The contract the lawyer had laid the agreement out in a simple and easy to understand way. There were no loopholes. The lawyer looked impressed looking through it. It stated that the only time Theo would step in and shut a place down was if more than 3 rules were broken at a time or in the event drugs were being distributed to employees. The contract laid out that Theo would be listed as the owner in the deed, stripping the previous owner of all legal rights to the business and land. After that, it was Theo's. Theo had no interest in keeping the brothel, Xyra and Cooker had tried and failed multiple times to convince Theo to invest in land businesses. Theo took care of her finances just fine and the last thing she wanted to do was get involved with land dwellers. She would have to figure something out with the ownership of the brothel.
"I'm amazed you got anyone to sign this," the lawyer finally spoke up.
"The threat of getting your trachea ripped out by a six-foot-three lady holding a morningstar is a good motivator," Theo remarked sarcastically, "Does it hold up?"
"Yes, if your witness corroborates what your colleague here is accusing then it holds up. The deed would be transferred into your name and you would be the legal owner of Wolf's Corner," the lawyer said.
As simple as that, Theo thought. She would have to figure out what to do about the deed being in her name. They were due to leave Niveal tomorrow and she didn't trust any of the girls at the moment. Ideally, Theo would have liked a cycle or two to figure out the best gameplan but she wasn't afforded that luxury. She was deep in thought when Cooker's snapping fingers brought her back to reality. Bea had entered and Theo instructed her to take a seat next to Wolf's second hand. Theo had her two witnesses for the deed change and her witness to indict Wolf. It was a simple process after that.
Bea told her side of things and it matched what the girls had said earlier. It had been going on for close to four cycles and Wolf had managed to increase his profit by a sizable amount even with the purchase of loads of ugali. The lawyer listened intently and by the end of the testimony, he was ready to confirm the legality of the transfer, even without Wolf present. As soon as they were done, Theo excused the lawyer and thanked him for his service. She then kicked out the second in command without so much as an explanation as to what he should do next; if he wanted to be in business with someone who played with fire then he was sure to get burnt. Then, Theo sent Bea away after asking her to round up the girls who had stayed sober and send them down to Theo.
"Business owner is a good look on you," Cooker teased and hopped back up on the desk.
Theo sighed dramatically knowing they were left alone Theo threw herself down on the large chair behind the desk and propped her feet up, "What the fuck are we going to do about that?"
"Keep it," Cooker stated obviously.
"You're supposed to be helpful, that is not helpful. Not another word out of you," Theo threatened.
"I'm serious. I think you need to keep it. For the crew and the future," Cooker advised.
"What's one got to do with the other?" Theo shook her head, "I am here twice a length. What good would a business do me? What good would I do a business?"
"Theo we need a steady stream of income," Cooker rationed.
"We have never needed one. We have been doing better than ever and if raids are a little thin then we have what we have saved to fall back on," Theo shot back. They had been over this already, many times.
"We need to think longer-term, Theo. You have some of the wildest ambitions I have ever heard and I believe you can get them done. I know you are capable of whatever you set your mind to but your high hopes are just that if you have no financing," Cooker stated.
"You are acting like expanding our crew by a few ships is going to cost more than what we have," Theo said, "Between my savings and the ship fund we can afford an expansion. We've done these numbers before."
"I'm talking long term, Theo. I'm talking half a classification from now. Not a few extra ships, a real fleet, or even two. And what about your dreams of having a haven of our own, a center for peace and growth? That takes time and resources and money," Cooker kept insisting.
Theo had forgotten about those aspirations as of late, she had been so preoccupied she had lost the bigger picture. She had ceased to see the end goal, the reason for pirating. She tried not to kick herself too much over it, that is why she had Cooker and others to support her. They kept the passion for the cause alive when Theo was stuck on the day today. Theo, Xyra, and Cooker, but mostly Theo, would daydream as children about their plans to do good in the world. They wanted their own city to rule over, one just for women and those that had been hurt by the wrongdoings of the government and the ruling class. The city would have a navy, powerful enough to protect and support it. It would be the center of the rebellion where Baethos as they knew it would come crashing down.
