The two Scout Troops have their own plans.
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TIED OLYMPICS
PLANNING THE GAMES
After School on Friday
“It’s alright. No kidnapping, no tie-ups, no torture. Promise. We just need to talk.”
Jamie looked around the classroom for an escape route. There wasn’t one.
“On my honour, this is not a trap.” Action Man extended his left hand and Jamie and he exchanged Scout handshakes.
Evan extended the same pledge and handshakes were exchanged. The tied games were important and the Scouts and the Sea Scouts were sworn enemies in their on-going feud but anyone who broke his word of honour would be ostracised by the rest of both Troops. Jamie relaxed slightly but he wondered what this was all about.
Action Man and Evan had waited for his teacher to be finished with Jamie, who had blotted his copybook big time, at the end of the day and, once she had left, they approached him.
“It’s important. It’s about the games. Can you spare a couple of hours this evening? “
“Nah, she’ll kill me if I don’t get my English coursework done and she’s already rung my mum. I’m already in deep shit when I get home and, if I’m late, I’ll get grounded for the next four weeks.”
Even if they were “sworn enemies” the other two boys sympathised with Jamie and they knew that what he said about his mother’s way of dealing with such matters was certainly true. After a short discussion they managed to arrange a meeting on Sunday as long as Jamie could placate his mother by then.
As time was limited, Jamie still didn’t know what it was all about by the time he started to run home.
Evan’s phone rang. “’S Jamie, what gives?”
“Can you come round to the Log Cabin?”
Jamie already had the word of the Sea Scouts that he wouldn’t be tied up or tortured but he didn’t really want to enter their premises in the customary state for a captured enemy. “Fair enough – No – You won’t have to strip down like a prisoner. But we need to talk.”
“What time?”
“Action Man’s here with me now. We’d like to be gone by mid-day.”
“OK. I’m on my way. Be about half an hour.”
“See y’.”
Jamie was intrigued. The only times he’d been to the Sea Scouts’ Log Cabin previously was when he was a prisoner in their tie-up games and the most he was usually allowed to wear was his underpants, shorts or swimming gear. This must be something of considerable importance. He’d tried ringing Long Tom to see what he knew before starting out but could get no answer. All sorts of things ran through his mind concerning what might have gone wrong with the arrangements for their own inter-Troop version of the Olympic Games that they were planning.
Jamie reached the gate. “Permission to come on board?”
“Permission granted.” Action Man and Evan came out of the cabin to meet Jamie with their left arms extended in greeting. Following the handshakes, the three boys entered the cabin.
“Fancy a Coke?” asked Evan just as Jamie noticed an angry Long Tom’s head sticking out of a chained security sack in the middle of the floor. “Don’t worry, we’ve given our word and we’d be pretty bloody pissed off if you didn’t accept it. It’s just that the big guy didn’t want to come and meet with us. Shut up Farmer Boy, and we might remove that gag.”
Tom still didn’t seem to want to be there and rolled around the floor in the yellow canvas sack unable to stand or even remain upright for very long. His fingers kept protruding from the top of the sack where the chain had gathered the heavy canvas round his neck in a vain attempt to rip the tape, that was forcing a fair-sized rubber ball into his mouth, from his face.
“Take the weight off your feet and we’ll explain. After that, if you can persuade Long Tom to calm down, we’ll let him out of the bag.”
“Why have you captured him but left me unbound?”
“We need to speak to both of you but your General here didn’t trust us and declined our invitation. Not only do we need to speak to both of you, we’re pissed off that he wouldn’t accept our word of honour. You both know we’d never break it.”
Jamie laughed at his increasingly furious mate as he rolled around the floor trying vainly to free himself. Jamie enjoyed the Coke and sat on the old sofa between the two Sea Scouts.
“You know those Warband kids that are always kidnapping one another just like we do? Well, they want in. They reckon that our Olympic Games will be a bit special and they reckon they’d be an asset to the event.”
“Yes, but the Limewood kids hate the Broadhurst boys and vice versa and there aren’t enough of either Warband to make a single team.”
“They’ve agreed to forget their feud during our Olympics just as we forget ours for the tied games.”
“How do you know? Shut up a minute, mate; this sounds interesting. Stop rolling round the floor like a Weeble.” Long Tom didn’t appreciate that from Jamie but, by now, he was getting exhausted and lay still and quiet for a while.
