CH - 61

Avarik Halcen was battered and bruised from his death match with Commander Darmichal, the great beast of kinetic power. The great pirate Captain limped back to the docks where his ship, the Black Tail, awaited. He was followed closely by his former Marine sniper ally, Ureha Kazuki, who tightly clutched a bag filled with their winnings from the battle. They were both sore and beaten, but surprisingly with no serious injuries.

"Ho there, Captain!" called Jory, under the dark night sky.

The rest of the crew came to see their returning Captain and crewmate. Jory, Morkine, Fein, Jin, Grey, and even Bo. Shira was likely off snoozing somewhere. It was quite late, and the crew had begun to worry over the wellbeing of the comrades in arms. Midnight had passed hours ago, and the sun would surely be on its way soon.

"Holy shit, what happened to you guys?" Jory asked, when they actually walked into the light.

Halcen looked up at Jory with a wicked grin. He had taken a beating for sure, but his spirits had not been dimmed. Just the opposite; he felt invigorated in the fact that he had been able to take down the titan.

"You were gone much longer than planned," Grey stated.

"I know," Halcen said, climbing onto the ship. He continued toward the middle of the ship where everyone followed and gathered around. Kazuki followed behind with a large duffel bag in hand.

"So what happened?"

"We ran into trouble," Halcen harrumphed.

"What kind of trouble?"

"There was a Commander there; Darmichal. He was asleep inside the requisitions room… and damn, was he strong. We barely managed to put him down."

"A Commander? Did we not fight off Commodore Reluji with ease not too long ago? Why was this one such a tough battle?" Grey asked.

Kazuki took that question. "See, a rank doesn't always mean fighting skill. Sometimes it's intelligence or even just connections that get people promoted. That would be the case for Reluji. For Darmichal however, his power was so great that he was in the process of being promoted to Captain and put in charge of his own Marine base."

"So he was stronger than the other Marines that we had faced already?"

"Much," Halcen said.

"And the two of you killed him by yourselves?" Bo asked, agape.

"Indeed."

"Dear God."

Halcen looked annoyed. "God had nothing to do with it. It was through our own sweat and blood."

"God has to do with everything, Halcen," Grey said.

"Not me," he said matter-of-factly, ending the discussion.

"Alright. Alright," Bo said. "So the question remains: were you successful?" he asked, looking to Kazuki, then glancing down at the bag.

"It wasn't easy," he said, then lifted the bad up into the air to display, "but yes. Mission success." He set the bag down on the railing to show Bo. He unzipped it and took out his own rifle. It glimmered against the fire lights in the night.

Bo rummaged through the bag, finding his own rifle. "Dear Rebecca," he said, pulling his machine close. "Now, we can save my family."

"Satisfied?" Halcen asked.

"Yes, thank you," Bo said. He was still unsure of Halcen's intentions, but knew he needed to be grateful for this victory. With Rebecca in hand, he could accomplish his next goal.

"So now, are you capable of going forward with the rest of the plan?" Halcen asked, sternly, looking into Bo's eyes.

Even in the dimly lit area, Bo could make out the glimmer of havoc in Halcen's eyes. He gulped, but still said "Yes."

Then we begin preparations tomorrow afternoon. For now," he said, turning to the rest of the crew, "we celebrate. Tonight, Kazuki and I killed a Marine officer of such outstanding power, that we rightfully should have died. We avoided the clutches of death yet again! Let's fucking party!"

Daddy Masterson had knocked out in his home late after his aid to the Chaos Pirates. He had swallowed half a bottle of whiskey alone and passed out on his own couch. He knew there was little use trying to fight it anymore. There was too much going on to try to handle it. He had problems that even his expertise couldn't fix. He had to give in to the will of pirates… for the sake of his daughter.

He was awoken the next morning quite roughly. He felt someone rattle him to wake him up. He was still half asleep and half drunk so he couldn't quite figure out what was going on. "Fucking pirates. Leave me alone!"

"Get on your feet, Masterson," said a familiar voice. But this wasn't a pirate's voice. This was Lieutenant Smoker, one of the up and coming officers of the East Blue. But why was he in Masterson's home?

"Go to hell, Smoker! I don't have anything left for you to take," he said with a clear slur.

"The Captain wants a word with you."

"The Captain can kiss my ass."

The Lieutenant shook his head in pity. He looked to the two troops he had brought with him. "Alright, we're gonna have to do this the hard way." Smoker went to the kitchen and filled a vase with water, then came back and tossed it on the still groggy Masterson.

"Holy shit! What the hell is the matter with you?!" He shouted in rage, snapping out of his stupor.

"Feel better?"

"I feel wet. What the hell do you want from me?"

"Captain Vergo wants to talk to you."

"Why?"

"It's not for me to say. We need to get moving ASAP."

Masterson grunted. "Damn you. You know, sometimes I wonder how I got through all this demanding bullshit you guys used to pull without hurting someone."

"I hope you're joking," Smoker said, actually worried.

Masterson sat upright and grabbed a towel to wipe himself down with. When he had changed, he came back to the front. "Alright, let's go."