It was a pipe dream, one that a younger Theo would drone on and on about to her older companions. She would get so worked up, her arms would flail about as she passionately described the world she would help rule. Cooker and Xyra never shot down any of her ideas, rather helped guide them towards something more attainable. Since then, they had always dreamed of a place where it was just them, women they had helped, and refugees from the incessant Baethean oppression. The fleet would be used to support the island they inhabited with resources and necessities. It had been a while since anyone had even mentioned anything beyond building a fleet and Theo finally understood Cooker's pushing.
"So, you're saying we keep it to increase the stream of revenue we have?"
"Aye," Cooker nodded, "You're getting one percent a length for all earnings of the businesses under you but that is chump change compared to what we would need if we are going to start seriously considering taking this path in our future."
"I don't feel comfortable taking a business opportunity away from perfectly good candidates here," Theo said, "Let's meet in the middle. I'll take a larger cut of the profits but leave the management to the women. Ten percent and the rest of the profits can be split evenly amongst the women here. And if I am owning this place, then it will no longer be used as a brothel."
Cooker shrugged her shoulders, "Fine but you'll have to break it to them. First, you are telling them that you are leaving them in charge of running a business and then you are telling them Wolf's Corner can no longer operate as a brothel. Bold."
"That reminds me, I also need to tell them that we have to change the name," Theo chuckled and then stood up and began to pace, feeling too antsy to sit down.
Her and Cooker began to bounce some ideas back and forth on how to break the news and how best to go about the process. After a little delay, the girls that had been sent for walked into the office. Out of a group of 25 girls, only four were present. Theo sat back down and invited the girls to sit too. She explained to them that she was now the owner of the business and it was no longer a brothel.
"I don't understand," one of the girls, Nadine, said, "We're out of a job?"
"No, I want you all to take over the business," Theo said, "Take over the day to day operations in exchange for a portion of the profit."
"Just the four of us?" Nadine asked, "I know the other girls have disappointed you but they deserve a chance too."
Theo's heart sunk. Is that what they thought? Why they hadn't spoken up when Theo was asking them to?
"All of the girls are going to have a chance to earn money here, Nadine. I am not disappointed in them either. I want you to make that clear to them. I am worried about them but not disappointed," Theo explained.
"Even if we have everyone here to help, that doesn't mean we know how to run a business. If you said we can keep it a brothel then maybe we would have an idea of where to start but we don't," another one of the girls said. It was Nym, someone who had been there since before Theo had become a captain.
Cooker stepped in, having been the one to come up with that part of the plan, "Tomorrow I'll come back and take care of that with you. How to manage the books, what to charge, how to manage customers."
"And this place can be whatever you want it to be," Theo added on, "It's prime real estate as long as you sell drinks it can be anything. A lounge or a bar or-"
"A theatre?" one of the girls suggested, her voice barely a whisper, Theo didn't know her name or how long she'd been at Wolf's Corner but she was most likely new.
"Come again?" Theo asked, unsure of what the girl had said.
"Nothing it's stupid," she wrought her hands together nervously.
"There are no wrong answers, love. Just let us know what it is and we can discuss the idea," Theo tried to encourage her.
She looked around the room to the other girls and then to Cooker and finally back to Theo, she was clearly intimidated but she spoke up anyway, "In my hometown, we used to have a small stage in our local tavern. Made it so it was like a theatre. Only rich cities got those, so we made our own."
"What kind of performances were hosted?" Nadine asked.
"All kinds. We had comedians, puppeteers, singers, plays. A little bit of everything," the girl explained.
"I like that idea," Nym said, "They don't have one of those on Stumbler's Row. If we went with bar or tavern we would be drowned out
"Not necessarily," Nadine countered, "I think that we are so close to port we will get business regardless. There is never an empty bar in Niveal, isn't that the saying?"
