CH - 46
The clown smiled. "I've got my sources." Everyone seemed to leave it at that.
Halcen turned to Max. "So, how about it? I get the seastone, and you lay off."
"Alright," Max nodded.
"Don't try to act like it doesn't excite you. You'd rather have goods than money anyway." Halcen extended his hand.
"Max took it. "But in the meantime… I'm still taking the guys."
"What?"
"As leverage. I need something to make sure you come back."
"Fine," Halcen spat.
"Pad! Go get the boys off the ship."
The towering lug began walking out toward the Black Tail. He continued out the door and headed out of the backstreets. Halcen followed him, along with the grimy clown-looking-bitch. Halcen was pissed off about what was about to happen, but couldn't do anything. He walked in silence.
"You know, I'm glad I ran into you," the man said, chuckling. "I thought I was gonna have to wait here forever. I was gonna miss that ship."
Halcen nodded along, pretending to pay attention.
Then they finally came to the docks. The clown sat off to the edge as Pad and Halcen went aboard the Black Tail. Everybody came rushing to see what was going on.
Halcen explained. "Max and I have made a deal." He looked to Jin and Fein for the moment. "You two are going to stay here with him, while the rest of us go run one more job."
"Oh, good God," Bo groaned. "Another job? Are we ever gonna get to Loguetown."
"I swear to God, Bo, if you say one more thing about Loguetown, I'm gonna dump your ass in the ocean. Alright?"
Bo's face twitched, but he remained silent. He was eager to get home, Halcen understood that. But there were other important things to get done first.
"Bo, Kazuki, if you two want to stay here, and try to catch a ride to Loguetown instead, then you can. Or you can just tag along for the ride." Then he looked across the crew and saw Grey standing in the back. "In fact, if anybody, wants to stay here, they are welcome to it."
"I think we're good," Kazuki said.
"Alright then… anybody else got any smartass comments?" Halcen asked.
"What's the job?" Jory asked.
"We're going to rob a ship carrying Kairoseki."
"Where is it?" Loyola asked.
"Edge of the Grand Line. They're coming out, bringing a load from there. I guess the Marines got some kind of deal with this shipping company. It'll be on it's way to Loguetown to sell their wares."
"So Max gave you another job, instead?" Jin asked. "He said he'd spare us?"
"Well… no. Max didn't want to make another deal. But some other guy came up with the deal."
"Another guy?"
"Yeah… he was hanging out at the bar. He's a little weird, but he needed somebody to do the job cause his ship's trashed."
"Ah… That makes sense," Jory said, nodding along.
"So you two are gonna stay here on Corteano," Halcen said to Jin and Fein. "And we'll be back for you shortly. Alright?"
Jin nodded. The fact alone that Halcen was already sticking his neck out for them was a good sign.
Fein, however, growled in annoyance. "He better not fucking touch us."
"Don't worry. I'll arrange for you to get special treatment."
Pad silently led Jin and Fein off the Black Tail. Halcen followed suit, walking up to the clown man. They all began moving back to the bar. Grey followed Halcen off the ship, wanting to talk.
"Halcen, wait a sec!" he called from a distance. "Don't you think this sounds a bit-" And then he caught sight of the blue-haired, red-nosed pirate. "Buggy?!"
And then the clown saw the tall man, walking towards him, and let out an exasperated cry. "G-G-G-G-G-G-GREY!?" His eyes went wide and his mouth gaped.
"What are you doing here?"
"ME?! I'm just... you know… looking for a… NO, WAIT A MINUTE! What are you doing here? I thought you were in Whitebeard's crew!"
"Oh, yeah," Grey looked at Halcen. "A lot of things have changed in the past couple months."
"So why are you here?"
"We're trying to get Halcen's new crewmates in the clear."
"Wait, you mean this brat is your Captain?"
"Watch it, clown," Halcen said.
Buggy put his hands up in defense and let out a little chuckle.
"So… you guys seem to know each other," Halcen said, changing topics.
"Yeah. We were on the Oro Jackson together," Grey said.
Halcen looked at Buggy. "You… were in Rogers' crew?"
The clown's throat seemed to swell up and his face turned red.
"God… you were just a kid back then. Look how old you've gotten."
"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK, GEEZER!" Buggy shouted in anger.
Grey began laughing. "You really haven't changed."
"So…" Halcen interjected, trying to talk lowly. "This guy? He's okay?"
Buggy's eyes burst with anxiety, staring at Grey.
"Yeah," Grey said, with optimism. "He's a good kid."
Halcen didn't have anything else he could take on Buggy's character. As angry as he was with Grey, he at least had experience with this man. "So we can trust him?"
"Oh, he's always been a bit of a character, but deep down, he wouldn't really hurt anyone."
Buggy began to snarl.
"Alright, sounds good. So I guess we have a deal, Buggy." Halcen said, reaching out his hand.
Buggy took it, and put on a big smile. "Absolutely." He looked at Grey, then back at Halcen. "Well, I should get back to my ship now. Let me know when you guys get back."
"Sounds good, Buggy," Grey laughed. "It was good seeing you again. Glad to know you're doing well."
"Yeah, yeah!" Buggy shouted as he walked off toward the other end of the docks, and he began to chuckle.
Grey and Halcen stood still on the docks.
"Halcen… are you sure you want to do this?"
"The deal with Buggy seems legit. You said yourself we can trust him."
"Not that. The deal with Max. What if he doesn't keep his word, just to spite you for not keeping yours? What if he kills Jin and Fein anyway?"
"He's not going to. For all his bluster, Max fears me. He knows what I'm capable of. And if he did decide to betray me, he wouldn't have his own subordinates killed as collateral damage just to do it. He's smarter than that. But I'm smarter than him."
"Alright. If you think everything checks out, I guess we better get going."