Circumnavigation (99+20) Queen's Gambit Accepted

[C James]

Queen's Gambit Accepted is finally up!!! (Sorry for the delay).

 

It may take up to a minute after this post appears for the chapter to be visible.

 

There are some surprises... ;-)

[Canuk]

scary - I never know what to expect. I sincerely wish that the baddies were not so bloody intelliigent!

Great writing, I can almost forgive the delay!

[WinStuart]

CJ: It's a happy Tuesday to wake up and see a posting to Circumnavigation.

 

It appears that both parties have very intricate strategies for the end game and are aware of the deceptions made by the other party.

 

As a reader, I feel I'm being set-up. I believe Trevor should prevail in the end, but then again I never thought Henry would be fed to the alligators. I've invested so much in following this story that I desperately want good to triumph over evil. Because of that investment in the story, I think the writer is willing and able to scare the pants off me.

 

Here's hoping the risky gambit pays off and the three B's (Briget, Billy and Blazingstoke) get fried in their own napalm.

[TalonRider]

Not that I'm any further along than the rest of the readers, but I think we're getting to the point in the story where CJ likes to throw in a little misdirection at us.

[Low Flyer]

As a reader, I feel I'm being set-up. I believe Trevor should prevail in the end, but then again I never thought Henry would be fed to the alligators. I've invested so much in following this story that I desperately want good to triumph over evil. Because of that investment in the story, I think the writer is willing and able to scare the pants off me.

 

Here's hoping the risky gambit pays off and the three B's (Briget, Billy and Blazingstoke) get fried in their own napalm.

 

As an old-fashioned romantic, I, of course, want Trevor and Shane, and Joel and Lisa to end up with their charter business and each other and to live happily ever after.

 

As a matter of justice, I want Bridget and Basingstoke to be caught and dealt with. It'd be nice if Sanchez got some unwelcome attention from his fellow Cartel leaders.

 

That said, the narrative's got to make sense. I have no idea how CJ's going to get Sanchez's contract lifted but it'll need to work as a story or else the whole 119 chapters to date (and however many there are to come) will be devalued.

 

Will that stop me storming the Goat's mountain home with pitchforks and torches? No, but he'll at least go down knowing that his artistic integrity was unscathed.

[Benji]

............... Aha, what a surprise having Bridget back in the picture visiting Trevor! Meanwhile Shane and Trevor need to search the Kookaburra for the hiding place. That will be Sanchez's downfall with the cartel, the B's will fail, but not without giving Trevor and Shane a scare. Great chapter, CJ

[scotchirish87]

I almost can't believe I'm writing this, because I love the story...but please tell me that it's going to start picking up speed and/or start wrapping up soon. The last few chapters have seemed like a lot of fluff work to progress the story.

[Red_A]

.............Meanwhile Shane and Trevor need to search the Kookaburra for the hiding place.

 

Now "Here's is a how-de-do." Atlantic and Kookaburra were as near as identical in the USA. One was searched for hidden documents. Bridget intended that it was the right boat was searched. Was it? Which boat did Trevor's Mother take to Australia. Is Kookaburra the right boat to search? I think I know more than most people, but I do not know, only CJ and the narrator rely knows. It is a case of find the Lady.

[scotchirish87]

Now "Here's is a how-de-do." Atlantic and Kookaburra were as near as identical in the USA. One was searched for hidden documents. Bridget intended that it was the right boat was searched. Was it? Which boat did Trevor's Mother take to Australia. Is Kookaburra the right boat to search? I think I know more than most people, but I do not know, only CJ and the narrator rely knows. It is a case of find the Lady.

 

I figured that the hiding place was in the bows that Ned replaced on Ares and trashed the originals. He wouldn't think to look there and it would explain why nothing was found during the renovations.

[MikeL]

I figured that the hiding place was in the bows that Ned replaced on Ares and trashed the originals. He wouldn't think to look there and it would explain why nothing was found during the renovations.

 

It would be ironic if the objective for killing Trevor no longer exists. Are the bad guys so beside themselves with worry over what the hidden papers might reveal and so angry with Trevor for surviving earlier attempts on his life that they have lost all objectivity?

[Daddydavek]

Sanchez wants Trevor dead because his people have already blown their chances in the Canal and again when he was hit by the pirates and that makes him look inept in front of a pretty hardnosed crowd.

 

Bridget turning up in Australia is only a plus if it results in her spectacular and very public downfall and for that we shall have to wait and see.

 

B'stoke is an assassin and deserves to go down in flames as well. And I hope he burns!