The strategizing went on for a while. Theo didn't rush the process, seeing how the women got more confident in the idea of running the place with every decision made. Theo kept her hand anxiously on her dagger waiting for the moment that Wolf came. She was afraid a scene would be made and she would need to protect herself and those in the room but he never came. They had settled on the theatre idea, stating that it was original enough to attract a lot of business. It would function as a tavern except a small stage was to be built. It was also agreed that the four girls would be in charge of finding adequate medical staff the following sun to help the women wean off the ugali.
All of the money currently stored in the building would be split evenly amongst all the women and the money would be given to them upon recovery. If they decided they did not want to work there anymore, the sizable amount they were given would be enough to start anew. Theo explained that twenty percent of all profits were to be set aside, ten percent for Theo, and ten percent to reinvest into the business. The rest was to be split evenly among the women assuming they all worked their fair share. At the women's requests the upstairs rooms would be for the employees so could live rent-free. Theo was elated at that addition and every decision the women made left her more confident with her own decision to keep the business.
They were in the middle of the discussion of a name change when they heard a loud crash. Theo immediately stood up at the commotion. Wolf was back.
"Theo!" A voice bellowed from the main room and Theo quickly ran out, telling the girls to stay in the office.
"Wolf," Theo said calmly as she left the office, Cooker following and closing the door behind them, "Nice of you to join us."
"What the fuck is going on?! Where are all my patrons? Where are my girls?" Wolf huffed, his face red with anger and his breathing heavy and labored.
"I'll keep the explanation brief since I've got business to attend to with my new establishment," Theo took a few steps toward the fuming man. He was drunk, Theo could smell it coming off the man, "You fucked up more than I have ever seen anyone fuck up before and the business it took you two classifications to build is now mine."
"You can't do that," he yelled, closing the gap between him and Theo.
Theo stood her ground and folded her arms in front of her, "I can, actually. Not only can I, but I already did. Deed's in my name."
"Renouncer scum!" Wolf was one step away from foaming at the mouth, "I should've killed you the first night you ever walked in here!"
The insult caused a burn in her stomach, rage. It only burned hotter knowing she couldn't do anything. She and Cooker had agreed to keep the process as calm as possible, at Theo's suggestion. She didn't want the girls to have to witness anything they didn't have to.
"Wolf, there is nothing for you here. I'm going to ask you to leave now. Your belongings will be out back tomorrow," Theo stated and looked over at Cooker, "Please escort Mister Wolf out."
Cooker roughly grabbed him by the arm and dragged him outside. Wolf didn't go out without fighting, screaming, and resisting the whole way out. Even after he was kicked out, he parked himself outside the front door and kept yelling about the injustices he was facing. Theo walked back into the office and let the girls know everything was okay. They told Theo that they were worried about spending the night alone and Theo decided she would stay with them until the morning. Her and Cooker just needed to grab some items from the ship to sleep comfortably and they needed to find some food. They instructed the girls to barricade the entrances until they returned just in case Wolf wanted to try anything. Wolf had ceased banging on the door and they figured it was safe to go out.
"That went better than I could have expected," Cooker whispered to Theo as they walked out, "Can you tell me I was right? It's just so I can say I told you so."
"Not a chance," Theo chuckled and they began to walk back to the ship.
"Just admit I was the best companion today, better and less annoying than Xyra. And you should also admit that I was right and owning a business feels great and we are going to be loaded. Then we can move on," Cooker listed.
Theo rolled her eyes and nudged her friend, "Thanks for advising me. That's all you'll get."
From behind them, she heard a commotion. Theo heard a few shouts and gasps but before she could turn around she felt a sharp piercing pain in her shoulder. She stumbled forward and fell to one knee, the wind knocked out of her. Fuck, whatever that was hurt. The pain was so intense her ears began to ring and it took her a few seconds to get her head screwed on straight enough to think. Looking back at her shoulder she saw an arrow sticking out of it and her stomach did a flip, that would explain the pain.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Theo growled.
She pushed herself back up and spun around to find Wolf standing a few yards away, struggling to load his crossbow with another arrow.
