The Adventures of Indiana Jones and Short Round

11

Short Round turned sharply and found himself crashing through a row of lanterns. Sparks flew as the singer screamed.

  "Wow," he muttered to himself in awe. His heart was thumping wildly out of excitement than fear.

  Groggily, Indiana pulled the lady towards him and began groping in her dress. "Where's the antidote?" he slurred.

  "Listen, I just met you!" she began, not understanding his advances. "Oh, I'm not that kind of girl!"

  Shorty glanced around his shoulder. Beyond what could be a dirty sight without context, the boy spotted two black sedans in pursuit. "Hey, Dr. Jones, no time for love! We got company!"

Indy finally found the blue vial. He opened it quickly and began downing the contents.

  "Oh, I hope you choke!" the woman sneered.

Gunshots rang out as Short Round turned another corner.

  "No shooting!" the singer screeched, covering her ears as Indy returned fire. The antidote worked faster than the poison. His vision cleared, giving him the ability to aim.

Short Round honked as a man pulling a carriage with two passengers ran in front of them. The local tried his best to get out of the way, but he was humanly slow.

  "Okay, you ask for it!" Short Round hit the gas, ramming into the back of the carriage. The man was yanked into the air, suspended in place by the poles he used to pull.

Once they reached a fork, Short Round hit the breaks and turned. The carriage continued until it crashed into a load of sacks.

  "This is fun!" the boy whooped. He had to sit on the edge of his seat to be able to peer over the steering wheel.

  "Here, hold this." Indy handed the hot pistol to Willie. He leaned forward. "You got the tickets, Short Round?"

  "Sure, Indy–three tickets!" For a while now, Shorty had been wondering where the other member of their trio was. There hadn't been the time to ask. Strategically, the kid continued, "You, me, and Wu Han."

  Indy took the envelope from the passengers seat. "Wu Han's not coming, Shorty," he responded quietly.

  Short Round paused as he processed what that meant. His chest tightened and he inhaled deeply to relax it. "Don't worry, Indy. Short Round number one bodyguard now!"

  Somber, Indy sat back and turned to Willie to retrieve his weapon only to find her blowing on her manicured fingers. "Where's my gun?!"

  "I burnt my fingers and I cracked a nail!"

Finally, Short Round pulled into the Nang Tao Airport he had visited earlier that night. The three hop out and Short Round grabs Indy's shoulder bag. He hobbled towards the waiting plane as fast as he could with boxes still strapped to his feet.

  "Ah, Dr. Jones. I'm Art Weber," the official Short Round talked to before introduced. "I spoke with your... assistant." He eyed the boy curiously before he continued, "We've managed to secure three seats. But there might be a slight inconvenience as you will be on a cargo full of live poultry."

  "Is he kidding?" Willie whined over the noise of the propellers.

  "Madam, it's the best I could do in such short notice," Weber protested incredulously.

As Willie and Shorty boarded, the remaining black sedan pulled up. Lao Che and Kao Kan step out, but they could only scowl at the escaping archeologist as there were too many witnesses around.