Terminus Part I: The Journey There (Draft)

Chapter 2: A Claim to Fame

"I'm the outlaw without a bounty. I'm a rogue detective, or so they say. Apparently, being concerned with the truth is a bad thing. Anyway, after four years of fleeing on land, I seized this opportunity to head out to sea," answered James.

"Freaking marvellous," said Cameron.

Meanwhile, at the on-deck pool, Karnilla and Patricia were swimming and talking about their futures.

"Hey, Patricia, you do realise that we've just turned down the chance to live normal lives again, right?"

"Normal? What about our old lives was normal? I'd much rather go with the flow. Let's be pirates, why should we not? If it all gets too much, that kid Cameron is a gentleman and those other three seem fairly strong."

"Um, maybe. Our lives weren't normal, you're right about that. But to go from being nomads to pirates? At least we were never arrested for being nomads. It was always our actions that did that for us. And I'm not worried about weakness. I've heard that the seas are a place for the strong to get stronger."

"Are we strong, though? I know we're tough for nomads, but compared to those three, there's just no comparison."

"You might be right about that, but that can't mean we won't catch up, nor that we aren't strong."

The conversation on the bow had continued as expected. Crock introduced himself as an old, retired sailor who wanted to sail one last time to put his haunted past behind him, but after things went south he stopped caring. Milangelo said that he's a millionaire who wanted to turn an old warship into a passenger ship. Cameron said that when he was young, Milangelo was a friend and mentor to him.

"Alright, and what about the two women?" asked James.

"They're in the pool at the moment, but I recall they said something about being nomads who snuck aboard the ship because they wanted to party," answered Cameron.

"Then it's a good thing for them that the detective pirate came and claimed this ship, isn't it?" laughed Milangelo.

"Well, if only for the choice between nomad or pirate."

Everyone silently conceded that James was right in that regard, and went about their business.

"We have about one week until we reach Alimony Bay; by that time I have no doubt that the authorities will be aware of our intentions. However, they're not likely to try anything until after our first act of piracy. That is, after Milangelo and I rob his estate, we will likely be ambushed. And if we manage to resist, we will become infamous."

Cameron asked how infamous; and James said that only the government knows for sure.

"What authority has jurisdiction in the Phobos, do you know?" Milangelo asked James.

"Same one as the continent of Pallanos."

"Captain, the plan?" said Cameron.

"If I may, I need to know our heading," said Crock.

James proceeded to inform his crew of the plan, and it wasn't long before everyone understood what was to be done. There was a week-long period of sailing, that turned out to be rather uneventful. Those who had been excited for the heist had their excitement drain as the days became long and boring. James noted they should learn how to temper their excitement.

The seventh day things changed, if only slightly. James and Milangelo took a renewed interest in the impending mission, and Cameron decided that he should only take interest in any venture he could be involved in. Crock, as always, had maintained a hardened exterior as he steered the ship, and Patricia and Karnilla spent ninety-nine percent of their time relaxing and talking down anyone who tried to get them to do something else. It was understandable, because such a vast change in lifestyle would require time to come to terms with.

"After we pull off this heist, we're all going to be taking up roles aboard this ship. We'll discuss them at length before deciding," said James, before disembarking.

One hour later, James and Milangelo found themselves in the backstreets of Alimony Bay. They were meters away from the Douglas Estate and family bank, and things could not be better suited for the duo's heist. All the guards were positioned exactly in the places Milangelo had predicted, and the area provided adequate cover for them to take out the guards and enter the building. From there, it was all a matter of Milangelo passing security scanners and then disabling them to allow James to enter with him.

The two of them wasted no time in executing their plan, and in a matter of minutes, they were inside the vault, grabbing as much physical money as they could carry. Milangelo was glad he'd had the foresight to bundle his millions in big burlap sacks as well as not train guard dogs.

"I always found guard dogs to be a largely paranoid measure. I sold them to some good people though, so they get to have the pleasure of not having to quit their day job."

"Lucky them," James replied sarcastically.

"Is there something you want to talk about?" asked Milangelo.

"Not right now, because we need to get out of here!"

As James said these words, the alarm system went off, and the two pirates made a run for it, faster than they had ever ran since the heist began. It took a solid twenty minutes of running, but they made it all the way to the ship, with a total haul of about two-hundred million onits.

"Big burlap sacks! Sweet, we must have hit the jackpot!" said Cameron in a way that he wished had been sarcastic.

James gave him a quick glance, as if to say "what a wasted opportunity that was", or perhaps it might have been "we need to get out of here, asap!". Either way, Cameron resolved to raise the anchor, and ready the ship for departure.

"Aye, cap'n! Ye've got the motherlode, then, I suspect?" asked Crock, sounding more like a youthful sailor than ever before.

"Good to see you, Crock. I take it from your newfound youthful exuberance that you wish to be the helmsman?" said James.

"Oh, I've been itchin' to get at that wheel! It's been many an age since I've ever felt so alive! Oh, how boring life was! When the only danger was dying of old age! Now, maybe... finally... I could have the chance to die at sea," beamed Crock.

Shortly after this exchange, the ship had begun to move, its course to be determined only by the wind and the sea. Meanwhile, a certain high-ranking officer was talking to his correspondents.

"What do you mean, we can't go after them?" he asked.

"We have yet to determine whether the detective's crew are simple hostages or not. However, we can confirm that the millionaire was involved in the robbery."

"Oh, for jumping out the aeroplane. Well, if you're not going to pursue them, the least you could do is put a bounty on their heads!"

"Very well, sir. How much and for whom?"

"40 million for my no good s– um, 40 million for the detective, a reprehensible fellow to be sure, and 10 million for the millionaire. More than either of them probably deserve, but their re-education should be a top priority. Questions are more dangerous than those asking them, after all."

"I completely agree, sir. Those bounties shall be printed and entering circulation by tomorrow."

"Excellent. The sooner we have this situation under control, the better. These are no ordinary pirates. They are all model citizens, of one kind or another, who have strayed from a path of wholesome legal activity."

"Do I sense a personal bias, sir?"

"No, it's fine. I'm sure that these are the facts."

"If you say so. End transmission."