As Indy, Rick and Short Round flew away in the fancy flying car with the weird old man and his boy assistant, the tribesmen all stood on the edge of the cliff, some in awe, some yelling and throwing spears, but all well out of range of any real risk. At that moment Indy thought to himself, "well, it looks like we pulled it off! We have the Shroud, this guy can fly us to Beirut and we'll lay low for a few days until this Ted kid is born, the Cybernetic Ghost of Christmas Past from the Future kills him, leaves and then Rick can use the Shroud to revive him. It looked pretty bleak for a minute there, but it should be all smooth sailing from here, and then Rick and I can go home and start the rest of our lives together!" Indy felt at peace for the first time in decades. It wasn't just that the danger had passed, but that he was being honest with himself and ready to live the life he had always wanted but been so afraid of. It was ironic that he had looked in the face of death countless times, been on so many incredibly dangerous and seemingly impossible missions, but for whatever reason, the fear of true happiness was the thing that had always held him back, but not anymore!
"Hey, I don't wanna kick a gift horse in the mouth or anything, it was pretty great of you guys to save us and all, but may I ask, who the hell are you and how did you know where and when to snatch us out of midair?!" Rick's question interrupted Indy's daydreaming of the future. He was kinda shocked at the role reversal here. How had he not thought to question this rescue and just assumed it was on the up and up? How is it possible that he was happily embracing the luck of it while Rick was asking the logical questions? He was upset with himself, it was not quite the time to just settle into his peace of mind quite yet, they did still have the mission to complete, and Rick's question was definitely an important one.
"That is a great question!" The mad-scientist looking gentleman with the lab coat and disheveled white hair responded. "My name is Doc Brown and this here is my assistant Marty McFly."
"Hey how's it going?!" the kid said somewhat sheepishly. "It's an honor to meet the great Indiana Jones and Rick OConnell! You guys are huge in our time!"
"Your time? What time is that?" Indy Replied.
"Dude, we're from the 1980s!"
"The kids in the 80s are into our awesome adventures?! I knew it, Indy, they love us, they really love us!" Rick said.
"Well, yeah, I mean your adventures are super cool, legends even, but you two also paved the way for our generation to be open about who we love! You guys changed the world when you got together!" Marty stopped and thought for a second, a look of shock and amazement came over his face. "Oh man, that just happened! We were there Doc, when Indy and Rick first got together! We're making history here, that's so rad!"
Indy and Rick looked at each other and smiled. "Who would have thought a couple old bastards like us would change the world like this?!" Indy said with a wink to Rick.
"Dr Jones, you and Mr O'Connell are great men, of course you changed the world!" Short Round interjected.
"Oh, Short Round! I wouldn't be alive today if not for your faith in me, I love ya, kid! You might just be my best friend in this crazy world!"
Tears came to Short Round's eyes.
"So, Doc, tell us more about who you are and what we're riding in and how you came to rescue us."
"Of course, Indy!" Doc Brown said enthusiastically, very proud and excited to talk of the amazing wonders of time travel. "It's something that I've never truly considered, amazing really! We are here to save you because we are here to save you!"
"Say what?" Rick said befuddled.
"You see, once you get to Beirut, your friend Rufus is going to come check up on you. At that time you are going to go to the future to find us and tell us exactly where and when to catch you from midair in the Amazon!"
"Yeah, but we don't even know you, why would we ask you for help?" Rick was voicing the confusion that they, even Marty, were feeling.
"That's the most amazing part! You only know us because we rescued you! I am going to give you the address, and date and time to come find us in the 1980s! It's truly incredible!"
"Wait, so you rescued us because we came and asked you to, but we only came and asked you to because you rescued us?" Indy asked. "That seems incredibly circular and paradoxical."
"Yet, here we are, it's extraordinary!" Doc Replied.
Doc really hit the nail on the head with that comment. No matter how little this made sense, here they were and this was happening, so it might be better to consider the complexities of it at a later date, for now they had to just accept the reality that they found surrounding them.
