"Uh, guys, are you seein' what I'm seein'..?"
Yet again, I was the centre of attention, but not for the same reason as before. After going through a pile of questionable old clothes Mosh had brought back, removing my bandanna, and a few other little touch ups, I looked like a completely different person.
I was looking like a woman.
"Y..yep..."
"Kid really beat that up..?"
"There's no way that's the brat from the other night..."
"Why isn't she wearing pants?! Somebody get the lady some pants!"
Unashamed, I stood upon a deck full of men in nothing but a torn up T-shirt and my own underwear. My hair was all matted, by my own doing, and I had already been filthy from my days in the cell. I was dressed for the part.
"Nothing to see here. You've all got better things to do." Killer warned his crewmates, having to do nothing but stand there for them to scatter like startled ants before he turned to address me. "Why aren't you wearing pants..?"
Shrugging, I looked down at myself, not seeing the big deal.
"What? Everything important is covered, isn't it?" Doing a spin, I wiggled my hips a bit, having to stifle a laugh when Killer's head whipped around to face the opposite direction.
"Hardly..."
Pffffft. Men.
It was kind of cold out, so I was well aware of my two little chest soldiers standing to attention, but that would only add to my upcoming performance. The island was in sight now, and we were readying to pull in to dock by the cove.
"Alright...Are we doing this, or wha-" Kid stomped his way up from the hull and froze mid-step when he laid eyes upon me. He didn't say a word, and I couldn't tell what was going through his head because his expression didn't change.
"Uh, reporting for duty?" I just stood there, waiting for him to move, or do anything, honestly. He seemed to shake himself out of it, growing more irritated, which had been expected. It was Kid, after all.
"You listen the hell up, you piece of shit..."
That's not very nice. Piece of garbage, sure, but not shit...
"You have three hours to get the keys. If you screw up, or even miss the time limit by a single second, you're gonna die. Do you understand?" One of his go-to intimidation tactics seemed to be getting right up in people's personal bubbles, but even as he leered over the top of me, I stood my ground.
"I can do it in two, but sure. Three works." I was confident, which hadn't really worked out for me the last time, but I was actually prepared for this heist. I'd screwed with the Navy before, so I knew what to expect.
Seizing me by the jaw, Kid was grinning, but I could see the malice behind it. His eyes were burning, showing me his true desire to rip me to shreds then and there.
"As much as I want those weapons, I don't expect you to even make it back here. I'll be sure to take a nice, long piss on your corpse when we come and do it ourselves."
I wouldn't have put it past him to do something so vile, and I visibly recoiled a little. Not in fear, just in disgust.
"Wow, you're one sick puppy..." I muttered, wiping a bit of his spittle off my face once he released me.
As the crew did what needed to be done to dock the ship, I kept my distance from the sadistic captain. There wasn't any guarantee that he'd keep his word, so my life was still precariously hanging in the balance.
I didn't want to die, but I had too much pride to drop to my knees and grovel like I had already done for that chance to speak to my big brother. If I wanted any opportunity to someday return to Water 7, I had to do as he said.
Doesn't mean I'm gonna completely roll over for the guy...
The cove was dark and silent, save for the faint lapping of the waves against the shore. One of Kid's men, named Jaguar, which I thought was pretty cool, offered me his hand on the way down the ramp. He was a ginormous beast of a man, but he seemed nice enough compared to his leader. I was digging the panda on his tank top, too.
Kid and Killer remained standing at the top of the boarding ramp, the former crossing his arms across his broad chest and smirking down at me like I was some insignificant bug.
"Time starts now, sneaky bitch. Oh, and don't think about running..." He pulled a sheet of paper, missing just a single corner, from his coat and waved it about. "I found your vivre card, so it wouldn't help you none."
Puffing my (H/C) hair out of my face, I placed my good hand on my hip, looking up at him with a scrunched nose.
"Good for you. I wasn't about to try and run anyway. I'm not a coward."
Ignoring his curses, like a protective chihuahua yapping from a windowsill, I started off, hoping the direction I was headed would lead me to where I needed to go.
Through the thick bushes and trees, I made use of whatever I could find. A twig nestled here, some dirt smeared there, even going as far as purposely scraping myself against a few branches to really give myself the right look.
I could always just rat him out to the Marines, but they wouldn't stand a chance against him, would they?
It was a fleeting consideration, but I never would have gone through with it. I was a criminal myself, and snitching on others was against my moral code. Even if they had threatened to piss on my corpse.
It didn't take long to reach the town, which surprised me. I had thought Kid would have docked much further away to give me a disadvantage, but whatever. I wasn't about to complain. Not about that, anyway.
