"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy,"-Sir Alec Guinness in Star Wars: Episode IV
Stingray's Bar and Grill, Freeport-
The quartet was greeted by the smell of food well before they walked into the popular hangout. They let the scent of food guide their way toward the bar when suddenly a drunken dog went flying out of the door. The dog fell onto the ground and rolled onto his back where he lay panting.
"And stay out!" roared a muscular wolf, "It isn't even 8 o'clock yet and your already tore up!"
As they approached the entrance, Baloo recognized the wolf.
"Any room inside for us Hugo?" asked Baloo.
"Well if it isn't Baloo Bruinwald and his sidekick Louie Lamor," said the wolf upon recognizing the two, "I haven't seen you two in these parts in a while…Yeah there's room, just had to get rid of some riff raff…you know the deal."
"Hey why do I have to be the sidekick?" asked Louie.
"I don't know Louie," said Hugo with a laugh, "You just look like one!"
"That's messed up."
"We're here with our friends," said Baloo as he motioned to the professor and grad student.
"Hello gorgeous!" said the wolf to Thom, "Where have you been all my life?"
"Staying away from you," said Thom.
"Oh boys you got one with an attitude, I like that!"
"The attitude comes with two fists Mac," Thom said coldly.
"Girl," said Hugo with a wolfish grin, "Something tells me yer gonna fit right in here."
Hugo welcomed the four into the bar and had one of the waitresses find them a table.
Stingray's was considered by many to be the most popular hangout in Freeport and it had the crowd to prove it. The large bar and grill featured a main floor plus a rooftop that had its own bar and tables with a view of the Pacific. On the main floor was a live band playing the latest in jazz as well as two full bars and a dance floor
The bar attracted a wide variety of patrons including locals, tourists, and more than a few sailors and pilots. Unfortunately Stingray's also attracted a lot of less than reputable clients. There were smugglers, gun runners, members of organized crime, and people with severe anger issue that just waited for the right moment to start something. There was even rumored to be a spy or two.
Freeport boasted a naval base and an airfield that serviced both Navy and Air Corps pilots. The personnel from both services frequently caused trouble with one another when they were together. They mainly stayed to their own hangouts but Stingray's was considered to be an "open bar" meaning that its owner didn't turn away paying customers. Local, tourist, criminal, military, it didn't matter here. The only thing that mattered was money, besides the bouncers were more than able to handle a few miscreants and trouble makers.
"What a colorful looking place," said Professor O'Bowens in regards to both the old fashioned, wooden-interior of the bar which looked to have been built in the 1700s, and the bar's patrons.
Sitting at the table nearest them was a gruff looking wolf in a sleeveless shirt and a female wolf with an eye patch.
Elsewhere were an ostrich in khakis, a pig in a leather bomber jacket, an elderly fox with a sea captain's hat, two donkeys shooting pool, a bunch of rowdy sailors in their cracker-jack style uniforms, two large female hippos who were eyeing every single man in the place, a loud mouth dog pilot with a cowboy hat, an obese tabby cat who was throwing darts with an emaciated-looking goose, a brawny bear with a vicious scar on his face, a panda in a white suit, and off in the corner of the bar, a wolverine dressed in black.
"Looks like we have some real winners in this place," said Thom as she turned away from a young sailor who had just winked at her.
"Not your type of place?" asked Louie.
"No, no it's not that. It just reminds me of this place I went to with some friends back in Cape Suzette."
"Which place?" asked Baloo.
"The Dockside," she said then added, "It's on the corner of Bay and 42nd."
"I know the place…they got killer wings."
"I don't know about you all but I am starving," said Louie who grabbed a menu from the table top."
"I've been starving," said Baloo who flagged down a waitress, "Can I get a plate of cheese fries?"
"What size darling," said the young ferret waitress.
"Large of course," said Louie with a smile.
"Gotcha ya honey. Do you all need more time deciding on the rest?"
"I could use a few minutes," said O'Bowens.
"Any drinks for you?"
"I think we're gonna need a pitcher of beer," said Louie.
"What about you two," Baloo asked O'Bowens and Thom.
"Well…" said O'Bowens, "I think I'll just have a soda."
"Aw come on Professor," said Baloo, "Live a little!"
O'Bowens chuckled and then changed his mind, "On second thoughts, I'd like a Scotch on the Rocks."
