PART 2: THE ENEMY RETURNS
The deck erupted.
Ryan closed his eyes.
This was going to follow him forever.
Captain Hayes looked at the sailors.
“Everybody finished?”
The laughter immediately became quieter.
Almost.
One sailor near the railing was still shaking.
Hayes pointed at him.
“You.”
The sailor straightened.
“Yes, sir?”
“You bet on the bird?”
The man’s face changed.
Ryan looked at him.
Hayes waited.
Finally:
“Ten dollars, sir.”
“And?”
The sailor reluctantly held up the money.
“The bird won.”
Hayes nodded thoughtfully.
“At least we’re maintaining accurate records.”
Even Ryan laughed.
The captain looked down at his empty tray.
“Cole.”
“Yes, sir?”
“Was there a rescue attempt?”
“Absolutely, sir.”
“Successful?”
Ryan glanced toward the ocean.
“No, sir.”
“Casualties?”
“One sandwich.”
“Tragic.”
Hayes picked up his coffee.
“Carry on.”
Ryan thought the humiliation was over.
It wasn’t.
By lunchtime, somebody had drawn a crude seagull on a piece of cardboard and placed it beside Ryan’s workstation.
Underneath were the words:
UNDEFEATED — 1-0
Ryan removed it.
Another appeared.
By dinner, sailors had started making bird noises whenever he walked past.
The next morning, Ryan stepped onto the deck with his own breakfast.
A sailor pointed upward.
“Cole! Contact!”
Ryan immediately covered his sandwich.
Everyone laughed.
“Very funny.”
Then he heard it.
Squawk.
Ryan froze.
The same seagull—or one Ryan was absolutely convinced was the same seagull—landed on the railing.
The deck went quiet.
Ryan stared at it.
The bird stared back.
“No.”
It took one step closer.
Ryan moved his sandwich behind his back.
“You’ve had your victory.”
Another step.
“This is over.”
The bird tilted its head.
A sailor whispered:
“Rematch.”
Within seconds, half a dozen people were watching.
Then Captain Hayes appeared.
He noticed the gathering.
“What now?”
Someone pointed.
“The enemy returned, sir.”
Hayes saw the seagull.
Then Ryan.
Then Ryan’s protected sandwich.
The captain folded his arms.
“Cole.”
“Yes, sir?”
“You’ve been given a second chance.”
Ryan shook his head.
“Respectfully, sir, I’m not engaging.”
“Excellent tactical improvement.”
The sailors laughed.
Ryan carefully backed away from the railing.
The seagull remained where it was.
Then something unexpected happened.
Hayes walked closer.
He was holding a fresh piece of toast.
Ryan noticed.
“Sir…”
Hayes looked at him.
“What?”
“I wouldn’t.”
The captain raised an eyebrow.
“You giving me advice now?”
“I have operational experience, sir.”
That earned another laugh.
Hayes looked at the bird.
The bird looked at the toast.
For one ridiculous second, the entire deck became silent.
Then Hayes wisely moved his breakfast farther from the railing.
Ryan smiled.
“Good decision, sir.”
Hayes pointed at him.
“Don’t get confident.”
The seagull eventually flew away without stealing anything.
Ryan raised both hands.
“Victory!”
“No,” Hayes said.
“You avoided contact.”
Ryan considered that.
“I’ll take it.”
Over the following weeks, the story became part of shipboard humor.
Nobody cared about the missing sandwich anymore.
What they remembered was Ryan sprinting across the deck yelling at a bird while the entire crew watched.
Even Captain Hayes joined the joke.
One morning, he passed Ryan in a corridor carrying a sealed food container.
Ryan glanced at it.
Hayes immediately pulled it closer.
“Don’t worry, sir.”
Ryan smiled.
“I only lose food outdoors.”
Hayes kept walking.
Months later, the ship returned to port.
As Ryan stepped onto the deck for one of his final watches, he heard a familiar sound overhead.
Squawk.
He looked up.
A seagull circled above the ship.
The sailor beside him grinned.
“Think that’s him?”
Ryan stared upward.
Then shook his head.
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Why?”
Ryan lifted his coffee.
“Because today I didn’t bring a sandwich.”
From behind them came Captain Hayes’s voice.
“Finally learning, Cole.”
Ryan turned.
The captain smiled.
“Sir, some lessons take time.”
Hayes looked toward the bird.
Then back at Ryan.
“Just remember the official record.”
Ryan sighed.
“One loss, sir.”
Hayes nodded.
“United States Navy: undefeated. Seaman Cole versus seagulls: zero and one.”
The sailors nearby burst out laughing.
Ryan looked toward the sky.
Somewhere above them, the seagull squawked again.
Ryan pointed upward.
“Enjoy the record while it lasts.”
Hayes shook his head.
“Cole, please don’t start another war.”