Masterson was led through the town and headed back through the base entrance with his armed guard, to the exact same place he had just been the previous night. Masterson began to worry as the night flashed in his mind. What could Vergo possibly want with him now that he couldn't have said then?

They finally got him to the office he had also been in briefly the previous night. This was starting to feel like déjà vu, with a bad twist coming. Masterson stiffened and began to panic when he saw Vergo sitting in his chair opposite the door. He had a piece of rice stuck in his little beard. Masterson was uneasy, but refused to let it show. He knew he needed to keep his composure.

"Mister Masterson," Vergo said with his smooth, rich voice.

"Vergo," Masterson replied, nodding. "What do you want?"

Vergo stood up from his desk and walked around to stand in front of Masterson with his arms behind his back. "Last night we had a break-in at the repository."

"Oh? How unfortunate."

"One of our Commanders was found dead."

"And this has what to do with me?"

"It happened around the same time you came here with your kill."

"You think I had something to do with it?"

"The timing fits."

"I had your guards' eyes on me the whole time I was here. Tell me: how would I have been able to take part in anything so brazen?"

"If you were working with someone… it wouldn't be the most impossible thing."

"Me? Working with someone to break into a Marine base, and kill an officer? Why in God's name would I do something like that?"

"Because you have connections to our suspects."

"What suspects?"

"Former Chief Petty Officer Ureha Kazuki and former Petty Officer Yusha Bosopp."

Masterson gulped. He looked into Vergo's dark eyes. He knows. "They wouldn't do such a thing. They're good men! They would never…"

"But they have. You know they betrayed Rear Admiral Reluji. They teamed up with pirates and came here. We managed to capture them, but they attacked myself and Lieutenant Smoker, had their pirate friends save them. Then they snuck into the repository to kill Commander Darmichal and steal back the rifles we took from them."

"All of that… I just don't believe they could do such a thing."

"And I'm supposed to believe that you didn't aid them either?"

"I have a place in my heart for those boys, sure, but I would never do something so heinous as to aid them in such treason."

"And why not?"

"Because you know my weak spot."

"Your daughter."

Masterson nodded and gulped.

"So do they."

"That's the difference between the two of you. They wouldn't do something like that to me. You would."

"So, you haven't had any contact with them since they arrived?"

"I didn't even know they were here. I'm sure they know I would turn them away if they asked for such help. I may no longer be a Marine, but I still hold my honor."

"Then you'll let me know if you do hear anything."

"Of course," he said, biting his tongue.

"Then you may leave. I apologize for the inconvenience." He looked to Smoker and the other guards that had brought him. "Take him home."

Masterson nodded his head to Vergo and turned to head out the door with his armed guard. This just got a hell of a lot worse.

Once he was free of the guard and set by himself outside the base and had said his goodbye to the young Lieutenant, Masterson took a dip through the back alleys that led away from the base toward the docks. He needed to warn the others. I don't want to help those bastards, but they have my daughter. If they're caught again… I'll never see her again. I have no doubt Halcen will kill her at the slightest scent of betrayal. That man is mad.

He took extra time to make sure he wasn't being followed. He knew that people were likely to recognize him in this city, and if he had caught someone's attention, that would be game over. He needed to protect Carol. If he couldn't keep his part secret, war would be waged, and he'd be dragged into the middle. He couldn't let that happen.

He finally arrived at the docks and took a quick spin about. He didn't see anything. He continued forward with his head down and hat over his face to the Black Tail. It was only around noon, so the sun would likely give him away if not for his own discretion.

When he arrived, he was welcomed with rage. "What the hell are you doing here?" Halcen asked.

"It's urgent. I need to speak with you."

"Were you followed?"

"No," he said, shaking his head.

Halcen took a look about as well and motioned for Masterson to climb aboard.

Masterson climbed aboard the Black Tail and followed Halcen below deck and in the crew's quarters, where everyone was getting ready to move out for the night's mission.

"What's he doing here?" Grey asked.

"They know it was you guys who broke into the repository last night."

"And?" Halcen asked, as if that detail made no difference.

"You guys killed an officer last night?!"

"Darmichal? Yeah."

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you need to kill anybody?"

"Listen, he started the fight. It was self defense and we couldn't leave any witnesses. Is that all you came here for? To bitch at me?"

"They're onto us."

"What?"

"Captain Vergo just brought me in for questioning. He believes with everything going on, I must be involved."

"Damn, he's smart," Halcen said.

"Well he couldn't be a very good Captain if he wasn't, now would he?"

"There's no such thing as a 'good' Marine," Halcen spat.

"The only good Marine is a dead Marine," Fein laughed.

"Shut up, Fein," Bo roared.

Fein growled. "Oh, you wanna go, tough guy?"

"Both of you shut up!" Halcen ordered.

They ceased their bickering and looked back to Halcen.

"Now… we need to figure this out. If they think you're involved, how did you escape?"

"Vergo let me go."

"Just like that?"

"No, I had to convince him I would never help these men," he said, looking at Bo and Kazuki.

"So you dismissed his suspicions?"

"As best as I could."

"So we should be safe for now. Why did you think this was worth risking coming all the way out here during the day?"

"I came to warn you! Vergo is onto you! I figured that would be helpful!"