Scene #5209: The Shipwrecks

Owner	Pose
Captain Flint	The atmosphere in the brothel is somber once Flint's contact arrives. She is a slender woman with long blonde hair, who goes by the name of Eleanor Guthrie--and she is, essentially, the de facto governor of the island. At least, that's the way all of the regulars treat her. They edge away respectfully as she ascends the stairs and enters the room, joining Max and the Elites keeping guard on her. The conversation that ensues is melancholy. One-sided. The two evidently have a relationship, but the missing page has driven a wedge between it. Without the page, the buyer, pirate captain Charles Vane, will kill Max. Eleanor is confident she can protect Max. Max disagrees. Further, Flint has evidently convinced Eleanor that the page could help make something of Nassau. The money, she argues, could be used to build a future, in Nassau, for herself and Max. Max, meanwhile, wants to sell it to Vane and use the money to start a new life elsewhere with Eleanor, away from the evils and excess of Nassau. Several nerves are struck during the argument, but before it becomes too contentious, a knock on the door interrupts the discussion. "Miss Guthrie?" Gates' voice calls from outside. "You brought them here?" There's no answer from Eleanor, who simply stands before her as words fail to form. Desperately, Max falls to her knees and takes Eleanor's hand. "Come with me. Please--I love you. There's still time. We can start a life together this very minute. All you have to do is say yes." Fighting back tears, fighting to keep herself composed before these strangers, Eleanor offers her reply. "Come in," she calls to Gates. Gates, Billy and Flint enter, having waited outside, each man wearing a different expression. Billy's expression is one of pity for Max. Gates' is a variation of that, hardened by his years of experience. Flint's is simply a hard glare leveled at Max--not so much the woman herself as what she represents: an obstacle. Eleanor is keenly aware of that glare and the unspoken message it sends. "Max," she states curtly. Max lets go of Eleanor's hands and peers at the floor, crestfallen. "I need you to tell me where the page is." "And if I don't?" Max stands, looking Eleanor in the eye, then glancing around the room at the Elites. At the pirates. At Flint. "This doesn't have to go badly," says Gates, trying to keep the peace as always. "I want her to say it," spits Max angrily. "I want her to say that she would sit there and watch while you beat the answer out of me to save this place." Max receives no response from a tearful Eleanor. "Say it." She pauses, but still no answer. "Say it!" Eleanor looks away, closing her eyes in shame. "The wrecks at sundown," Max utters with contempt. Having gotten what he wanted, Flint's glare softens. Wordlessly, he turns and leaves the room, with Billy and Gates close behind him. The three pirates wait outside for their Concord allies. "Max, please--" Eleanor begins. "Get the fuck out." "I can protect you--" "Get the fuck OUT!" Eleanor, wounded, turns and quickly leaves, hand covering her face as she tries to disguise her emotions. Likely, she's on her way back to the tavern.
Captain Flint	It's clear that Max is no longer in any mood to talk. Indeed, once everyone does 'get the fuck out,' she doesn't bother to hide her sobbing. If the page is as valuable as Flint and Eleanor think it is, this is no doubt just the first of many wounds it's going to cause. The journey to the shipwrecks takes about an hour, just in time for everyone to get there by sundown. The wrecks, then... This part of the island is rocky and treacherous, especially in the dark of night. The only illumination around is that of the various campfires dotting the craggy landscape. Nassau itself is a town of survivors and outcasts, but this part of the island is for those who are outcasts even among outcasts. Huddled together around the campfires, the party no doubt passes such outcasts by, the poor wretches often wearing ragged, frayed cloaks to keep warm even before the fires. The footing is uneven, difficult in spots, but Flint manages to find a dark, elevated vantage point for the party--just as Charles Vane and his lackey Jack Rackham come into view below, waiting for the deal to happen. For John Silver.
