A houseboat. Finegan Fine

Twigs, weeds, seaweed, small flopping fish, and a crab or two are among

the catch. The guard grabs the fish and crabs and puts them in a

bucket, brushing the trash back into the water. Finegan is curious.

So you’re the last here?

The guard says,

We were told to hold our posts, so that’s what

I did. . . Everyone else gave up and left.

Going home, ya know. I got no home. . . Was

foster raised and all and left that for the

Army.

The guard sits back, looking at Finegan, and sighs.

We couldn’t raise anyone after it hit. You seen

anything of a command post?

Suddenly the net starts jerking around in Finegan’s hands, and the

guard jumps up to help him haul it in. A small hammerhead sharp is in

the net, attracted by all the commotion in the water. Joey brings a

wooden bludgeon and starts whacking it in the head and the shark stops

thrashing. Barney is going crazy with barking, remembering the day he

lost his leg to a hammerhead shark.

______________________________

The camp grill is out and slabs of shark meat are sizzling. Finegan is

putting pieces in a pan at the side, for supper. The guard has been

stuffing his face, famished, and delighted at the houseboat setup.

This is great! You eat like this all the time?

(swallow) How’d you come by this setup?

61

Finegan says,

Mostly, I built it. I saw what was coming, the

coastline eating away and all.

Finegan is dumping the coals into the waterway and Joey is taking the

pans and dishes to be washed at the other side. The guard raises to go

wash his plate beside Joey.

Can you take me to land later? I got some

things back in the tower. I could swim it, but

everything would get wet . .

______________________________

The houseboat is pulled alongside the tower, tied to a post at the

corner of the lookout tower. The guard is lowering bundles down to

Finegan, who stashes them at the side. Finegan asks,

You got any booze?

The guard answers,

That was the first thing that went.

The guard heaves himself over the side of the lookout tower and drops

down to the deck of the houseboat. Finegan has his back turned,

stashing the last of the guard’s bundles, while the guard pulls a

pistol out of his jacket pocket. When Finegan turns, he looks started

and puts his hands in the air. The guard says,

The water’s up now, we can get outta here.

Finegan moves to the back of the houseboat and starts peddling away.

The guard is facing him, seating on some boxes at the back. Joey is

pacing back and forth on the roof, watching for objects under the water

and the best spot to cross over the barbed wire fence. The barbed wire

is just under the surface of the water now, with the tide in. Seeing

they are leaving the compound, the guard says,

All right! . . Boy, you come down here now

where I can see you.

The guard does not move from his spot, fearing Finegan more than Joey,

and keeps his eyes on Finegan. Joey appears overhead on the roof, just

behind the guard, with the wooden bludgeon used earlier to kill the

shark. He clubs the guard over the head. Finegan leaps to his feet,

rushing forward to disarm the guard.

______________________________

The houseboat has moored to the shoreline, temporarily, and the guard

is walking the plank toward shore. He is dressed, but has only a couple

of his bundles with him. He is protesting loudly.

62

Look, I just wanted to be sure you weren’t goin

to rob me or somethin.

Suddenly some men dressed in various Army garb emerge from the bushes

nearby. They are a mixture of African American, Hispanic, and white.

The guard is horrified to see them. He is backing up the gangplank and

encounters Finegan’s pistol in his back. The men in front of him are

unarmed but seem to be bearing a grudge against the guard. Trapped, the

guard addresses the crowd, edging forward.

Common guys, no hard feelings, eh? You’d a done

the same. . . What‘cha been eating? You look

pretty fit. . . I done you a favor, actually.

Finegan stands guard with his pistol, the only weapon in the vicinity.

Joey dashes across the gangplank to toss the grappling hooks back on

board, then pulls the gangplank onto the houseboat. The houseboat is

slowly moving away from shore in the now outgoing tide. One of the

soldiers on shore says,

Yeah? We might eat you, ass hole. Get his gun.

The group is frisking the guard, discovering that he is unarmed. When