Thank you so much for all the reviews! I am so glad everyone is loving my story. I know I haven't updated in a little while, but I have been busy. So, please read and review!
Meanwhile, on the Cornelia Marie...
Captain Phil Harris was about to pound his head into the wooden desktop in front of him. He was so frustrated with the paramedic he had been sent. He looked over at Todd Stanley and sighed deeply.
"Whose freakin' bright idea was it to put paramedics on board the boats? Whoever it is, I'm going to make them spend the day with Brice!"
Todd tried hard to smother a chuckle, but was not fast enough. He laughed openly at the glare Phil directed at him.
"Sorry Phil. Why don't you call one of the guys he works with? He came in on the plane with the paramedics that are on the Wizard, Time Bandit, and Northwestern. I'm sure one of them would help you with your, um, problem," Todd said, his voice quivering from the laughter he was still holding in.
"I might have to do that. He is insane! He told us all how bad smoking is for us and gave us a 10 minute lecture on it! God, he even got on Ding and Dong for their horseplay, said that 'someone could get hurt'," Phil said, looking out over the Bering Sea. He had left Dutch Harbor only a day ago for the start of the king crab season and it already seemed like an eternity. He didn't know what to do.
"Phil, give one of the paramedics he works with a call. I'm sure one of them can suggest something," Todd said. Secretly, Todd agreed with Phil. Brice was a pain in the rear. The fishermen weren't the only ones Brice was going after. He was going after the cameramen as well, telling them the best spot for shots, stuff like that. Todd was at his wit's end as well.
"Okay, I will, but no cameras okay? This needs to be at a level of secrecy. That means, no mikes, no cameras rolling up here or from the galley. Okay?"
"That's fine with me. I'll turn them off now," Todd replied as he started turning the cameras off. Thank God he's doing something about it! That's why he gets paid the big bucks!
Todd made sure everything was off before turning and leaving the wheelhouse. Phil made sure he was gone before he started calling.
"Cornelia Marie calling Northwestern. You there Sig?" Phil waited for a moment before the radio came to life.
"This is the Northwestern. What's up Phil?"
"I need to know if I can talk to your paramedic. Is she available?"
"Yeah, hang on." Phil waited as Sig retrieved his paramedic. If Sig thought it was strange for him, the captain of another boat, to call the paramedic on his boat, Sig didn't say anything.
"Okay Phil, here she is," Sig said. Phil heard a shuffling noise before he heard the reply.
"This Karen Summers. How can I help you Captain Harris?"
"First off, it's Phil. Second, why is Brice so insane?"
Karen paused for a moment, looking over at Sig who had a bemused expression on his face. Karen returned the expression, a look that said "I told you so!" and started giggling as she replied, "Oh, is there a problem?"
Phil caught the giggle in her voice as he replied, "Yeah you might call it that. He might be tossed over the side of the rail if he don't stop aggravating us over here. We need to know what to do."
Karen laughed for a moment before pulling herself together. "Okay Phil, he is always like that. He loves the rulebook. But, you need to make him feel welcome, like he's one of the guys."
"Are you kidding me?! If I suggested that to my crew, they'd throw me overboard!"
"Phil, don't you usually welcome greenhorns by playing jokes on them? You need to play a joke on him. Anything to shake him out of his mode."
"Well, we'll give him something that had better make him throw the rulebook over board or he will," Phil replied, smiling an evil smile.
"By the way, he's known as the "Walking Rulebook" in our department. And he really does live up to his name!" Karen laughed, thinking of all the times Brice had butted heads with others in the department.
"Thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how it turns out. Cornelia Marie out," Phil said, putting the radio mic back.
After talking with Karen, Phil began forming an evil plan in his mind.
____________________________________________
On the Northwestern...
"How long do you think Phil will take to play that prank he's hatching?" Karen asked, standing on the other side of the wheelhouse.
"Not long. Is this guy really that hardnosed?" Sig asked, once again in the captain's chair.
"Sort of. He is really a by the book kinda guy. He can be difficult to work with. I can't wait to find out what he does to poor Brice," Karen replied, smiling to herself. For his sake, Karen hoped Brice got off lucky. Phil definatly had an evil laugh when he got off the radio.