"Oh he's goin straight for the liquor! You're my kind of professor Professor!" said Louie.
"What about you Thom?" asked Baloo, "Do you want something sweet to drink, maybe a glass of wine or something like that?"
Thom was annoyed at the sexist overtones. She'd show these pilots what she could do.
"I'll have a double-shot of tequila and a whiskey sour."
Baloo's jaw dropped and Louie's eyes widened.
"You do shots?" asked Louie.
"Yes," Thom replied and then smiled deviously, "Actually I'd like for my friends to have a shot of tequila as well…my treat."
The young waitress smiled knowingly to Thom and then walked off to get their drinks.
Both Baloo and Louie were surprised at how the grad assistant downed her shotglass without the need for a chaser. She also seemed to be at home in the rowdy atmosphere of the bar and both of them wondered just what type of girl she was. One thing was clear: judging by her taste in liquor they could tell that she wasn't a girly girl.
Baloo found himself warming up to the cat. She was attractive but more than that she was easy going and had no problem matching the boys drink for drink. Of course it could have been the alcohol that was causing her to lose her inhibitions.
"Heya miss," said a young sailor with a nervous smile, "Wanna dance?"
Thom looked at the sailor, a beige cat in his early twenties, and smiled. "You were the one who winked at me earlier."
"Oh, oh…I… that…yeah."
"C'mon, lets dance."
"I'm Billy. Seaman Billy Taylor. I'm a gunner's mate."
"Thomasina, Thom Whiskerson. Graduate student."
Baloo watched as she grabbed the sailor's hand and allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor. "She's lucky her boyfriend isn't here Professor."
O'Bowens laughed, "Thom doesn't have one."
"You don't say," said Baloo with a sneaky smile. This could be an interesting two weeks!
Baloo then remembered to press the professor about the Emerald King. "So Professor, what's the deal with this Emerald guy?"
"Oh you mean the Emerald King," said O'Bowens with a friendly smile. He was more than happy to share his knowledge about archaeology with anyone who asked, "Well it all goes back to the days of the Tinca Empire in what are now modern-day Feru and Bolivaria and a little sliver of Ronguay."
Thom shortly returned from her dance with Seaman Taylor and the four flagged down a waitress and ordered dinner.
Over their dinner the professor proceeded to tell them about how the Empire of the Tinca had become the most powerful nation of its time in its region of the world. He explained how it was ruled by a monarch and went into detail about the culture and language of the people. Next he told of how conquistadors from Hispania had come and that they had overthrown the Tinca with a mix of weapons and the smallpox disease that they had unwittingly brought with them.
O'Bowens then went into the meat of the topic: The Temple of the Emerald King. Baloo and Louie learned that the Emerald King wasn't a king at all. He was a royal kinsman who had been charged by the ruler of the Tinca to safeguard a sacred temple that, as legend had it, hid a large emerald mine from which the Emerald King drew his name. The Temple had been sacked by a troop of conquistadors who had gone in search of treasure and had become trapped inside the Temple. Only one conquistador had managed to escape, bringing a large emerald with him as proof, and eventually recounted the story to a Dominican Friar who agreed to keep the location of the temple secret. The surviving conquistador had drawn a map, ripped it in two, and given one half to the friar while keeping the other for himself. The young conquistador had warned the friar that all who came for glory and greed would meet with death and that only those of noble intentions would safely enter and leave the temple. Afterward the friar took vows as a monk and lived out the rest of his life at the Dominican mission, refusing to speak about the temple.
"So let me get this straight professor," said Louie who was speaking in a slurred voice, "There's this big temple out in the jungle that has an emerald mine. Am I correct?"
"That about sums it up."
"And what do we do if we find it?" asked Baloo.
"Why explore it of course!" said O'Bowens who was oblivious to the fact that Baloo and Louie were clearly interested in treasure, "We uncover the site, document the finds, bring in extra help, preserve the finding, and present the findings to the academic community!"
"What about the emeralds?"
"Our aim is to discover the site and preserve it and learn from it," said Thom who exchanged a smile with Billy the sailor who was sitting with his rowdy fellow sailors.
"But the emeralds?" said Louie.
"Would more than likely need to be excavated out of the ground," said O'Bowens, "Besides, the site belongs to Feru. We would need mining rights to get them and this expedition doesn't account for that."
