The GPS

(TOTAL WORDS: 767)

THE GPS

By HeavyHeartLaments

"Everything looks the same to me."

Harold Worthington sagged visibly in his seat.  "I tell you, it's all the bloody same!"

Charles Babbage, sitting behind Harold, gave a snort.

"Well, if you are going to keep on looking at the scenery every five minutes, nothing is going to change!." Charles said.

"But..." Harry said

"You should trust the GPS, Harry." Charles answered.

Harry slunk deeper into his seat.

"I tell you Charles.  This GPS is way off.  I've seen that place.  It's got no scenery like this." Harry said morosely.

"The only time you saw that place was in the movie, you numbskull!  You've never been there personally!"

"Yes, but I have a sixth sense about this all, you know?" Harry remarked.  "Besides, my Pappy was killed in the same vicinity.  So it's kind of like, you know, Pappy's spirit guiding me or something."

"They didn't have GPS during your Pappy's time, Harry.  Now lie back and relax.  We still have a long way to go."

Harry pushed his head back into the seat.  Well, maybe Charles was right.  He should trust the GPS system.  It had been tested and approved after millions of quality checks.  No way it was going to lead them wrong.

Harry fidgeted in his seat for the next three hours, as the journey progressed without a change of scenery.

"Charles!" Harry shouted suddenly.

"What the hell?!" Charles bolted in his seat.  "What the hell happened Harry!"

"Charles," Harry said, his voice loud now, "we're going the wrong way!"

"You woke me up for THAT?" Charles raised his voice.  "I told you to let the goddamned GPS do it's job."

"But Charles," Harry squeaked, "the scenery is not correct.  I saw it differently in the movie."

"Trust the GPS Harry." Charles droned.

"But Charles, we are going the wrong..."

Charles opened his eyes wide.  And Harry knew that look.

Charles' voice was now ice cold.  "You will not say anything to me about the GPS again.  Alright Harry?" Charles asked.

"I just..." began Harry, but Charles interrupted him again.

"Harry.  Harry, listen to me." Charles said, now bringing his lips very close to Harry's ears.  "If you say one more word about this, just one bloody word at all out of your mouth, and I report you.  You understand?  Report you!"

Harry stared wide-eyed at his superior.

"Al... alright, Charles.  I promise I won't." He said.

Charles didn't reply, but stared hard at Harry, forcing him to lower his gaze, before he fell back on his seat.

Goddamned new recruits.  Don't make men the way they used to.  Now they'll go and draft punks too, thought Charles.

Charles tried hard to go back to dreams of that famous gymnast in her tight leotards, but the incident had disturbed him.  Damned kids!  No guts.  His Pappy's spirit guiding him.  Imagine!

The sickening crunch of metal against hard rock brought him awake in a nanosecond.  Charles jerked at the impact.  His instrument panel flashing vigorously.  Every instrument was at it's limit.  Every.  But the GPS.

The GPS still showed that everything was correct!

Charles felt confused.  How on earth could something point them in the wrong direction?  What happened to the quality checks it underwent?

Instinctively, he turned to Harry.  Harry had the look of a child, whose parents never believed him, and now had to see the truth for themselves.

"What on earth just happened?" Charles asked.

"We hit a concrete road.  Just outside the Kremlin!" Harry responded, calmly.

"A concrete road?  Are you crazy?  Where?  KREMLIN???"

"Yeah, Russia.  The USSR." Harry replied.

"What?  That's impossible!!" Charles was screaming now.

"Yeah!" Harry affirmed.

"No!  No...no....no... Oh, God, NOO!" began Charles.  His face flushed and his mind was spinning with the implications.

"Apparently, not according to the GPS." Harry stated.

"Oh God!" Charles was losing control.  "What are we gonna do now?  What are we gonna do??!!!"

"Well, just follow the GPS.  It'll help us out."

Harry's sarcasm was not lost on Charles.

"Harry!" Charles shouted.  "How can you be so calm!  Do you know what we have done?  Where we are?" Charles was losing his head.

"Sure," Harry replied calmly, "we followed the GPS."

"No.  NO!  You fool!  What has this stupid thing done?" Charles screamed.

"Nothing much.  Just crashed us into the main concrete road opposite the Kremlin in Russia."

"That is nothing!?" Charles was almost in tears now.

"Why should it be?" Harry asked.

"Because you moron!" Charles replied, "we are an effing Nuclear warhead carrying submarine from the Navy of the United States of America!!!"

THE END