The town was eerie so late at night. Empty streets appeared much darker than they really were, and my footsteps seemed so loud in the quiet. There was no missing the Navy base. Fenced, and easily the largest building as far as I could see.
Still, it was just one building, and security didn't seem all that tight. I could only spot one marine standing by the gate, so I decided that I had enough leeway to have a look around the outside, to ensure I had a clear escape route.
There weren't any openings around the perimeter, but around the back there was a shed, and the gate to access it was much lower than the rest of the fence. If I had to climb, so be it.
Once I was back around the front, I shook myself from head to toe, taking a few deep breaths before grabbing my broken wrist and giving it a tight squeeze.
Fuck, that smarts!
I worked with the pain to get a nice, steady stream of tears going, and that was my cue. Kicking myself into an unsteady sprint, I made a beeline for the lone marine, startling him when I crashed into the fence.
"P..please..! Sir, please, y..you have to help..! Please..!" I begged him with all the desperation I could muster. Now that I was closer, I saw that he was just a young recruit, not much younger than myself, which was perfect.
"Holy crap! Miss, are you okay?!" Scrambling and tripping over his own feet, the man raced to unlock the gate, pulling it open just in time for me to fall helplessly into his arms. "Y..you're injured!"
Clinging to the white fabric of his uniform, I hitched my breath a few times, almost sending myself into a coughing fit.
"Please..! M..my sister and I, we were walking along the eastern coast, a..and out of nowhere s..so many fishmen started coming out of the water..! Th..they attacked us, a..and my sister, she..!"
Nothing against fishmen. I just know how racist these Navy shmucks can be...
Of course, I had to send them in the opposite direction to Kid and his men, who were to the west. Lifting me up into his arms, the young marine began to race towards the main building. He was sweaty, and sticky, but I kept my trap shut.
"Don't worry, Miss! We'll deal with those freaks, and rescue your sister!" He sounded so sure of himself, it was almost laughable. Exactly like every other marine I had ever crossed paths with. An obnoxious sense of what they deemed justice, even if they harmed others in the process.
Though, in this fake scenario, I couldn't judge his reaction. I had made it sound as though fishmen were causing harm to innocents, after all. Bursting into the building, the man caught the attention of a good two dozen or so men, who all whipped their heads around to see what all the commotion was about.
Not a woman in sight. Typical.
I knew there were women in the Navy, but more often than not I saw droves upon droves of white-clad men, and it was annoying.
"G..get the Lieutenant Commander..! We've got an emergency!"
On the exterior, I kept up my sobbing mess of an act, but inside I was cackling like a madwoman at all the tough guys running around like headless chickens, not even knowing what the problem was.
"What's the problem?" Out came a stocky ball of a man, walking as though he had the world's worst case of chaffing ever documented. The marine who had given me my ticket inside lifted me a little, as though he were showing me off as evidence.
"This girl was attacked! She..she said Fishmen were raiding the eastern coast! They abducted her sister!"
Taking that as my cue, I cried harder, wailing and curling in on myself, along with the young man.
"O..one of them tried to rip my arm off..! My wrist hurts so much..! They're so scary, a..and they've got my sister! Please! She needs he..he..help..!"
A wave of panic seemed to wash over the Lieutenant Commander for a moment, but he quickly replaced it with a confident mask, turning to address the men nearest to him.
"Assemble all offensive and defensive units at once! We're heading due east!" He announced, raking a hand down his face once they began to scatter. "I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody raided this damn island..."
Sucks to suck, buddy.
The rotund man pointed to the recruit as he began to stomp away, thigh meat moving in a different gait than his actual legs.
"You, boy! Make sure the woman is taken care of! Everyone else, get your asses into gear! Move move move!"
Shit, is he literally sending everyone besides this chump? Talk about stupid. Works for me, though.
I hid my face in the boy's neck to give myself a break as he carried me to a much quieter area, and I made him work to pry me off and set me down on a chair in what looked like an infirmary.
"Don't worry, Miss. Lieutenant Commander Racksport won't let them get away with this." He tried to speak to me in a soothing tone, but his nerves were leaking through. "Can I check your injuries?"
Nodding slowly, making myself seem hesitant, I allowed him to inspect my wrist, hoping he wouldn't realise that it was already nearing a week old. He didn't say anything, so I gathered he didn't really have much medical experience.
"Thank you...uh...I..I'm so sorry, I never g..got your name..?" I sniffled through my snot and tears, cringing at how often I was stuttering. Rubbing some kind of cream into my swollen, bruised skin, the recruit offered me a kind smile.
"Don't apologise, I wouldn't expect you to when you've been through so much. My name's Timbley. May I ask yours, Miss?"
Oh no, he's baby. Poor dumb baby.