 

Sanchez is a slimy piece of fecal material and deserves to be poleaxed and drawn and quartered, but they don't do those things anymore. I can only hope he and his cohorts are spectacularly blown to bits in deft and daft mishandling of explosives.

 

I too am hoping for a speedy resolution of the many remaining threads in this epic.

[wildone]

Grundig smiled. “You’ve been busier than a one-legged man in an arse-kicking competition lately, Greg, and doing much of this on the fly. I just hope we haven’t forgotten anything.”

 

 

 

So what were all these big surprises the you were talking about during the delay Mike and Jan? Nothing appeared too surprising.

 

The only thing that caught my eye was Mr. B waiting and having time for one more lesson...a lesson in what?

 

Thanks for the Chapter CJ.....I think

[Gene Splicer PHD]

I almost can't believe I'm writing this, because I love the story...but please tell me that it's going to start picking up speed and/or start wrapping up soon. The last few chapters have seemed like a lot of fluff work to progress the story.

 

If you're on a sailboat, you're on the boat to enjoy the journey.

 

If you're on a motorboat, you're on the boat to get somewhere.

 

We're on TWO sailboats

 

<ducks>

 

We've got progress. The story is nuanced, and sometimes you set up so you can launch something. CJ is about to launch....

[MikeL]

So what were all these big surprises the you were talking about during the delay Mike and Jan? Nothing appeared too surprising.

 

Bridget and Billy showing up in Australia was the big surprise for me. She is even more determined than I realized.

[TalonRider]

Same for me. I wasn't expecting Bridgette and Billy to be the Goons Basingstoke was waiting on.

[scotchirish87]

It would be ironic if the objective for killing Trevor no longer exists. Are the bad guys so beside themselves with worry over what the hidden papers might reveal and so angry with Trevor for surviving earlier attempts on his life that they have lost all objectivity?

 

It's also worth noting that Ned is a bit of a pack-rat. So while he claims to have thrown them away, they could actually be somewhere on the lot....or on another boat as "new" components.

[Low Flyer]

I almost can't believe I'm writing this, because I love the story...but please tell me that it's going to start picking up speed and/or start wrapping up soon. The last few chapters have seemed like a lot of fluff work to progress the story.

 

Whilst I kinda know what you mean, I have a horrible feeling that once it all blows up with Bridget/Basingstoke/Sanchez, we'll quickly run out of story and then I'll need to find a way to get through Tuesdays without Circumnavigation.

 

If this were a paper book, I guess I'd probably be ignoring everything else in my life by now so that I could keep turning pages. But, when I reached the end, I'd still be sad that it was over.

 

I want to follow Trevor and Shane for a lot longer. They're such a lovely couple.

 

Sorry to be slushy.

[Benji]

..........Therefore, it came as a rather rude shock when, a year after his death, I found a receipt for fiberglass resin, concealed hinges, and a spring-latch in his papers. Arnold was a man who never liked to get his hands dirty, so I could see only one reason for him to attempt a job himself; installing a hidden compartment.

 

She is talking about the Aries which Arnold sold to Rachel before his death, so the Kookaburra is her designation.

[wildone]

Bridget and Billy showing up in Australia was the big surprise for me. She is even more determined than I realized.

 

Same for me. I wasn't expecting Bridgette and Billy to be the Goons Basingstoke was waiting on.

 

Ah, I just figured that would be the two when CJ mentioned that they would soon be traveling and that Basingstoke was expecting two people from Sanchez. Guess it was one of those hidden things that CJ put in and some get it, some don't. I usually in the don't side

 

Still, any idea what Basingstoke's lesson is in? Not sure if he is planning on learning the Tango at this point of the story

 

Could it be like the Custom's Service and air-force are believing that he is going to spray Napalm? The flares, or what appear to be flares might be the delivery device or the incendiary device

[C James]

scary - I never know what to expect. I sincerely wish that the baddies were not so bloody intelliigent!

Great writing, I can almost forgive the delay!

 

I will do my best to keep us on the weekly schedule until the end.

The good news is that I did catch up a good bit, so fingers crossed, no more skipped weeks.

 

CJ: It's a happy Tuesday to wake up and see a posting to Circumnavigation.

 

It appears that both parties have very intricate strategies for the end game and are aware of the deceptions made by the other party.

 

As a reader, I feel I'm being set-up. I believe Trevor should prevail in the end, but then again I never thought Henry would be fed to the alligators. I've invested so much in following this story that I desperately want good to triumph over evil. Because of that investment in the story, I think the writer is willing and able to scare the pants off me.

 

Here's hoping the risky gambit pays off and the three B's (Briget, Billy and Blazingstoke) get fried in their own napalm.

