..." Kowalski is still hesitant. It's against his better judgement, but he is hungry. He accepts the berries that Private dumps into his flipper.
Private skips off happily.
Skipper and Kowalski are left looking at each other. They shrug.
Skipper asks. "Kowalski, what is the intel on these berries?"
"Well, as long as they don't seem to be having any adverse effects on Private or Rico, we should be fine."
Skipper and Kowalski lift their flippers to their beaks.
"Here goes" Kowalski shrugs.
"Bottom's up." Skipper replies, as they pour the berries into their mouths.
They have a very sweet taste. A lot more delightful than they expected. "Well, how do you feel, Kowalski?" Skipper asks the million-dollar question.
Suddenly, things take a much more amusing turn. Kowalski, for a reason that is beyond him, he begins to cackle.
"What?" Skipper doesn't understand, but finds himself chuckling too.
"What did you say?" Kowalski asks, he didn't quite hear Skipper over his laughter.
"I didn't say anything." This is the last phrase Skipper utters before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter.
"Hey, Private?" Kowalski's voice wavers as he turns back to Private. With the sudden motion, everything starts to sway as if he's on a ship. The world shakes and sways, as if made of jelly.
He pushes through, trying not to lose what little he has in his stomach. "Where did you find these berries?"
Private responds with the same eagerness as before. "They were in this weird looking bush!" His voice drastically gets deeper and slows, like a bass. His face blurs in Kowalski's vision. "Do you want me to get some more?"
Kowalski lazily turns to Skipper, trying to hold onto his urgency. "Skipper, I don't think these berries are safe to eat."
Skipper is on cloud nine. He stretches and leans his body back. Staring up at the treetops, he sighs. "What makes you say that? I feel great!"
Rico yawns. "Me too!" He leaps up and stretches out in midair with flippers resting behind his head. Gently, he sails down towards the forest floor. "So relaxing."
Kowalski tries to hold onto what remains of his sanity, as he looks back at forth between his brothers. They are completely under the spell of whatever these enigmatic berries are. There is nothing he can do, except try and fight off the effects on himself. Mind over matter. Surely, he of all penguins has the mindpower to resist whatever haze has overcome the rest of the team. He takes a few steps back, but notices that the world is starting to blur even more. There is no stopping it. The trees, bushes, and even his brothers morph into nothing more than blotches of color. Lines and edges soften. And for a second, the blobs of colors clash into each other.
Just as soon as all distinct objects vanished, he regains most of his vision. Suddenly, Skipper is standing in front of him with concern in his eyes. He sways, as if riding on a rocky wave. Then, he begins to distort again.
"Wha?" Kowalski murmurs.
Further on in Kowalski's line of vision, Private goes frolicking until he reaches the middle of the clearing. Then, as if a ballerina, stands on one foot. He proceeds to spin. In his outstretched flippers are a piling bundle of berries. He holds them tight to his chest, as he rotates. Getting faster and faster, watching him nearly makes Kowalski ill. Finally, Private stops and tosses the berries up in the air.
They come raining down as if in slow motion. However, there seem to be far more than what was in Private's possession. As they cascade down, they begin collecting until there is a whole sea of berries surrounding the birds.
Kowalski breaks through the current of fruit. He crashes through the outer layer and begins to tread, as if in water. It is an incredibly tumultuous task to stay afloat. His flippers fan in and out, pushing the berries that are up to his chest. As he is struggling, he can't help but feel stunned when he sees Skipper. His older brother is leisurely swimming above the current. On his back, he kicks his feet in a constant lackadaisical motion. The effortless movement is enough to keep him at a steady pace. His flippers cradle his head as he floats by.
Kowalski calls out, partially questioning and partially asking for help. "Skipper?"
Skipper muses back, not enough bothering to look up the struggling penguin. "Relax, Kowalski. Relaaaaaaaaax." His voice grows distorted, like a record slowing.
"How?!" Kowalski questions more intensely.
As Skipper floats downstream, Kowalski's eyes follow him. Nearly crossing paths with Skipper, Rico porpoises out of the berry ocean. Once in the air, he cackles like a dolphin. Then, he proceeds to dive back down into the violet waves.
Private has a much different experience, as he waddles up to Skipper. He finds Skipper stretched out on the ground and looking up at the treetops.
Private begins laughing hysterically. "Skippah, you look so funny!"
