Butler Did It! by Sally Pomeroy

will have to treat her as a possible threat until we can
determine if she is telling the truth.”
    “So I believe our next move is to check
everything out,” said Butler. “Let’s see what we can find out about
that dark yacht. Obviously, it’s expensive, and very distinctive.
Even here, in the playground of the very rich, I think a ship like
that would stand out. Someone has to know something.”
    “Do you think there’s any danger to the
Pelican in the mean time” asked Captain Z. “Like you said; it won’t
be too difficult for them to figure out that we helped her. They
might try to come aboard and take her and her friend.”
    “You’re right.” Butler answered. “But I
think they would be safer aboard the Pelican than ashore. At least
we can defend ourselves.”
    “This could be a chance for me to try
those new non-lethal weapons I’ve been working on,” said
Tommy.
    “Waddya mean by non-lethal weapons?”
Trask asked suspiciously, thinking Tommy might be out to thwart his
security empire. “You aren’t planning on foisting more half-assed
ideas on us, are you?”
    “No, no. These are passive defensive
systems.” Tommy explained carefully. “They will make your job
easier. I’ve been working on several prototype systems ever since
the Pelican got orders for the seismic project in the Sunda Strait.
I knew we would have to pass near to the Horn of Africa, an area
with some of the worst pirating waters in the world, and I figured
we needed something new to help prevent pirate attacks on the
ship.”
    “Uh, Tommy, you’re a little late. We
passed the Horn of Africa more than a month ago.”
    “Yeah, well, I kinda of hit a couple of
technical snags that threw the timetable off,” Tommy admitted, “but
everything is working fine now.”
    “Okay, okay, your perimeter doohickeys
work now. So, what are they?” Trask growled.
    “Well, I figured we could mount a
motion sensitive infra-red camera to the top of the bridge radio
mast. That way the duty staff could see anyone moving around on the
main deck at night.”
    “Hmmm, yeah! That’s not a bad idea.”
Captain Z exclaimed, throwing Tommy a thin lifeline of support.
“We’ve all heard the rumors of pirates sneaking aboard ships at
night and murdering everyone.”
    “Got anything else?”
    “Why don’t you tell them about your
‘20,000 Leagues Under the Sea’ idea?” EB fiendishly suggested. “You
badgered me with it for nearly a week.”
    Butler, mildly surprised, leaned into
the conversation. “Why haven’t I heard about this?”
    “It’s something new.” Tommy admitted,
nervously.
    “Okay!” Matthew sighed, and sat down.
“Let’s hear it.”
    “Well, in the Jules Verne classic tale,
Captain Nemo electrifies the hull of the Nautilus to drive off a
giant squid. I thought we could do the same thing with all the
railings around the main deck, using wireless electrical
transmission.”
    The sudden silence in the room spoke
volumes.
    “Isn’t that technology banned by the
Geneva Convention?” Doc finally asked, facetiously.
    “If it isn’t, it certainly ought to
be.” EB concurred.
    “If I remember right, Tesla died before
he could perfect wireless transmission of electricity.” Richard
commented sardonically, “And, as I understand it, modern scientific
thinking now believes the concept to be unworkable.”
    “What does modern scientific thinking
know? The man was a genius and his concept was brilliant.” Tommy
snapped back. “Just imagine, unlimited power flowing freely thru
the ether.”
    Vivid mental images flashed around the
room, electrifying everyone’s mind to the horrifying
possibilities.
    Slowly, everyone’s eyes went to the
boss for the obvious decision.
    After just a short infinity of
nano-time, Butler made up his mind. “No. I’m gonna have to veto
that one. Sure as hell, someone would zap some unsuspecting harbor
pilot or customs inspector and the Pelican would be blacklisted in
every port from Aden to