Evan said, “We need to know what you think but, if you’re just going to run off as soon as you’re released, you won’t get a say. Now you can see that we’re treating Jamie well so how about shutting up for a while?”
Jamie helped him to sit and Long Tom started to see sense. “Like I said, “How do you know?””
“Come outside. There’s something we want you to see.”
The three unfettered boys left the Log Cabin and went round the back passing an untidy pile of paddles much to Jamie’s surprise until he saw the paddle cage.
There wasn’t much room in the paddle cage for both the boys but Jamie couldn’t help laughing when he saw them. Aiden and Will had been stripped down to their swimming shorts, bound hand and foot, blindfolded and gagged and jammed closely together inside the cage on the back of the canoe trailer. It was one of the conditions they had to meet if their petition to join the games was even to be considered.
“Jamie, may I introduce Will from the Limewood Lads.” The one with the very long, very blonde hair nodded and made a sort of “Mmm-mm” noise. “And this is Aiden from the Broadhurst Boys.” The muscular kid made similar noises. “Which one do you want to speak to first?”
Jamie asked for a few minutes to try to talk Long Tom round without anyone else being present. He knew that, if he couldn’t do so, there was no point in continuing discussions in any case. Action Man and Evan saw the sense of this and said they’d wait until Jamie called them.
About five minutes later Jamie called them in to find Long Tom free from his gag and sitting calmly in the security sack.
“I think he’s prepared to take part now.” asserted Jamie so Action Man unlocked the chain. Long Tom gradually unravelled himself as he emerged from the sack, fully dressed but wringing with sweat from his exertions and with his clothes clinging closely to him . He accepted the proffered Coke and joined the other three on the huge old couch.
Now that Jamie had placated Tom and persuaded him to debate sensibly, the traditional left-handed handshakes were exchanged.
“OK, which one first?”
“Let’s have Blondie, he’s usually the more articulate.” suggested Evan. It was agreed.
Action Man grabbed the keys and he and Evan went, leaving the visiting Scouts to discuss the situation while they released Will from the cramped paddle cage. They didn’t bother untying him; Action Man just slung him over his shoulder and carried him round to the front of the Log cabin, through the door, dumped him on the floor and pulled him into a kneeling position. Evan cut the tape that was holding a wadded neckerchief into Will’s mouth and snagging his long hair. Evan quite enjoyed pulling the tape away. He knew Will was in no position to complain.
Will explained again that the two Warbands wanted into the “Olympic Games” that the Scouts and Sea Scouts were planning. He was aware that they would involve a lot of tying up and that Limewood and Broadhurst had agreed to join as a team. “If you lot can forget your feuds for the sake of your tied games, why shouldn’t we be able to?”
That was fair enough and both Troops knew that the Warbands were as deeply into their TUGs as they were themselves. Jamie asked what the Warbands could offer and Will outlined the various talents of his own Warband and also some of Aiden’s. “And besides, if we weren’t serious about this, why would Aiden and I have agreed to be humiliated like this?” That seemed fair enough too.
Various questions followed which Will fielded with some skill in spite of his being firmly bound and in some discomfort from kneeling on the floor and having previously been tied up with Aiden and jammed into the paddle cage for about an hour.
“Any more questions?”
After a round of “No’s”, Evan gagged Will again using a knotted neckerchief but without the tape this time. Action Man shouldered him and carried him out to the paddle cage accompanied by the others. The cage was unlocked and Aiden was pulled out and shouldered by Long Tom who took him into the Log Cabin while Evan and Action Man replaced Will and locked the cage. When the Sea Scouts returned, they found Aiden kneeling with his gag removed and ready for his interview.
The interview covered very much the same ground as the previous one but with a few more details of what his mates could offer as participants. The nature of the games was explained but it was obvious that both Will and he already had a pretty good idea what they entailed.
“OK, Aiden, we need time to discuss this.” said Long Tom, “You and Will can go free now and forget joining in or you can go back to the paddle cage while we come to a decision. Which is it going to be?” Aiden agreed to be gagged and to be taken back to join Will in the cage. That must have indicated some sort of determination to join in.
With both the Warband ambassadors locked in the cramped cage again, the four others made no attempt to hurry their discussions.
After about half an hour the snag became apparent.