Skipper sits up, struggling to maintain his balance. "Really?" Now, he is excited too.
To Private, Skipper's head appears disproportionately much larger than his body.
Skipper chuckles wildly and points to Private. "Baha! But not as funny as you!"
Private blinks at Skipper a few times. But to Skipper, Private opens his eyes to reveal huge pupils and irises. They are ginormous and sparkling like light blue sapphires.
They start laughing together, and Skipper staggers to his feet. He wraps a flipper around the back of Private's neck and sluggishly weighs him down. He brings him in closer to him. It's a loving, almost headlock of a hug. Private doesn't seem to mind though. He looks up starry-eyed and disoriented as well.
"I love you, pal!" Skipper laughs, squeezing his hold a bit.
"I love you too, Skippah!" Private sighs contently.
"I mean," he laughs, "you're like a son to me."
Private laughs along. "Thanks, Skippah." Then, he stops. As if coming back down to earth, he gets very serious for a second. His eyes widen and looks up at Skipper. "Skippah, are we really going to save those penguins?"
Skipper says offhandedly. "Aw Private, we don't stand a chance against all those seals." He laughs. "They'd eat us for breakfast."
There is an abrupt pause. They both get quiet. It is as if they take a moment to process what has been said. However, it appears not, as they both burst out into laughter.
Back in Shawl's lair, the seals have their wits about them. Shawl swings a walkie talkie up to his snout. "Do we have intel on the location of our targets?"
Aspen responds not sure what to make of what she is observing. "It looks like they've set up camp in the amazon rainforest… I don't think they have any plans of leaving any time soon."
That is good news. Shawl smiles and begins talking to the hidden hostage behind him. The birdcage is cloaked in darkness, but a penguin shadow is visible. Shawl leers. "Do you really still think they're coming to get you?"
By the time the sun has fully gone down, the Penguins have settled in. They sit around a roaring fire. Upon the fire, they roast the fish that Kowalski and Skipper had caught for dinner. Feeling discombobulated, they are all feeling the aftermath of their unintended debauchery.
Skipper holds his head, as he shakes it. "Well, that's the last time I trust any mysterious berries... Oddly not the first time I've said this."
However, they are all alerted when a light sobbing comes from across the fire.
"Private?" Skipper calls gently. Concern covers his face.
They all look up to see the youngest penguin crying. Skipper continues. "What's wrong, buddy?"
Without saying a word, Private rushes over to Skipper. He sits down barely an inch from him and wraps his flippers around tightly. He buries his face into Skipper's shoulder, as the leader holds onto him.
Private finally speaks. "All those nice penguins. They let us into their home, and took care of us, and now they've been captured! And – and …"
Skipper honestly doesn't know what to say this time. But he does his best to soothe Private regardless. "It's going to be all right, Young Private." Despite his efforts, he sounds unsure as well.
Private continues, nearly hyperventilating. He backs up to look Skipper in eyes. "My parents. What if Leo and Aspen were right? And even if they are alive, are we really going to be able to rescue them? Or those villagers? They all fought so hard against the seals but look what happened! How will we be any different?"
Skipper feels cornered, as if the weight of the world lays in the questions that have just been hurled at him. He stammers. "Well, I – I mean – we – uh, um… I don't know."
This emits a reaction from both Private and Rico. They look at Skipper with their beaks agape. They had never heard him so frazzled before. Skipper isn't afraid of anything. At least not until now. And if Skipper is stressed, what could that mean for them?
That's when Kowalski stands up. He looms over the firelight, leaving a towering shadow in the forest behind him. "Private, what are you talking about? Are we really doubting ourselves now? C'mon, we're – we're the sons of the world's greatest secret, penguin agent of all time. He – he fought hundreds of seals in his time. I mean, Private, remember that story when dad wrestled that congregation of alligators to save that family of flamingos."
The realization of Kowalski's words, regardless of their truthfulness, resonate with Private. "Yes… you're right!" His eyes widen.
Kowalski continues with the same fiery passion. "And everyone told him he was crazy for going to stop that glacier from crushing that rockhopper rookery, right Rico?"
Rico roots him on. "Yeah!"
Kowalski puts his flippers on his flippers, just as Skipper would. "And that was just by himself. I would say there is a 99.9% chance that the same calling for adventure and heroism is coursing through our own vascular systems right now."
Skipper tilts his head. "Our what?"