 

Ah, but what is the gambit? I think many will be surprised. Very surprised.

 

Not that I'm any further along than the rest of the readers, but I think we're getting to the point in the story where CJ likes to throw in a little misdirection at us.

 

Who? Me?

As an old-fashioned romantic, I, of course, want Trevor and Shane, and Joel and Lisa to end up with their charter business and each other and to live happily ever after.

 

As a matter of justice, I want Bridget and Basingstoke to be caught and dealt with. It'd be nice if Sanchez got some unwelcome attention from his fellow Cartel leaders.

 

That said, the narrative's got to make sense. I have no idea how CJ's going to get Sanchez's contract lifted but it'll need to work as a story or else the whole 119 chapters to date (and however many there are to come) will be devalued.

 

Will that stop me storming the Goat's mountain home with pitchforks and torches? No, but he'll at least go down knowing that his artistic integrity was unscathed.

 

I absolutely agree; the resolution has to make sense.

The contract was taken by Sanchez, in the name of the cartel. Even if he dies, it is still in force.

 

Also, the novel title is Circumnavigation. So, someone, or something, HAS to circumnavigate the earth.

 

However, one neat way to wrap up all the issues is Trevor's severed head finding it's way to Sanchez's table; it would get there by completing the circumnavigation (as cargo) and that would solve all the issues with the contract.

 

............... Aha, what a surprise having Bridget back in the picture visiting Trevor! Meanwhile Shane and Trevor need to search the Kookaburra for the hiding place. That will be Sanchez's downfall with the cartel, the B's will fail, but not without giving Trevor and Shane a scare. Great chapter, CJ

 

Isn't it thoughtful of Bridget to drop in for a friendly visit?

I almost can't believe I'm writing this, because I love the story...but please tell me that it's going to start picking up speed and/or start wrapping up soon. The last few chapters have seemed like a lot of fluff work to progress the story.

 

In the coming chapter it moves very fast. You're right, the last few have been setup, but now the pieces are in place, and the game commences.

Now "Here's is a how-de-do." Atlantic and Kookaburra were as near as identical in the USA. One was searched for hidden documents. Bridget intended that it was the right boat was searched. Was it? Which boat did Trevor's Mother take to Australia. Is Kookaburra the right boat to search? I think I know more than most people, but I do not know, only CJ and the narrator rely knows. It is a case of find the Lady.

 

Rachel knew something was up, though not what, so to keep Bridget away from Ares she swapped it with Atlantis a couple of times. Bridget's burglars thus searched Atlantis, looking for the things on Ares.

 

There's a chapter coming, not the next one but a bit after, called The Last Secret of the Ares. What it holds... well.... you'll see.

 

It would be ironic if the objective for killing Trevor no longer exists. Are the bad guys so beside themselves with worry over what the hidden papers might reveal and so angry with Trevor for surviving earlier attempts on his life that they have lost all objectivity?

 

Sanchez is indeed becoming a touch extreem; the failures were a professional embarrassment, and were seen as weakness by some of his lieutenants. In his buisness, a perceived weakness can be rather hazardous to one's health. That's why Sanchez wants Trevor's head; as a sort of trophy, to show that he does not fail. Such macabre displays are actually rather commonplace in the drug cartels, then and now.

 

 

Sanchez wants Trevor dead because his people have already blown their chances in the Canal and again when he was hit by the pirates and that makes him look inept in front of a pretty hardnosed crowd.

 

Bridget turning up in Australia is only a plus if it results in her spectacular and very public downfall and for that we shall have to wait and see.

 

B'stoke is an assassin and deserves to go down in flames as well. And I hope he burns!

 

Sanchez is a slimy piece of fecal material and deserves to be poleaxed and drawn and quartered, but they don't do those things anymore. I can only hope he and his cohorts are spectacularly blown to bits in deft and daft mishandling of explosives.

 

I too am hoping for a speedy resolution of the many remaining threads in this epic.

 

You've got Sanchez's motivations right.

 

We're in the endgame.

[C James]

 

 

So what were all these big surprises the you were talking about during the delay Mike and Jan? Nothing appeared too surprising.

 

The only thing that caught my eye was Mr. B waiting and having time for one more lesson...a lesson in what?

 

Thanks for the Chapter CJ.....I think

 

Basingstoke's lessons... yes, he's taking lessons. But in what? It might just be window dressing (a nice hobby for him) or maybe knitting, or some other innocuous recreational activity, to ease the stress. He's in a very high-stress profession, so he needs to relax. No need to worry.

 

If you're on a sailboat, you're on the boat to enjoy the journey.

 

If you're on a motorboat, you're on the boat to get somewhere.

