28: WHERE IS BRAD?

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PHOTO - Jimmy in his red undies

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PHOTO - Jimmy in his red undies.


The crew of the Balanga set off to search for Brad ...

"Well bust me a binnacle if we ain't a bunch of swabs!" Captain Redd was not in a good mood and his voice lashed out from the bow as Clint and Jimmy rowed the lifeboat back to the shore of the island. "If the Allied troops had been this slow last year, we'd all be sitting around reading Japanese nursery rhymes today!"

Jimmy snickered, looking at Clint on the seat next to him. "Not us," he hissed. "Screw nursery rhymes. We'd be reading the new shounen ai comics coming out of Japan. Those are really freakin' hot."

Clint didn't know much about the sexy boy-by-boy love stories the Japanese were famous for, except what Jimmy had told him. But the huge presence of American comics there now since the occupation had caused them to start putting the 'boys love' stories into colorful action comics they called manga. A far better idea, Clint thought, than their trying to take over Asia and the South Pacific during the last ten years.

"Yah, but if they had won the war the Americans wouldn't be there influencing them," Clint hissed back. "And guys like me and you would be sent to ninja camps."

That popped Jimmy's eyes wider. He giggled. "Hey, not so bad, man. That's where the 'boys love' comes from. It's part of being a ninja. Whoa, you could be the seme and I'll be the uke."

Clint snorted. "But we gotta change that up at times too, ya know. I like it when you ..."

"Quit squawkin' like a couple a' Sydney hookers." the captain shouted at them. "Stop your gigglin' and row the damn boat!"

"Aw come on, Cap'n," Clint shouted back. "We're rowing as fast as we can. You big chooches aren't exactly lightweights, you know, and me and Jimmy just swam to shore and rowed the boat back a few minutes ago."

There were six of them in the boat, all big men, Jimmy being the smallest. Caruso was the biggest, then Clint himself. Bluey, Rondin, and Yank trailed right behind. It was quite a load for the boys to be hauling through the water after having just swum ashore and rowed the lifeboat back out to the Balanga.

"Sorry, laddie," Bluey huffed back. "But I dang hate being all over the place like a mad woman's breakfast. This is no time to arse around!" He turned to look to shore so none of them could see his face. "I fucked up last night, dammit! Worst decision I ever made. We should've gone to the island when Brad wanted to go. I can't believe I let that boy down. I feel like all piss and no goddamn wind!"

Clint and Jimmy looked at each other with widened eyes. They both knew enough about men, and men-at-sea in particular, to know it was a rare occurrence to hear a ship captain admit to making a mistake.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Redd," Yank said from the seat behind him. "Brad can take care of himself."

"Ha! Against pirates and space men? That's no ordinary situation, by Godfrey!"

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