Kowalski realizes his language was perhaps a bit too lofty for them. "Oh. It's in our blood." He states plainly.
Private and Rico let out a collective "Ohhh," of understanding.
He continues. "I mean, how could you say it's not. Weren't you all there when we were telling the villagers our story? Escaping top security captivity, hijacking a gigantic cargo ship, rewiring and flying an abandoned plane, fighting foosas, deranged animal control officers, and the very limits of nature. Who says we can't take on a bunch of seals?"
Rico lifts his flippers above his head. "Woohoo!"
Kowalski waves at the air. "Saving the entire penguin species is practically a Tuesday for us."
Private has gone from crying to hopping in his seat. He turns to Skipper. "Yes! We'll get those spotted sea dogs and save all of the penguins! Don't you worry, Skippah." His flippers punch into the air in front of him.
Skipper replies, maybe even starting to feel convinced too. "Yeah, uh…" He smiles. "We'll be fine."
Kowalski upholds his newfound enthusiasm. "Great! Then, we'll devise a plan tomorrow."
Skipper asserts himself back into the conversation. "But for now, it's time to get some shut eye. You boys are going to need your energy. I'll take watch for the night." He certainly has a lot to think about.
So, the Penguins settle in for the night. Private and Rico cuddle up next to each other and fall asleep almost instantly. Private lets out a light humming of a snore, as he falls deeper into his slumber. Rico tosses and turns until he finds a position that to anyone else would look uncomfortable. But it suits him well. Kowalski stands up and tends to the fire. He adds what logs they have left from the pile. After completing this, he sits down beside Skipper.
"Aren't you going to bed, soldier?" Skipper asks.
He shrugs in response; he probably wouldn't be able to sleep even if he tried. "I thought I'd stay up for a bit."
Skipper lowers his voice and concedes sheepishly. "Thanks for what you did back there, by the way."
"It was nothing really." Kowalski chuckles. He reminisces. "It's what Ma would have done and what you've been doing for us all these years."
Skipper stares into the fire. Then, he sighs. For some reason, he can no longer conceal the pain. "You know, the last time I saw her, I was angry with her."
"Ma?" Kowalski clarifies.
"Yeah. She was so upset with me. It's just hard to know that I'll never get to say I'm sorry." He elaborates.
"Oh, Skipper." Kowalski furrows his brow and leans in.
Skipper doesn't like anyone feeling sorry for him. Though this is not Kowalski's intent, Skipper loses his nerve. He forces himself to perk up. "But it's okay now. We're gonna be just fine – the four of us – we'll be okay."
Kowalski pauses and sighs. "How did you do it? I mean after all these years... you've never missed a step?"
This question startles Skipper. Does he know the truth about dad? How could he? He freezes. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, you keep us going, no matter how bad things get. And how you just rush into danger, without a second thought… I just wish I had your courage just once."
The air returns to Skipper's lungs. "Oh, well. Courage isn't everything."
He stands up and begins waddling towards the collapsed shelter.
"It sure helps."
Skipper takes down the blanket that Rico had draped over the rumble. It didn't make much of a roof, but it would be good enough to cover the boys.
"We wouldn't be anywhere without those smarts of yours."
Kowalski stammers. "But you, you're Skipper. I mean, you're… you're larger than life."
Skipper lifts a brow. It's his turn to be amused. "You think so?" He starts heading back over to the team.
"To us you are. And the way Private looks at you… You're like a superhero to him."
Skipper smiles down warmly at his sleeping soldiers. Then, he proceeds to lay the blanket down gently over Private and Rico. They are still fast asleep.
"Well, you boys mean the world to me, too."
"Those seals have another thing coming if they think they're going to take down the four of us." Kowalski declares with his confidence streak. He's really enjoying this new feeling.
"Darn right they do." Skipper winks. He's impressed by Kowalski's spunk as well. It's a welcomed change of pace.
The light of the fire suddenly dims.
"Ooh! Looks like we're running low on wood." Kowalski announces.
Already on his feet, Skipper shrugs. "I'll go get us some. Can you stand post, while I'm gone?"
"I think I can manage."
"Thanks, Kowalski." Skipper pats him on the back, before disappearing into the night.
Neither of them knew what would be in store for them that night. It was their last little fragment of peace before the world began crashing down around them. Things would never be the same after that moment. They were completely oblivious of what was to transpire later that night.
[To Be Continued]