 

We're on TWO sailboats

 

<ducks>

 

We've got progress. The story is nuanced, and sometimes you set up so you can launch something. CJ is about to launch....

 

Yep... to use a chess metaphor, the Queen's gambit has been (unknowingly) accepted. The queen alludes to Bridget, and now the game is on.

Bridget and Billy showing up in Australia was the big surprise for me. She is even more determined than I realized.

 

She's indeed determined, as well as ambitious, and an able strategist. We saw that when she left Florida; she is skilled at causing the other side to react as she wishes. That's a true tactical mind.

 

Whilst I kinda know what you mean, I have a horrible feeling that once it all blows up with Bridget/Basingstoke/Sanchez, we'll quickly run out of story and then I'll need to find a way to get through Tuesdays without Circumnavigation.

 

If this were a paper book, I guess I'd probably be ignoring everything else in my life by now so that I could keep turning pages. But, when I reached the end, I'd still be sad that it was over.

 

I want to follow Trevor and Shane for a lot longer. They're such a lovely couple.

 

Sorry to be slushy.

 

One thing I can say; the story will not ramble on after the conflict is resolved. Well, sorta; the core conflict resolves in the final chapter, but there is a short epilogue after that, about half a chapter in length. The final chapter and epilogue were written before I ever started posting this story.

 

..........Therefore, it came as a rather rude shock when, a year after his death, I found a receipt for fiberglass resin, concealed hinges, and a spring-latch in his papers. Arnold was a man who never liked to get his hands dirty, so I could see only one reason for him to attempt a job himself; installing a hidden compartment.

 

She is talking about the Aries which Arnold sold to Rachel before his death, so the Kookaburra is her designation.

 

YEs, she is talking about the Ares.

Ah, I just figured that would be the two when CJ mentioned that they would soon be traveling and that Basingstoke was expecting two people from Sanchez. Guess it was one of those hidden things that CJ put in and some get it, some don't. I usually in the don't side

 

Still, any idea what Basingstoke's lesson is in? Not sure if he is planning on learning the Tango at this point of the story

 

Could it be like the Custom's Service and air-force are believing that he is going to spray Napalm? The flares, or what appear to be flares might be the delivery device or the incendiary device

 

I don't think you can take lessons in napalm spraying, so it must be something else. Tango lessons? That's a possibility! Maybe the foxtrot?

 

BTW, what Basingstoke gave bridget was said in narration to be the size and shape of road flares. Had they been acrual flares, the narration would have said so; saying tsomething is the size and shape of something, and then having it turn out to be that thing, would be dishonest narrative IMHO. So, I can confirm, those are not flares. There may, or may not, be flares involved in what's coming, but those aren';t them

[RickMD]

Oh no, the Queens Gambit, offering a pawn for better field position, could this be Trevor and Shane alone 50 miles off shore with Mr. B on his way with Napalm? CJ says the Queen is Bridget, that was an unexpected surprise to see and hear from her again, bad pennies always seem to turn up unexpectedly! Speaking of ladies not heard from in a while, where oh where is Trevors mom? We think her relationship with Bridget goes back further than any would know and there may be items of interest that only she understands...hummm...

 

Can't thank you enough CJ, I agree with comments from above readers that Tuesday mornings just won't be the same,,, whenever it ends...

 

You are truly amazing! Thanks again

[colinian]

BTW, what Basingstoke gave bridget was said in narration to be the size and shape of road flares. Had they been acrual flares, the narration would have said so; saying tsomething is the size and shape of something, and then having it turn out to be that thing, would be dishonest narrative IMHO. So, I can confirm, those are not flares. There may, or may not, be flares involved in what's coming, but those aren';t them

Sounds like sticks of dynamite to me. They are "about the size and shape of road flares."

 

Have you ever tried throwing something "about the size and shape of road flares" but the weight of sicks of dynamite from an airplane? Without training, don't expect a high level of accuracy.

 

Colin

[Winemaker]

Boats travel on water and can be stealthily approached in that medium.... Perhaps Mr B is having scuba lessons?? Just a thought...

Great chapter CJ, exciting to see all the baddies gathering.

[Benji]

............As Henry said in an earlier chapter; "Henry grinned. “I’ll need to get a few hours’ training – I’ve never driven a speedboat. So, we need radar," Hmmm, could this a been a forewarning by Henry of Mr. B's intentions??

 

As for me, I’ve got a powerboat lesson tomorrow. Dirk approved renting the boat when we need it, so we’re good to go,” Henry said.

 

It seems the goat is goading us that Mr. B. needs a lesson in speedboat training.

Edited May 4, 2012 by Benji