Wiping at my eyes, I made sure I was still breathless, not wanting to seem like I was calming down too quickly.
"P..Pauletta..." It wasn't very original, but it was fun using a feminine version of my brother's name. He would've hated it.
"Well, Pauletta, let me get this bandaged up for you. In the morning, I'll personally escourt you to the town doctor to take a better look at it, okay?" He comforted me the best he could, and I nodded along, trying to figure out how I could locate the keys and get my crippled ass out of there.
Timbley was clumsy, and he didn't do a great job, but he was very gentle with me, checking every few moments to make sure he wasn't causing me any extra pain.
"Y..you're really nice, Timbley...Thank you..." I murmured once he had finished, taking note of the cherry tint that spread across his cheeks. I could use a little crush to my advantage.
"Not a problem! Would you like some water? Or something to eat? Anything at all, to make you more comfortable?" I pitied the poor fool. He was sweet, and caring, and whilst I could appreciate it, it was going to be his downfall. I'd conned a great deal of guys like him.
"Are...you sure that they can stop them..? That they can save my sister..? This town is so calm and quiet...I don't know how they'll be able to..." I whimpered, forcing a few more tears out. I was definitely going to be dehydrated again after this.
Hands hovering over my form, the poor guy was at a loss, unsure how to deal with an emotional woman. Not unlike most men.
"I..I'm positive they can! We have a huge locker full of all kinds of weapons! No matter what they throw at us, we're set to win, I promise..!"
Now, to work my charm...
Reaching out to grab at his shirt, I looked up at Timbley with big, watery eyes, pulling him a bit closer.
"Could...you show me..?" I asked as innocently as possible. "I want to know for sure that my sister can be saved, if they haven't already..." I trailed off, a big, fat tear rolling down my cheek and dripping off my chin.
"Oh, uh, well, I'm not supposed to...I'm just an apprentice, so..." He umm'd and aaah-d, which I had expected. It was a stupid attempt, I knew that. I could have come up with so many other, much better ideas, but he seemed gullible enough to cut corners.
"Please, Timbley..? I want to know everybody will be protected..." I moved a hand up to his cheek, and his entire face grew red. Swallowing audibly, and glancing to either side of the room, he let out a shaky sigh.
"O..okay...but just a quick look, okay? I don't want to get in trouble..."
Good boy. I might get this done within an hour if I'm lucky, then hello, spaghetti and meatballs à la Killer!
My hold on Timbley only grew stronger when I asked for him to carry me, nuzzling into his chest as he walked, even though he stank of sweat. I probably didn't smell much better, but at least he didn't have his nose near my armpit.
"I just need to get the keys from Racksport's office. He keeps them low, because, well, he isn't exactly the tallest person...so I'm gonna have to put you down for a moment, okay, Pauletta?" The recruit explained as he entered the room, which was decked out in Navy memorabilia.
He carefully set me down upon the desk, ensuring I wasn't going to fall off before he moved around to the drawers.
"You're so nice, Timbley..." I pointed out, keeping my voice nice and weak. "I don't want you to get in trouble just to give me peace of mind..."
I actually don't really care but I'll act like I do.
After a bit of clunking around, he returned, still red in the cheeks and smiling softly.
"It should be fine, as long as you promise not to tell anybody. Stress can be just as painful as physical injuries sometimes, so if I can help you, I will."
Shit, I might actually feel just a teensie bit bad...
I wasn't fond of being carried around, but if it made him feel good, why not? I'd give him that little treat before I screwed him over. Out of the office and further outside the building, Timbley kept a good hold of me, but I was getting excited, because I could feel the ring of keys pressing against my exposed skin.
Stopping in front of what looked to be a fortified outhouse, small and unremarkable, he set me down by his side and unlocked the door.
"Just a quick look, okay? Then we need to make sure you get some rest."
I couldn't believe he hadn't figured out it was a trap. If I had actually been assaulted by an army of Fishmen, and had my sister abducted, why would I be asking for something like this? Why would I have calmed down so easily? The only reason I had was because he didn't question it. It was the easiest scam I had pulled, by far.
Again, picking me up like I was a doll, Timbley carried me down the steep stairs, but my annoyance didn't last long once I saw exactly why Kid had wanted me to do this job in the first place.
There were hundreds of weapons, if not thousands. Guns, bazookas, grenades, even cannons. It was a treasure trove of violence that even I couldn't be unimpressed with.
"Wow...You were right..." I murmured, wriggling enough so he'd let me down.
The Navy stands for peace my ass...This is insane..!
"Yep. We're prepared for any kind of attack, be it pirates, bandits...hell, we could even do some pretty bad damage to an Emperor of the Sea if it came down to it..." The trusting recruit nodded his head, looking proud of his career choice.
