Chapter 83

A New Old Watch: 83.

You remember last time, David had recovered from his fall and was about to be married to Andrea onboard a British Submarine. They did. After that, they sailed into Pearl, fired off 21 guns to the country, dipped the flag to half a dozen Admirals, hoisted the US flag, the Hawaiian flag and called on the Port Authority. Andrea made an impressive Fleet Admiral of the Nevis and St. Kitts Navy.

While Andrea was impressing, David, dressed in his whites but wearing his charred WW2 Merchant Marine cover, arranged, as Captain of The Pretty Penny, a sloop of war and the flagship of the Nevis and St. Kitts Navy, to have the main mast pulled and a new weather station installed at the mast head ... that was indeed fun.

Chief Sanchez disembarked and was collared by the Alphabet Soup, who wanted to know 'what the fuck' was going on with all the guns on a recreational sailboat.

Someone hadn't read the fax or the printer had malfunctioned and missed a page explaining EXACTLY who thePenny people were and EXACTLY what was meant by SOVEREIGN TERRITORY, DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY, CAPITAL SHIP, RELATIVE OF THE QUEEN and any one of fifty ways to earn a posting to the ARTIC for fucking with them.

Sanchez was verbally abusive while explaining the Facts as he so personally knew them. When he got to the part about Executive Orders and 'the bomb' people ... many people ... were ushered from the room and warned about the dangers that awaited in Leavenworth for those who violated the official secrets act and spoke to the press. Felix himself was warned ... no one had thought to do so before.

Nyoman and crowd found their new house, packed up the trappings and souvenirs of months roaming the Caribbean and Pacific including their Shellback papers, cried on everybody and were cried on in turn. The group left the ship wearing the rarest of rare Tee Shirts, Pretty Penny Crew.