Mission Gone Wrong

Chapter 9

This is all a conspiracy to torture me. I'm positive of that fact. There's no other solution. Sure, Calynn suggesting something girly would be normal, but Captain Van Acker agreeing, and no one batting an eye or bothering to argue or anything; conspiracy. That's why Dirk isn't here; he'd object to it. That halfway makes me wish he was here; key word is halfway. I'm not sure which I would rather suffer through; girl stuff or him. If we're in a setting where he can't whip me half to death, I think it's him.

"Oh, LB, while we were coming I noticed the best stand, one with those black gloves you love so much and some pretty scarves that I know you love. Why don't we go there, let you get some more accessories, my treat of course, and then we can go to another tavern and drink a bit? That way us girls can talk and not have the guys breathing down our necks, especially because of who your interrogator seems to be; exactly your type," Calynn says, all seemingly in one breath. That's the thing about Calynn; when she wants to be a spy or a pirate she's terrifying, but if you flip it to when she's acting like this it's a different type of terrifying. She's acting like an older sister, or a best friend. I know that's what she is, but sometimes I forget how... unlike everyone I work with she is.

It seems I'm not the only one slightly put off by her energy, because Captain Van Acker makes a face. Though, that could just be because of Calynn's last comment; if I remember correctly it was rumored that she and Miguel had a bit of a thing going on. She could not like the idea of another girl being interested in Miguel, though considering she was blind enough to choose Dirk over Miguel, she shouldn't be. Besides, she doesn't seem to be the type to cheat; that seems more like Dirk's forte.

Once she gets out of her shock, and realizes Calynn is literally dragging us by our wrists to the table at the market she saw, she opens her mouth to protest.

"Don't; it's no use. Trust me, I've tried before. And then I was in a position of power over her and it still didn't work. You stand no chance; you just have to roll with it, and either get her distracted or get yourself drunk. I'm personally shooting for the latter," I whisper, and she lets out a snort of laughter. I have to purse my lips to keep from smiling, and apparently Calynn heard because she pushes me into a dip, making me stumble over my feet and barely catch myself. Very nice of her, I know.

We arrive at the table, and I can see why she thinks I would like it. This was always my sort of table at the market, at least in my teen years. When I finally learned that you can still be feminine and tough at the same time, and that I didn't have to look and act like a guy all the time. About the time when I actually started wearing female accessories, mainly in the form of very pretty scarves, some light, light, make-up, heels, my toenail polish, and soon to be a new favorite of mine, black silk gloves.

So pretty and refined, and they make sure you don't leave any prints behind in case you need to break into a place on the fly. They also look less suspicious if you wear them to a party where you know you're going to be doing something slightly frowned upon than if you were to wear another type of gloves that may make it seem more obvious.

"Go on, hurry up and pick out a few things," Calynn pushes me up towards the front.

"Calynn, you know I probably won't be able to keep these things, right?" I question, and she just shakes her head.

"Of course you will. Captain Van Acker is also a female and knows how important the accessories are sometimes; I'm sure you'll get to wear them on the right occasions. And if you have to stay on our boat, Amory will let you wear them," She reasons, and I just shake my head.

Captain Van Acker has a weird look in her eyes, and if she were wanting to object she waited far too late since Calynn had already grabbed a pair of gloves me for and told me to start looking at the scarves.