Summer is a time of great heat near the shores of Liandwood Bay, and there were two things that Milangelo Douglas had not counted on: 1) The hijacking of his brand new cruiser; and 2) The brilliant mind of the man who had hijacked it. He now had two choices of which both were equally appealing to him: go back to a life of comfort and familiarity, or join James on his quest for... whatever it was; he didn't really know.
It was a fairly smooth journey for the SS Psychic, and it reached the port of Darington, a few kilometres south of Liandwood Bay, not to be confused with Dalington, without any troubles. James made his way to the front of the deck, somber and fully aware that everyone aboard may very well depart. He had prepared for the outcome and had determined that it did not bother him. He got everyone's attention, and began the formal proceedings.
"Disembarkation at Darington will begin shortly. Everyone who wishes to leave, do so now. This will be your only opportunity to return to civilisation, and if you do not, then you resign to being a part of my pirate crew."
Meanwhile, in the cabins, the shy young man was with two young ladies.
"So what did you say your name was?" asked one.
"Cameron Miles," replied the young man.
"Do you really know the captain?" asked the other.
"He's a childhood friend of mine," answered Cameron.
"What was your childhood like?" asked the first one.
"It might have been great, but life isn't as black and white as all that. It's not fun to reminisce, if I'm being honest."
"Well, Cameron, my name is Patricia Neofoly, and this is my friend Karnilla Adams. If you want to talk about it, we'll listen."
"Thank you. Have you had hardships in your life?"
"We have, but that's a story for another day. Let's find some board games and drinks and have some fun."
The cruiser arrived at Darington as scheduled, and people began to disembark in large numbers. However, one man that James had expected to leave had not.
"Milangelo, I noticed that you have not left yet."
"Why do you ask? Do you want me to?" Milangelo asked.
"Relax. You could easily leave, considering that the damage you sustained is impermanent."
Milangelo gave a nervous chuckle. "I don't want to leave. This is my ship, regardless of who's captain. In fact, I have an idea for our first adventure."
James' eyes lit up. In another part of the ship, Cameron and his new friends were playing Oligopoly. The slogan on the box read "Let's face it, with everyone else here, you're never going to have a monopoly." It was Cameron's turn.
"I'm bored. Is there a pool nearby?" asked Karnilla.
"Yes, but I didn't bring anything for swimming," said Cameron.
"That's okay, we'll just go without clothes on," said Patricia.
"Pat, no! We'd be removed from the ship," said Karnilla.
"Relax, Kans, everyone's busy getting off the ship for some reason."
"Wait, why are they getting off the ship?" asked Cameron.
"Oh, it's because the ship got claimed by some outlaw," said Patricia, who paused for a moment, and then laughed.
"What is so funny, Pat?" asked Karnilla.
"Oh, well, we're stupid, aren't we? The ship's been overtaken by an outlaw, and we aren't getting off with everyone else?"
"Can I say something?" asked Cameron.
"Yes, go ahead," replied Karnilla.
"I don't know about you two, but I'm going to follow my friend Milangelo. From what I've heard, he hasn't disembarked yet."
"That's actually pretty noble of you. I am so drunk right now."
"Pat, you're staring at him, stop it."
It was at that moment the helmsman knocked on the door. "Oh, hello Crock. How can we help you?" said Cameron.
"This is a last call. Off or on?"
"We were thinking that we'd follow Milangelo Douglas."
"Alright. Come with me. He's in his room at the moment; you can ask him what he plans to do, and that'll be your answer."
Crock led the trio to Milangelo's room, where James stood outside. "He's changing, in case you were wondering."
"Oh, hey, captain," said Crock.
"You're staying on?" asked Cameron, surprised.
"I'm too old to give a shit."
"Fair enough." Cameron looked to the side and thought I really mischaracterised this guy. He's quite the badass.
"Crock, finish your rounds. As soon as we're done here, we're off for Alimony Bay. Milangelo deserves the credit for this one," said James, with a smile on his face.
"What are you planning to do there?" asked Cameron.
"Knowing that his assets would be frozen after this incident, he has decided that we shall rob his bank and estate for everything that would otherwise have been his," said James.
"That's so fucking badass!" said Cameron, and then, "wait, did I just say that out loud?"
"Yes, you did, cowboy. You're definitely not joining us in the pool. Hey, Pat, let's go get changed!" said Karnilla.
"Now that's something I can get behind!" responded Patricia.
"Hello. Was it Cameron Miles?" asked James.
"Yes, sir," replied Cameron, with a slight tone of resentment.
"Are you up for guard duty? Because Milangelo and I will be the only ones going ashore. Make sure no-one tries to take off with the ship. If that happens, it will not only be my life on the line. Remember, Milangelo is coming with me."
"Understood, captain." Cameron had decided to accept the facts as they were, rather than how he would like them to be.
After everyone who did not want to become a pirate had disembarked, and as it happened, that left only the six of them: James, Milangelo, Crock, Cameron, Patricia, and Karnilla; the SS Psychic pulled out of port, and began its course for Alimony Bay. This would mean a fairly long journey down to the south of the Phobos Sea, but the payoff was clear to everyone, and it would make the journey more than worth it.
"Now that we've got some time, who here wants to introduce themselves? I know the three of you by name, but I know very little else about you," said James.
"I'll bite, but first you gotta throw the hook. Let's learn about you, new captain," said Crock.
"Eloquently put, Crock. You're quite the mystery, James Baron. I don't know modern technology, nor do I pay attention to the wanted posters. Who are you?" added Milangelo.
"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."