Thicker Than Oil - Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – The Plan

The voyage seemed to drag on. Every night since Rod left Roseanne, he found himself becoming more miserable, more hopeless, and turning to alcohol and his cigarettes whenever he could. His heart was empty and he felt as lonely as ever. Not even the usual banter between him, Grem and Acer could cheer him up.

One morning Rod was driving around on deck, taking in the sea air while trying to enjoy his now daily dose of cigarettes and coffee. He passed other Lemons as he went along, and they looked miserable as well. Everyone could not wait until they made landfall in Japan, since being at sea and seeing no land in sight had been a little foreboding. Rod couldn't wait until he saw land, but he knew he desired to see someone more than that…

Suddenly Rod heard a little buzz; Pete was sending him a radio transmission. Panicked, he looked around to find a quiet and unguarded place so he could speak to Pete. Finally he found it, the bathroom. He quickly locked himself inside and answered his boss's call, talking in a low, quiet voice.

"Hey Pete, what's up?" Rod asked.

"Rod Redline, I need to give you some new information. As you know, the mission is slightly compromised…" Pete began.

"I know, I know."

"Well, I've developed a new plan for you. You are going to meet Finn McMissile in Japan now…"

"Finn? Finn's alive?" Rod asked with shock. He heard Grem clearly state that he had killed the British spy.

"Oh, yes he is! Finn told C.H.R.O.M.E about the incident, and said he was able to deceive the gunners that chased him down. Anyway, the plan now is that you will meet Finn in Japan. You will hand off the photo you took of your leader's engine for him to analyze. Then he will safely be able to hand it off to me."

"Great. Where will I be meeting him?"

"Judging by your course of travel, it looks like you are going to land in Tokyo. And based on the info you have given me so far, it seems these guys might crash the World Grand Prix party in Tokyo, hosted by Allinol."

"Wait, what?" Rod asked, confused. "Why are we crashing a party?"

"Your Lemon coworkers do not seem to be fans of Allinol, and they might be there to spy on its creator, Sir Miles Axlerod. My guess is they will get any information they can about this guy, and do what they can to ruin his reputation."

"Isn't that a really large conclusion to jump to, Pete?"

"Judging by the information you gave me about their leader's dislike for Allinol and the fact that he is running a large oil reserve, I can only assume such," Pete stated.

"Now, I want you meet Finn at the party and relay him the info. Stay in disguise as long as possible, but when he sees you, don't present yourself as a Gremlin. He might think it's a trap and may attack."

"So I need to be out of costume before we meet?" Rod asked, a little troubled. This was a great risk to take if he was going to be surrounded by his enemies.

"Precisely."

"Do you know anything about the facility? Where will be the safest place for me to meet him?"

"Unfortunately, the place is full of security cameras. The only place that will be safe for you is the bathroom."

"The bathroom? What if I get trapped?" Rod was now more worried about this. He could become cornered and the whole mission would become compromised….

"Yes, the bathroom. Be stealthy, don't let them know where you are off to. But listen, I need to go. That's the plan, stick to it, Rod. I'm out."

Pete quickly hung up on Rod. Rod let out a sigh of anguish as he exited the bathroom. He drove over towards the side of the ship and looked down at the sea below.

This plan was highly dangerous. Spies coming together was never a good situation and if not done right, both of their lives could be in jeopardy. Rod would have to make sure no one followed him to meet Finn, and Finn could not allow himself to be seen. Rod was now panicking, and in response quickly lit a cigarette to calm his nerves.

He looked out on the horizon and there he saw it in the distance, Japan. This was it, the final showdown. He was being given only one chance to complete the mission successfully and if he screwed up, all his hard work would be lost. If he screwed up not only would he have lost the mission, but he would have lost the opportunity to see Roseanne again.

As Japan drew closer and closer to him, he felt more nervous. It was now or never. Tonight was the night that was going to determine the rest of his life as he knew it.