The Kid	Kid is profoundly uncomfortable with the developments in the brothel room. Seeing how swiftly and painfully one's bonds with others can fall apart is a cruel sting, no matter who you are. He stays quiet throughout the exchange, listening and leaving with the rest. He does offer Max a consoling pat on the shoulder on his way out though. Caelondia was a shoreline nation, so he has no trouble navigating the shore covered in wrecks. He stays well clear of the wretches that try to survive her. People like this are capable of anything, he hears. "How clean do you want this?" he calls to Flint. "Ya willin' to pay to get the map back, or?..."
Captain Flint	Flint kneels down, to get a better look at Vane and Rackham below. "Silver's here, somewhere," he rumbles lowly. "With the page." He strokes his goatee as the two pirates below them converse. Taking his attention off of them, he turns to look at Kid. "The page is my main concern," he offers after some thought. "But I'd prefer not to have to explain Mr. Silver's absence to my crew. I'll pay for the page, of course. And a bonus for Mr. Silver's safe retrieval." Seems he wants it fairly clean. That said, it also seems like it's not entirely his decision. Down below, the old man from before (the one who lied to everyone to try and get another commission from Max) hobbles into view before Vane and Rackham. Flint waves an arm urgently--Gates and Billy take to searching while he listens. "He says... you give me the pearls," utters the old man. And that seals it--Silver's GOT to be nearby.
The Kid	Kid nods along with Flint. Nice and easy. No fuss, no muss. But things are rarely ever easy, so he remains alert, just in case. One hand remains close to his holstered Repeaters. Should things go sour, it'll be time to put all that quick-draw practice. Once Charles and Jack shows up, he drops to his belly. That blindingly white shock of hair on his head makes him easily visible, and he would hate to be the one to spoil all this. "What's happening?" he hisses to Flint. He can't see all too well like this.
Captain Flint	"Silver's sent someone to collect the pay," Flint whispers hoarsely to Kid. When Rackham reaches for the pearls to pay for the page, he finds Vane's calloused hand around his wrist. "Vane's not letting Rackham pay..." Flint furrows his brow in thought. "No," Vane commands, his gravelly voice stopping Rackham just as much as his physical force. "I want him out here." So far, the captain of the Ranger has been calm. That changes when he bellows a challenge into the night. "I know you can hear me! You want your money, you show your fucking face! That's the only way this gets done." The wind changes direction, then, making it easier for Flint and company to hear the conversation. At least, once Rackham bothers to speak up after Vane's outburst. "Captain, I'm afraid our friend out there has all the leverage in this particular situation. Now we can rail, and shout, and stamp our feet, but unless we give this fellow--" A wet noise interrupts Rackham's rationalizing, followed by a short but pained cry from the old man. "Vane just killed the old man," whispers Flint. It's clear that Vane is trying to draw Silver out. And from this vantage point, with the silence following Vane's second outburst, it's easy to hear the soft 'sploosh' of a rock falling from the cliff into the sea below.
The Kid	Kid's face sours as Flint explains what's happening. Poor man probably just needed a quick pay day. In all likelyhood, he's one of the wretches who lives out here, and now he's bleeding out on the rocks, dying without anyone knowing his name... No. The Kid isn't stupid. He's well aware of the kind of company the Concord draws. But he doesn't want to be like this, letting an old man die with no repercussion to preserve some pathetic operational advantage. He rises, those Repeaters coming out of the holsters. And before anyone can speak, he's sending a rain of hot lead down on Vane.
Haguro	The Kid isn't the only one uncomfortable with the whole situation. Haguro's instincts tell her to try and console Eleanor, to try and calm Max down, to help the outcasts, but her sense of duty has her instead opting to follow the rest of the group to find the wrecks. It's what they signed up for, and all the pain would be for nothing if she let every little thing become a detour. That doesn't mean she won't jot down some rough coordinates and estimates of where people are on the way, though. As the exchange with Rackham and the old man ends with Vane shooting the old man, Haguro finds herself rising with the Kid. Yes, the mission is important, but... Well, maybe it's her partner's sense of justice spurring her on, maybe it's the fact that he's already gotten up to start shooting, or maybe... Maybe she can turn this into some kind of advantage, too. Instead of firing at Vane with the Kid, Haguro instead aims her turrets to each side of Vane and Rackham. Switching to smaller shells, she starts firing around them to try and cut off their means of escape on each side. "P.. Put your hands in the air and drop your weapons!"