Just as they all sat there dumbfounded, the car began to drop altitude and slow down. "Wait, what are you doing? There is no way we're in Beirut yet!" Indy protested.
"Unfortunately, despite the amazing advances I have made to the Delorean, it still needs fuel and it can't make it across the Atlantic, but have no fear, I am leaving you in very capable hands!" Doc responded.
The car set down. The side doors swung up and the five of them stepped out. They were at a dock, presumably on the South African Coast somewhere. There were no boats at the dock and no people around.
"So where are these capable hands you're leaving us in, Doc?!" Rick asked.
"He should be here any moment!"
Just then they saw a speck on the horizon, it grew closer and they recognized that it was a boat. It was going incredibly fast, faster than any boat Indy, Rick or Short Round had ever seen.
"There's your ride, he should be at the dock any minute now!" Doc said excitedly.
"I don't know about this, Dr Jones, when you came to get me in the future, you didn't tell me about any lightning fast boat! I don't like it one bit!" Short Round said nervously.
"Well kid, it looks like maybe some things changed from that timeline, but I don't really see any other options do you?" Indy replied even though he definitely had his own misgivings about this.
"Indy, remember what happened the last time we got on a boat with a stranger!" Rick added.
"I know Rick, but ultimately that choice did get us to where we needed to go. Listen, we'll just meet this guy and see what we think. If he is sketchy like Sarone, we'll find another way. Sound good?"
"Sure Indy, we're in this together, so if you're going with him, I sure as hell won't be staying behind." Rick replied.
"And you can count me in Dr Jones, the only thing worse than you getting on that boat would be me not getting on with you to make sure you are safe!" Short Round added.
As the boat approached, it was hard to make out it's features it was driving so fast. but they could tell it was gray and maybe that there was a yellow stripe down the side. It was going so fast. It definitely seemed like it was going to crash right into the dock. As they all braced for impact (even Doc, who knew this guy seemed nervous), the boat barreled directly toward them until at the very last moment it kicked sideways, sending a massive wave crashing over all of them, but when the water settled, there was the boat, right up next to the dock, like it had just been coasted in safely and smoothly.
The boat was indeed grey, and it was completely closed in. There were two huge jets on the back, one on either side, that must have been for propulsion and would explain the incredible speed it had achieved. Down the side was a yellow stripe, and some lettering, the lettering read "Thunder." The top of the boat slowly opened up to reveal the driver and the interior. The driver stepped onto the dock. He was a big guy. Very muscular, wearing a black tank top to really make his muscles noticeable. He was wearing a black bandana, was extremely tan and had a blond horseshoe mustache. He had a grimace on his face. He walked over to Indy. Short Round was nervous, ready to jump on the giant man if he hurt Indy. Suddenly the grimace turned to a smile and he put out his hand. "Hey there brother, you must be the great Indiana Jones! My name is Hurricane, and Thunder and I would love to help you on your mission!"
Everyone settled, even Short Round. The man, while large and kinda strange, seemed very kind.
"Thank you, uh, Mr Hurricane." Indy said as he tried not to flinch under the pressure of the man's hand shake. "Will you be escorting us in... that?" Indy motioned to the boat.
Thankfully Hurricane released Indy's hand. Indy promptly shook the blood back into it. "Of course I will, brother! That's Thunder, the most high tech and fastest boat anywhere in the world!"
"I believe it, I've seen a lot of boats, but I've never seen a boat like that." Indy responded.
"Well, this tech is a little advanced for your time, brother! I'm from the 1990's so we've got some tech you ain't seen yet!"
"Alright gentlemen, Marty and I must be on our way, I have so much research to do that has been opened up by our encounter, but best of luck on the rest of your journey! Remember, the future depends on you!"
"Yeah, see ya guys later!" Marty said. The two of them got back in the Delorean and it was off before any of them could protest.
Here they were, it looked like Hurricane and Thunder were going to be their escorts on the next leg of their journey, because there weren't really any other options, and honestly, at this point, why not trust the man. If Doc vouched for him, and they'd be dead already without Doc, then they might as well just keep riding the wave!