of issues in the Vargus family,” Isabel said. “Catarina gave me this.” She indicated her artificial eye.
“I’m hoping to hire your sister, too,” Drake said. “So if that’s a problem . . . ”
“Yeah, back to that. No worries about little sis, we’ll work together if we have to. But I got another thing going now.” A gesture toward her companion. “Like I was saying earlier. Why don’t you join us?”
“Unfortunately, I am otherwise engaged,” Drake said. “I will have to decline your offer.”
“In that case, give me a month, and I’ll be free for your job, whatever that is. Assuming the pay is good.”
“It is,” Drake said.
“But we don’t have a month,” Tolvern added.
“Three weeks, maybe, if we push it.” Isabel sounded intrigued, and Tolvern could tell she was having a hard time not grabbing for both opportunities: Drake’s and the one offered by her Ladino companion.
“No,” Drake said. “I need to leave now. It’s a rescue mission, and every day counts. I’d rather not arrive to find them executed because I took my time.”
“A rescue mission?” Isabel asked. “How does that pay?”
“Well enough, I promise you,” Drake said. “We’ll pay you up front.”
“There might be loot, too,” Tolvern added.
“There might be,” Drake said. “I can’t guarantee the loot. But if there is, there could be a good deal of it.”
There absolutely would be, Tolvern thought, if they could get their hands on it. Drake’s parents were imprisoned in York Tower on the edge of King Bartholomew’s palace compound. The Royal Mint kept gold and silver bullion in the vaults attached to the tower. It was the kind of loot that would make a thousand pirate captains drool. Not easy to get to, of course. Not at all.
“All right then,” Isabel said. “You lay out your job, and I’ll lay out mine, and we’ll figure out which is the most lucrative.”
“I thought we had a deal?” the Ladino said, scowling. “You’re going to weasel out now?”
“I’m not weaseling anything,” Isabel said. “ We were still discussing matters. Besides, do you really need that gear back so bad?”
“It’s not just my gear, it’s all the other abandoned stuff.”
“Pete lost his shirt during that leviathan attack a couple of weeks ago,” Isabel said. “You hear about that? Out in Hades Gulch. We’re fixing to go back to the Gulch and get what’s left of his gear, and anything else we can find, too.”
“Sounds dangerous,” Drake said. “Even more dangerous than what I’m offering, in fact. You can’t fight a leviathan.”
“Don’t intend to. We’ll scan before we go in, make sure it’s not around. Only thing is, we’ve got to be the first ones back.” Isabel lifted out of her chair. “Where is Dunkley? He went to the crapper twenty minutes ago. That’s the third guy on our team. You can make it four, if you want, or you can throw down some gold and we’ll get your thing done instead. Pete, where is he?” she asked her companion.
“Want me to go look for him?” the Ladino asked.
“Nah.”
Tolvern had been putting a few things together, and now said, “Pete Paredes? You have that schooner they were scraping barnacles off at the yards?”
“Yeah,” the Ladino said warily. “That’s mine.”
“I thought you and Vargus were enemies,” Tolvern said. “That’s what her men told us.”
He shrugged and played with his empty shot glass, before waving for the bartender to bring another round.
“Well?” Tolvern asked. “Are you? Enemies, I mean?”
“What does that mean out here?” Isabel said. “My sister gave me this bad eye, and I just told your captain I’d work with her again. Bit of bad blood between me and Pete, but we’ll work through it. No, I have no permanent enemies. I’m not like my old man, bloody fool, who got himself killed trying to get his revenge. He was an idiot.”
“Are you sure you don’t have any permanent enemies?”
“I’m hoping to hire your sister, too,” Drake said. “So if that’s a problem . . . ”
“Yeah, back to that. No worries about little sis, we’ll work together if we have to. But I got another thing going now.” A gesture toward her companion. “Like I was saying earlier. Why don’t you join us?”
“Unfortunately, I am otherwise engaged,” Drake said. “I will have to decline your offer.”
“In that case, give me a month, and I’ll be free for your job, whatever that is. Assuming the pay is good.”
“It is,” Drake said.
“But we don’t have a month,” Tolvern added.
“Three weeks, maybe, if we push it.” Isabel sounded intrigued, and Tolvern could tell she was having a hard time not grabbing for both opportunities: Drake’s and the one offered by her Ladino companion.
“No,” Drake said. “I need to leave now. It’s a rescue mission, and every day counts. I’d rather not arrive to find them executed because I took my time.”
“A rescue mission?” Isabel asked. “How does that pay?”
“Well enough, I promise you,” Drake said. “We’ll pay you up front.”
“There might be loot, too,” Tolvern added.
“There might be,” Drake said. “I can’t guarantee the loot. But if there is, there could be a good deal of it.”
There absolutely would be, Tolvern thought, if they could get their hands on it. Drake’s parents were imprisoned in York Tower on the edge of King Bartholomew’s palace compound. The Royal Mint kept gold and silver bullion in the vaults attached to the tower. It was the kind of loot that would make a thousand pirate captains drool. Not easy to get to, of course. Not at all.
“All right then,” Isabel said. “You lay out your job, and I’ll lay out mine, and we’ll figure out which is the most lucrative.”
“I thought we had a deal?” the Ladino said, scowling. “You’re going to weasel out now?”
“I’m not weaseling anything,” Isabel said. “ We were still discussing matters. Besides, do you really need that gear back so bad?”
“It’s not just my gear, it’s all the other abandoned stuff.”
“Pete lost his shirt during that leviathan attack a couple of weeks ago,” Isabel said. “You hear about that? Out in Hades Gulch. We’re fixing to go back to the Gulch and get what’s left of his gear, and anything else we can find, too.”
“Sounds dangerous,” Drake said. “Even more dangerous than what I’m offering, in fact. You can’t fight a leviathan.”
“Don’t intend to. We’ll scan before we go in, make sure it’s not around. Only thing is, we’ve got to be the first ones back.” Isabel lifted out of her chair. “Where is Dunkley? He went to the crapper twenty minutes ago. That’s the third guy on our team. You can make it four, if you want, or you can throw down some gold and we’ll get your thing done instead. Pete, where is he?” she asked her companion.
“Want me to go look for him?” the Ladino asked.
“Nah.”
Tolvern had been putting a few things together, and now said, “Pete Paredes? You have that schooner they were scraping barnacles off at the yards?”
“Yeah,” the Ladino said warily. “That’s mine.”
“I thought you and Vargus were enemies,” Tolvern said. “That’s what her men told us.”
He shrugged and played with his empty shot glass, before waving for the bartender to bring another round.
“Well?” Tolvern asked. “Are you? Enemies, I mean?”
“What does that mean out here?” Isabel said. “My sister gave me this bad eye, and I just told your captain I’d work with her again. Bit of bad blood between me and Pete, but we’ll work through it. No, I have no permanent enemies. I’m not like my old man, bloody fool, who got himself killed trying to get his revenge. He was an idiot.”
“Are you sure you don’t have any permanent enemies?”
Similar Books