Looking around at all the artillery, I began to rub at my arms, feigning a chill so I could set the end stage of my plan into motion. Reversing a few steps until my back pressed against Timbley's chest, I turned ever so slightly, meeting his eyes.
"It's cold down here..."
It was so hard not to smirk when I heard him gulp, loud and thick, falling harder again for my feminine charm.
"I..I'm sorry, I should've found you something to put on before anything else! H..here, you can wear my shirt..!"
As he began to pull his white uniform shirt over his head, that was when I made a move. With all my strength, I kicking him square in the gut, sending him flying backwards against the bottom steps.
Struggling and flailing, trapped inside of his shirt, Timbley tried to stand back up, but it was too late for the gullible recruit. Grabbing the nearest weapon, which happened to be a rifle, I turned it around and took a heavy swing at his head, ignoring the searing pain in my broken bone.
Even I flinched at the crack the heavy handle made against his head, but it did the trick. Now limp and unconscious, the marine was just laying there, giving me the freedom to do what I came there to do.
"Sorry, bud..." I sighed, crouching down to pluck the keys from his pocket. "It's not you, it's me." While I was at it, I decided to strip him down to his underwear, changing out of the ragged costume I'd arrived in and into a Navy soldier.
The pants were far too long, and the shirt was loose, but it was easy enough to roll up the extra lengths. Tie and cap on, I was happy he was a relatively scrawny thing, because I didn't half mind the look.
Keys in my pocket, I took one last look at the kind boy before making my way back up the stairs and into the cool night air. I had no idea how long I had left, but I wasn't about to dawdle.
Recalling the direction I had seen the lower gate, I jogged at a steady pace, not wanting to overexert myself just in case I needed to sprint later on. I was fully prepared to have to scale the fence, but to my absolute surprise, the gate had been left wide open.
Oh my god. How incompetent are these bastards?!
Thanking lady luck for her assistance, and the parents of all the Navy officers for raising complete morons, I strolled right on out of the base and all the way to the edge of town.
Not a soul was around, just like before, so I continued on, humming along to the tune of jingles the keys made in my pocket. Kid had really thought he had done something, trying to make me prove myself. Little did he know that I was as lucky as I was talented.
It didn't take all that long to reach the Victoria Punk, right where I had left it, but before I got within twenty feet of it, I saw a blur of white, blue and gold rushing towards me.
"Oioioioioi, stop..! It's just me! Sneaky Bitch..!" I yelped, stumbling back and falling flat on my ass.
Killer skidded to a halt over my startled form, kicking up a mound of sand right into my face.
"Oh. You changed clothes." He pointed out the obvious, and I grimaced as I spat out remnants of the beach.
"Yeah. No shit."
Climbing back to my feet, no assistance offered by the helmet-clad pirate, I saw Kid approaching, followed by the majority of his motley crew.
"Didn't expect you to survive." He commented, doing that stupid leering thing he liked to do.
"So? What's my time?" I asked curiously, resisting the urge to take a step back to get away from him.
"I don't see any keys, so the clock's still ticking." He smirked, hand twitching over the dagger in his belt.
It was my turn to smirk along with him. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out the keys and jangled them in front of his face, watching his smug expression drop off the face of the earth.
"Time?" I repeated my question, flinching when he snatched them from my hand.
Inspecting them for a moment, to make sure they were legitimate, he scowled, larger hand closing around them tight.
"Two hours and twelve minutes..." He muttered in response, and I grinned, clapping my hands once before I hissed, realising how stupid it had been with a broken wrist.
"Told you it was a piece of cake. Now, can I eat now? I'm starving. Thirsty, too." I went to walk past him towards the ship, but he wasn't having that. Kid grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off of the ground so we were face to face.
He studied me for what seemed like an eternity, those fierce, scorching eyes of his picking me apart bit by bit before he grinned. It was a grin I knew well enough now. I wasn't getting shit.
"Throw her back in the cell. You can give her some water, I guess, but nothing else until we get back." He ordered, handing me over to Heat as though I weighed nothing more than a plush toy.
"H..hey! What the hell, man?! I risked my ass to get those stupid keys!" I pitched a fit, kicking and struggling as Heat tucked me under his arm.
Kid continued to walk as he looked back over his shoulder, my heart sinking as he tossed the keys away, to be lost in the sandy terrain.
"What, those? I never said I needed them. Don't worry, I have plenty of other things planned for a sneaky bitch like you..."
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***Kid is a stimky mans. We love he.
The names for both Racksport and Timbley brought to you by my girlfriend, pseudo_eternity 💖
I didn't mean for this chapter to be so long.
Next Time: Good Doggy, No Bone***