Captain Flint	As it turns out, the Kid isn't the only one who has that idea! Perhaps a second after he opens fire, Billy Bones of all people does, sighting John Silver fleeing the scene of the battle. His shot goes wide, chipping away a bit of the cliff and startling Silver. When Billy gives chase, the two disappear around a corner. One of the Kid's bullets pierces Vane's arm, clearly drawing blood--but all it seems to do is piss the man off. He leaps behind a rockface for cover, as the Kid's Repeaters pulverize the rock face, bullets shearing away at Vane's makeshift cover. Rackham, for his part, attempts to chase Billy and Silver. Of the two, he's probably the worse fighter, but he's still a pirate--and pirates are nothing if not pragmatic. When Haguro gives her command, he stops in his tracks, hands slowly raising. It looks like Haguro's command worked--but, on their way up, Rackham draws his pistol and fires it at Haguro. He doesn't bother to see if he actually hit--that wasn't the point. Startling, not injuring the heavy cruiser was the point. Hoping that buys time, Rackham scrambles, trying to find a place to reload his pistol. Flint, meanwhile, gives chase as well--the fight with Singleton took a lot out of him, and he hasn't rested since. A fight with Vane at his full strength would be disastrous. Plus... it's better to let Vane think these two are the ones interfering, rather than himself personally. "Cover me," he whispers tersely to Haguro and the Kid, wrapping his face in dark cloth to hide it.
The Kid	The Kid scowls as Rackham gets behind cover. Dropping low again to rob them of their line-of-sight, he empties his Repeaters and starts sliding in new rounds. Glancing to Flint, he nods and crawls to the edge of the cliff. He feels around his belt, producing a single grenade. "Bombardment," he hisses at Haguro. "Give them no safe place to hide." With that, he yanks the pin and tosses the grenade to land behind Rackham's rock, aiming to force him to run out.
Haguro	Things are getting tricky quickly! Haguro's not even sure where to split her attention, but with Rackham taking a direct shot near her? It's enough to get the Cruiser's attention and even having her flinch away despite that earlier declaration. Sure, she might be armored, but gunshots are still loud and kind of scary! Once the initial shock wears off, though, she spies her target scurrying. "Agreed. Don't think you can hide!" Those turrets on Haguro's shoulders and even the one on her wrist start to adjust as she takes aim not at Rackham or VAne or anyone specific, but... Rocks? Wrecks? Anything that looks like it might even be waist-high cover gets blasted with shells. Her explosives are meant for blowing holes into ships and emplacements, after all, so rocks and washed up shipwrecks should be a breeze!
Captain Flint	Thankfully for Rackham, 1715 isn't without its explosives. When the grenade rolls behind cover, it takes him but a moment to put two and two together. Frantic scrambling can be heard from down below as the pirate hurriedly dashes out. If one could read his mind at this point, it would likely be repeated exclamations of 'oh shit.' That being said, he prides himself on being unflappable and full of guile, which is why he very bravely remains quiet as he runs for his life. Of course, he underestimates the strength of the Kid's explosive. When it goes, the shrapnel nicks his leg, causing him to lose his footing on a precarious cliff. One of Haguro's shots shakes him off-balance, sending him plummeting below. The splash that follows carries a tense silence--but the frustrated shout which comes after assures that Rackham is alive. Alive, and totally out of this fight, unless he can somehow scale the fifteen foot cliff face soaken wet in the dark--and that's just to get back to Vane. To actually get to Haguro and the Kid would mean another five. As pissed as Vane is no doubt going to be when he discovers the pearls went into the drink with him, and are now likely lost at the bottom of the sea in pitch blackness and silt? He's not particularly motivated to do so. That just leaves Vane. Most people would give up, upon being faced with a firing squad and an artillery barrage at the same time. But when the last vestige of cover is blown up, the captain simply grits his teeth as the smoke settles. As one of Haguro's shells virtually disintegrates the hull of an old schooner overturned on the shore far below them, Vane sprints full-speed ahead for Haguro and the Kid, tossing a grenade of his own at the last spot he spotted a muzzle flash from. It rolls nearby--but rather than explode, it hisses, spewing white smoke everywhere. As the smoke billows from the smoke grenade, Vane begins climbing the five-foot difference between them with startling speed. "Don't think /you/ can!" he roars as he reaches the summit, saber drawn. Flint, Gates and Billy, meanwhile, are led on a not-so-merry chase by Silver, who makes a long and winding path through the wrecks, trying to use his wit to evade them. Finally, he finds what he's looking for: a campfire. "Borrowing this, thanks," he offers to a vagrant with a cloak, snatching the cloak from him and offering him five gold pieces for his silence. Reaching into his jacket, he retrieves the page and begins reading it.
