“Or captain.”
“Or reallyanythingnautical.”
“At least not inhuman codeinstead of computer.”Slowing us down finally begins.“Adam’s Aleis not a reference to the specific beer you thought it was.The clue wasn’t trying to guide you east towards where the Boston Beer company is located as your program deciphered.Adam’s Ale is an old fashioned term forwater.In a deep glass simply meant deep in the ocean.”
“Oh,” grunts our resident hacker.
“Tucked in by the most tattered sail,” I continue as I shift us into a full stop, “was a reference to condition of their sail.Most get that way after long journeys or battles, which aided in giving a distance reference when tracking the theoretical tides from that time.”Turning to face them occurs next.“Slumbers the catchis stating the obvious.Catch means treasure.No one calls treasure on a treasure map or in a riddle treasure because the point is tohidethe goodies not just give them away.”
Both men fight the urge to grin.
“Lee Shore-”
“Hewas a pirate, right?Like Long John Silver?”
“The fast-food chain?”confusedly ponders Garcia.
“FromTreasure Island, my guy.”
“Never heard of Pepe Le Pew butTreasure Islandjust rolls out the save file?”He amusedly challenges.
“I spent a lot of time in the library, remember?”
“You said you readanimalbooks likeBrown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?andLord of the Lions.”
It’s my turn to interject, “You meanLord of the Flies?”
“No, he meansGeorge Adamson: Lord of the Lions.”
“Who?”
“He was like the OG Steve Irwin but specifically forlions,” Zero effortlessly explains.
It’s my turn to let out an intrigued grunt, “Huh.”
“AnddddddI read classic shit too every once in a while.No Cap?Pretty sure Mr.Caterham wanted to be a pirate rather than the spy I’m pretty sure he was.”
“Lee Shore,” I recapture the conversation in tandem with redirecting us to the route I need to go on the vessel to get changed, “isn’t apirate-”
“Captain?First mate?Quartermaster?”Zero quickly questions.“”Cause my program-”
“It’s not aperson,it’s-”
“Don’t say song,” he interrupts once more.“Because that cheugy needle drop from the 1700s by that hockey player or whatevs doesn’t fit into the vibe of the cluesat all.”
Outrage and disbelief drop my jaw in preparation to spiral when Garcia lovingly beats me to the wheel by gently grabbing his chin and wolfishly chastising, “Be a good boy for Master and stay quiet for Princess.”
His obedience is immediate.
And appreciated.
Diving irritated rarely works out in my benefit; although, anger – on the occasion – is a positive motivator.
“Lee Shoreis anauticalreference,” escapes in my continued backwards movement.“A lee shore means a shoreline toward the way wind is blowing.This is typically a problem because the wind is basically bullying a ship out of the water for the land.”
Both men – to my surprise – appear slightly confused.
“It’s abad thing.Wind and waves pushing a boat –of any kind– towards the land when you don’t want it to is dangerous shit.”