"Leave him!" Theo demanded when she saw Cooker close to Wolf, about the strike. Theo took large steps forward and reached her arm to her sword. She stopped the action, pain shooting up to her shoulder. He had hit Theo's fighting arm and rendered it useless, her other arm would have to suffice. She grabbed the sword with her good arm and charged towards Wolf. She brought down her sword with a slash and Wolf brought his crossbow up to block the hit, the wood splintering a bit from the impact.
Theo yelled out as she brought down another swing, pain leaving her body with the scream. Wolf blocked it again but this time his crossbow cracked. Theo saw the fear in the man's eyes, drunk and unaware of the major consequences his actions had. He had only seen one side to Theo, the forgiving one. One that let him get away with the smaller rule breaks if it meant the general welfare of the women were kept. He had made the same mistake all her enemies did, underestimate her.
On her third swing the crossbow broke, the sword hacked right through it. Wolf began to stumble back but Theo was faster than he was and caught up to him with ease. She kicked her leg out and it connected with Wolf's chest, knocking him on his back. She was in immense pain but she didn't let it show on her face, not wanting to give him the satisfaction to know he succeeded in hurting her.
"Not that you'll be living long enough to be able to use it but I wanted to give you a bit of advice," Theo said and watched Wolf scramble back. She followed him for a few steps, watching as he pathetically tried to wiggle away before placing her foot on his chest to stop him from moving, "next time you want to kill someone, learn to fucking aim."
She replaced her foot with her knee and knelt on him, hovering over him so her face was close to his. He closed his eyes and turned his face away, traces of tears were running down his cheeks but he made no noise. He didn't want to show her the fear in his voice. She pulled out the dagger that she kept strapped to her leg and traced his chest lightly.
"Wolfie, Wolfie, Wolfie," Theo tutted, "Should've just killed you inside and saved me an arrow in the back. Never give a pig the benefit of the doubt. Guess we both learned something today."
Theo was very aware of all the people around her but it didn't stop her from what she did next. She brought the dagger up to his throat and began to press the tip in slowly. The pain in Wolf's eyes was evident as the dagger drew blood. He began to thrash and squirm but Theo kept him grounded, her knee on his chest. He brought his hands up to resist the dagger but she just pressed in harder, pushing past the resistance of the muscles in his throat. He coughed and struggled for breath as blood started to fill his lungs. It wasn't a quick death but it wasn't a slow one either. Theo didn't want to give the people of Niveal a show but she also wanted to make Wolf pay for the harm he had inflicted. She made sure he struggled and felt the pain. It was twisted but Theo never claimed to be perfect. Theo watched as the life drained from his face, his hands dropping limp by his side.
She stood up from on top of Wolf's dead body, the arrow still sticking out of her shoulder. Looking around she saw more than a hundred people gathered to see the spectacle. Theo felt woozy, like the feast she had enjoyed earlier in the night was about to come up. Loss of blood, pain, and general shock was setting in but Theo couldn't let the people see her be weak, she had a reputation to uphold. Plus, walking away from a fight like a badass with an arrow lodged in her back would just fuel the stories told about her.
She cleared her throat and as best and as firmly as she could she spoke, "You can all go about your business now. Cooker, let's go."
Cooker rushed to Theo's side and walked alongside her, offering her arm for the Captain to take. Theo refused the help until her step stumbled a bit and she could no longer trust herself to keep herself upright. She leaned on Cooker as they walked as fast as they could to the ship. Theo thanked her gods that Wolf's Corner was so close to the port. She felt the blood seeping from her wound and she had no idea how much blood she had lost. As they walked they attracted the stares of most passerby's.
The trek up the ramp and onto the ship proved more difficult than Theo could have ever imagined. On top of the arrow hitting her, she hadn't helped matters by fighting. Every swing she had made pained her, even though it was with her opposite arm. Cooker helped her get into Tuni's room as quickly as possible and as soon as they did, Theo collapsed face-first onto the floor.