News of this caused Baloo and Louie's spirits to lower but another pitcher of beer alleviated that.
The next thirty minutes passed by quickly as they finished their dinner. Baloo was happy that he was fed and was having his beer; things were perfect as far as he was concerned. That is until he heard a familiar voice.
"You got that right!"
Cape Suzette-
The young business executive hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair with a smile of satisfaction on his face. He had just gotten off the phone with the Feruvian deputy minister of mines who had told him that all of the necessary paperwork regarding mining rights was now in place…pending the discovery of any minerals in the surveyed site. The deputy minister and his superior were well-aware of the possible existence of a Tinca temple but they had been assured by the businessman that the temple itself would be preserved and that the suspected emerald mine would be approached from tunnels that were to be dug at an angle.
The government of Feru would receive a fair share of the profits from the emeralds as well as being able to supply several thousand Feruvians with work in the mines. There was also the added benefit of financial support from the corporation to arm the military and help the government defend against any rebels, all that was asked for in return by the corporation were exclusive mining rights in Feru for the next 30 years along with a lion' share of the emeralds. The deputy minister had hammered out the fine details and had gotten both the president and prime minister to sign off on the deal the day before the corporation's expedition set off for the jungle.
The young cheetah executive was responsible for coordinating the entire expedition and had been given virtually free reign by the chairman/owner of the corporation to commence the operation. He was the one who had approached the renowned professor earlier in the year and had proposed the idea of backing the expedition. He had seen the leopard professor at a lecture while he was in university and had been fascinated by the professor's findings. He followed the professor's research and had discovered that the professor was onto something in regards to the supposedly legendary mine.
Armed with years of research plus tales from jungle explorers, the professor and his equally esteemed colleague had determined that they could find the temple that served as the entrance of the mine. Unfortunately there had been a falling out between the two academics over both of their aims and methods and they had parted as rivals. Now both professors were off on the hunt for the temple and it was the young businessman who had persuaded his wealthy boss to back the expedition.
The cheetah knew that he had a limited amount of time. The University of Cape Suzette had already decided to send a small (two-person plus help) expedition to the Amazonia Jungle, which was under the leadership of his expedition leader's former partner, at the same time that his own group would be going. One may have found this as a problem but the cheetah was not one who backed down from challenges. He had worked his way through the university and had graduated top of his class with a degree in business administration. He had distanced himself from his fellow students/rivals through both academics and sheer ruthlessness. He was not afraid to use any weapon available to him to overcome any one who stood in the way of his goals be it through financial wizardry, intimidation, or even blackmail.
He got hired on at the corporation and steadily worked his way up the ladder at a quick speed by the use of both his business talents and his skills at manipulation. He had gained the notice of the chairman and had been elevated into a position on the board of directors at the unheard of age of 26, albeit the lowest position on the board. The now 28 year old was one of the most accomplished and able of all of the chairman's people.
Because of this the chairman had blessed off on his "little jungle adventure" and now he was poised to make his company and himself even wealthier. Aside from the professor, he had arranged for aircraft, equipment, bribes to the locals, and most sinisterly-a team of mercenaries headed by an extremely dangerous veteran of the Great War. The veteran, known for his expertise and brutality, was considered by many in the world of mercenaries and unstable countries to be the best in the world.
The cheetah looked at this wrist watch and saw that it was after 8 p.m. He normally stayed on a little longer than everyone else when the work day ended but this evening he had had to wait until the deputy minister had called him. Now that the conversation was over he would go to his upscale apartment and then return to the office the next morning so he could take the call from the professor which was due at 8:45 a.m.
He stood up, grabbed his briefcase, and went to the door. Closing it behind him he walked off toward the elevator and took it down to the lobby, whistling all the way down.
As he left the building he bade the two security guards good evening.
"Have a good night gentlemen," he said to the pair.
"Good night sir," said the younger of the two.
The older of the two opened the door for him and said, "Have a good evening Mr. Perry."
Stingray's-
Baloo cringed at the sound of the annoyingly familiar voice that had said the annoyingly familiar catch phrase.
"Not him!" Baloo said, "Please God, not him!"
"Not who?" asked Thom.
Before he could answer, a woman's voice called out the name of the annoying person.
"ACE LONDON!"