The Kid	Kid grunts with satisfaction as Rackham takes a long tumble. The sound of him breaking the surface again far below draws a sigh of relief. It's Vane he wants dead. Speaking of the man, he's attempting to smoke bomb them. Kid is not having that. "Help the others," he says to Haguro before kicking the canister away. As the pirate begins climbing the cliff, Kid steps away... before running forward to jump off it, aiming to grab the pirate on his way down to slam him to the floor!
Haguro	One down. Haguro's concern for Rackham despite being an adversary is evident on her face, but she won't let it distract her too much. It's not like he's innocent in all of this, and the inherent risks of what they're all doing are... Well, obvious. That just leaves one more! One more person that apparently isn't afraid of armed Elites. The cruiser jerks back and twists sideways as the grenade rolls closer, apparently hoping to block some of the impact with her armored parts, but looks over once smoke begins billowing out. Actually seeing through it is an issue, but she can certainly hear him yelling at herself and the Kid. "... Erm. Can what?" She sounds legitimately confused. Somewhat intimidated by Vane's recklessness, too, but mostly confused. Without being able to see him nor wanting to risk shooting him in the face with an explosive, the ship girl settles into a more defensive stance, but pauses when the Kid directs her to assist Flint, Gates, and Billy. She lingers for only a moment before breaking into a run in the opposite direction, taking the direction and going for it! Sure, sh emight not be the fastest on her feet, but she still has... ... Actually, she's just sprinting now. She can't risk shooting at Silver with the vagrants somewhere in the area, but she can at least try to go around the wrecks and cut him off if the timing's right!
Captain Flint	The smoke grenade rolls harmlessly from the cliff, still hissing on its way down. Just as Vane gets to steady footing, he spots the Kid charging towards him. The long-haired wildman of a pirate spits, crouching down just as his enemy makes contact with him. The two topple over, falling perhaps five feet. Now--Vane was ready for the Kid, and manages to get a swing in that'll hit like a truck if it connects. He's one of the toughest, if not the toughest pirate in Nassau. But even he can't control his body's defense mechanisms. Landing beneath the kid, Vane's head strikes a rock, the blunt end rapping him in the temple. He's breathing--but that shock to the noggin knocked him unconscious. Good thing, too, because when the Kid takes a moment to recollect himself, he'll notice a knife gently sliding from Vane's uncurling fingers. Haguro searches for Flint, Billy, Gates, and Silver. Honestly? It's a good thing that she does. After a few minutes of sprinting, she discovers them--all four. Flint has Silver pressed against a wall, an improvised knife pressed to the cook's throat. Billy and Gates look on, both men out of breath from chasing the cook, unsure of what'll happen next. Flint unties the makeshift mask he'd made for himself, revealing an almost animal snarl. "Where's the page." It isn't a question, it's a statement. "You can't have it," Silver says--which admittedly, isn't a great thing to tell a guy holding a knife to your throat. Flint presses the knife closer to his throat. "N-not at the moment!" Silver is /quick/ to clarify. He gives Haguro a sidelong glance, silently pleading with her to help Flint see reason. "Please. We should go." "Where have you hidden it?" "You're looking at it," Silver manages between breaths. "What the FUCK are you talking about?!" "Well, I couldn't be certain I'd escape both the madman and you... so I took drastic measures, for the sake of my survival. Your schedule..." He smiles, slowly, carefully CAREFULLY pointing to his temple. "Is up here." Flint takes a moment to think that over... then removes the knife from Silver's throat. "Miss Haguro," he says. "I believe you and your associates are owed my payment--and the bonus for Silver. I may not have the page, but a deal is a deal."
