#b.gallagher|11

[devils-pirate-crew]

Dawson merely stands there for a good, long minute, trying to comprehend what his quartermaster had just said to him. Said quartermaster joins the group at the middle.

Nico and Nick shake hands, formal, before they get down to business.

"So," Nico leads in.

"So," Nick echoes before the two share a laugh. They'd been swapping stories over beer in a corner of The Electric Eel not ten minutes before while watching their crewmates' drunken antics, and now this.

"From what I understood, we have one dead and one wounded?" Hischier beckons for Siegs to give him a small notebook and a pencil; when the quartermaster procures these from one of his pockets, the captain takes them and begins to scribble down notes for himself. "My crew is saying one of yours is dead and one of ours is wounded."

"One of ours is wounded as well," Suzuki adds, Nico writing that information down. "It's facial."

"Same with ours," the other captain replies. He spins the pencil between his fingers, his demeanor considerably icier. "I was informed by my crew that your crew was trying to abduct one of mine."

Nick shakes his head almost immediately. "Not at all, I promise. On my good honor, and that of Santé, we would never."

Nico's eyebrows rise. "We were told that your men took Mercer - our pilot's mate - and were taking him back to their ship. When our men found them, one of yours, the one with the cutlass, I didn't get a name - "

"Xhekaj," Gallagher chips in from where he stands next to Suzuki.

"How do you even spell that?" Siegenthaler mumbles.

"No idea," Gally shrugs. "We just call him X."

"X threatened our men, Woody and Smitty, to stay out of it or they would kill Mercer," Nico continues. "When Woody attacked, it was with the sole purpose of retrieving Mercer - X was surprised and lost control of his cutlass, cutting Mercer's face. The two then began to fight. When Smitty shot at X and the second crewmate - name, please?"

"Slafkovsky, Slaf for short," Gally supplies.

"X and Slaf, it was for the sole purpose of repulsing them. This shot was the one that unfortunately killed your crewmate..."

"Nattinen," Suzuki cuts in. "And, unfortunately, the code of pirate's honor seems not to apply to your men. What a shame, I'd have thought this sort of behavior would come from Holy Roller or Sea Serpent, but not the storied Devil," he adds, tone acidic.

"You call my men liars?" Hischier shoots back.

"I do," Nick crosses his arms. "Slaf and X informed us that they had no intentions of kidnapping Dawson."

"Then what were they doing?" Nico challenges.

"They informed us that they found Dawson injured and administered first aid appropriately. They were in the process of delivering him back to Jersey Devil when they encountered Wood and Smith. Wood was highly intoxicated and falsely believed that our men were kidnapping Dawson. He was agitated at this, took Smith's pistol, and shot at Slaf. The bullet grazed and wounded X on the cheek, then traveled on and struck Nattinen in the head, killing him, a completely innocent bystander with nothing to do with this, instantly. This was when X began to attack Wood. When Dawson moved to stop the fighting, he, perhaps foolishly, stepped in between two pirates with swords and thusly got hurt." Nick takes a deep breath as he finishes his retelling of the events at hand. "Our crew is not at all at fault for this," he gestures at the area, "Mess. And we demand restitution for our fallen comrade."

Siegs considers this telling of the events, then hums to himself. "If I may?" he interjects. Nico gives his quartermaster a nod, still writing in his notepad. "You said your crew found Dawson injured. What were his injuries from?"

"They said they encountered him having fallen down a hill, with minor scratches and bruising," Suzuki replies. "As such, they took him to Santé to make sure he was alright - pirate's honor, which lacks in your men. Slaf reported that he applied a salve of fenugreek to the injuries, then bandaged them."

Jonas's eyes glimmer in the moonlight, a cat having found the opportunity to pounce. "At the tavern, about an hour ago, you mentioned you found Slaf and X on Santé and informed them that Dawson was missing. They told you they had not seen him then, but they would inform you when they did. The incident in question occurred perhaps twenty minutes ago. Do you expect us to believe that, in the span of forty minutes, Slaf and X left your ship, happened upon Dawson, took him back to Santé, administered the proper first aid, and then were returning him to Jersey Devil?" The quartermaster chuckles dryly. "In fact, Suzu, I don't believe they even "found" Dawson injured as you claim they did, at the bottom of a hill. There aren't any hills in the Cove, after all. Your entire story is bullshit, from top to bottom."

"Explain the bandages, then," Gally challenges, cocking an eyebrow at Jonas. "How did Dawson get them, if not for the care he received from our crew?"

Siegs merely smirks back. "He was treated for whatever injuries he did receive before your crew even found him. Our surgeon took care of him. He was released back into the Cove, where your men - Slaf, X, and Nattinen - found him and attempted to abduct him, only for their plans to be thwarted by Woody and Smitty. Speaking of, that's another hole in your story - you claim Woody shot the bullet that killed Nattinen. It was Smitty, who was the person carrying the pistol. Woody used his dagger to attack; he would have had no need to take Smitty's gun. I find it sickening, frankly, that you would make such egregious claims against us and our crew." Jonas's lips split into a grin now. "Either your men or you - or both - are breaking that code of pirate's honor that you so desperately cling to, Suzuki. Or perhaps you were the one that orchestrated this entire fiasco?"

Nick shakes his head. "I had nothing to do with this, I promise to you. I would never."

"But there was a this after all?" Siegs hums. "Interesting."

Nico now swoops in to take over, tucking his notebook and pencil away. "Clearly, Suzuki, your side is lying about the circumstances of this incident. This leads me to believe that what my crew has reported to me is indeed true." He smiles, the soft smile of a man who knows he holds all the cards right now. "I could be trying to extract payments from you for this mess, but I feel we're very good friends, don't you agree? And as friends, we don't work against each other. So here's what I propose: We forget about everything that happened tonight. You and I, and Jonas and Gallagher, will go back to the tavern and drink and tell stories and laugh at our crew being stupid. Woody, Smitty, and Dawson will go back to Jersey Devil, X and Slaf to Santé. I'll ask Marino to help with X's wound as well - he's one of the best at his trade - as a gesture of my sincere goodwill. All I ask in return is that you punish your crew appropriately and inform them that the next time they try such a harebrained scheme against my ship, they will be dealt with by Jonas personally - and I'm sure he would be delighted to help you in this regard. Furthermore, we insist that your crewmembers are not to be seen around Mercer. Do we make ourselves clear?"

Nick nods, defeated. "You do, Hischier. And I apologize sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, for any issues this has caused."

Nico chuckles, swinging an arm around Nick's shoulder. "Save it, Suzu. The night's young yet. Let's enjoy it, hm? Jonas, Gally, can you escort the crew home and then meet us at the tavern?"

Dawson zips back to Wood and Smith, not eager to have Siegs know he was eavesdropping on their conversation.

Both quartermasters nod to Nico's command as the two captains start up the road again, chatting warmly. Gallagher heads out towards Juraj and Arber, while Jonas turns and walks to his crewmates.

And through it all, that unwelcome emotion eats away at Dawson's chest, making a home there. He feels like absolute shit - and not for the first time, he's wishing that bullet struck him between the eyes instead.