Haguro	Sprinting is awful. Even though Haguro's pretty fit physically, it's still rough catching up to the four men with that massive headstart they had and all the crappy terrain between them! She's panting heavily by the time she even reaches them, holding a hand up in a gesture to stop while Flint has Silver at knifepoint. Thankfully, Silver's already talked his way out of a nasty stabbing incident by the time the ship girl catches her breath. She blinks slowly at Flint as if taking a moment to register what he's saying, then straightens up with a more surprised look. "Eh? o-oh, right. Yes, of course. That's..." She takes another moment to catch her breath. Skating on water is a very different beast compared to running on land. "... That's good! Ah. Mister Silver. You really should comply if you don't want Captain Flint here calling us again." Haguro shoots him a look, trying to look more serious even as she's struggling not to catch her breath again. "We... We may not be around or inclined to stop him the second time around." Haguro sort of feels bad about that, but it's not like it's a lie. She's too tired for lying right now.
The Kid	The next few seconds are a frantic tumble. The Kid is good in a fight, but his hand-to-hand is tragically underdeveloped, so he takes that swing hard on the cheek, sending his head spinning. But luckily, Vane takes a harder blow to the same location. Kid slowly gets back to his feet and regards the scene. Looking to the knife, he gives it a kick to send it down into the sea before considering the man himself. Taking a moment to collect himself, he starts tying Vane's hands and legs together before getting him in a fireman carry to turn him in. He doubts the town's authority will care much about the dead man... but Vane probably has some cash on him. Cash that can be 'donated' to make sure they hold him for a spell. It's far from perfect. But nothing is these days.
Captain Flint	John Silver looks from Haguro to Flint. It's true--he had no idea Flint was willing to hire mercenaries (Multiversal ones at that!) to track down the page. "Clearly," he says. "I underestimated how much he wanted it." Flint elects not to respond, focusing instead on a datapad he's pulled from his longcoat. "There," comes his definitive remark. It's quite the anachronism to see a captain from the Golden Age of Piracy tapping away at a tablet--but Flint seems to have acclimated to it quite well. He shows the receipt screen (which itself includes several funds transfers to each Concord operative to participate) to Haguro. With that done, he places the tablet back into his coat. "You were right about one thing," notes Flint with a glance to Silver. "Oh?" "We should go." With a cordial nod to Haguro that belies his previous near-savagery, the captain leaves, he and his men flanking the clever cook on all sides to prevent escape. The Kid, meanwhile, takes the captured Vane into town. Boy, does he get some /looks./ The common folk edge away from him nervously, pirates whisper to each other conspiratorially. Urchins run back and forth whispering news of Vane's defeat at the hands of a stranger to anyone who will listen. So it is that one such urchin arrives in the tavern, and so it is that the hired muscle hears about it, and so it is, at last, that Eleanor Guthrie learns of this. She intercepts the Kid in his search for an authority figure. Her body language is much different, now. Hard, stern. She's the closest thing Nassau has to an authority figure, no matter what the crown may think. And when she sees the Kid hauling Vane in like a barrel full of freshly caught cod, she sighs. "Jesus Christ," she utters, before ushering the Kid into the tavern, into her upstairs office. "That man wasn't made to be put in a cell," explains Eleanor. "I doubt there's one that could hold him for long. It might've been better just to leave him on the wrecks. Fuck..." He runs a hand through her hair, thinking up a plan. "I appreciate you bringing him into town--just... leave him with me, and I'll find some way to deal with this." From the sounds of it, the Kid's actions are going to make some ripples in Nassau. But hey, that's what Elites do.