Tim was surrounded by pirates inside the pub, who soon resumed their laughter and resumed their celebration with wine and cocktails.
Tim was uneasy since he was seated between a young woman and an obese pirate and worried that anything might go wrong. To his amazement, however, the pirate to the side grinned and set the glass back on the counter.
"I know you." The man asserted. Tim had never heard a pirate with a voice more sanctimonious and seasoned than his own.
Tim wasn't sure what to make of it and made the decision to remain calm and avoid making a scene, but the idea that one of the pirates on the sea had probably already known him was unsettling.
Tim remained silent as he observed the drink in front of him. He was waiting to see how things turned out. "One of the most recent generations of pirates, also known as the "White-Haired Pirate," who has been collecting his bounty for less than six months. Who would have imagined that a pirate with such a short history at sea would already have a bounty of more than $200,000 on his head? Tell me, why is that? What do you hope to accomplish? You seem to be really determined, and I adore those that are so determined and magnificently expand their names."
The others grew quiet after hearing the pirates' voice. "My aim?" Tim took a moment to pause and take the beverage while examining the liquid. "I'm looking for the treasure," he said. Everyone looked at that, and the man on his side also raised his glass, slurping down booze.
"The treasure? That's a feasible objective." The pirate laughed and after drinking the first glass of alcohol, he requested another. "But do you genuinely believe that the treasure exists? You could not have explored that much ground in as little time as a young pirate, not to mention the data nobody can locate."
Tim answered earnestly, even if that wasn't his primary objective. "Am I aware of its existence? Why should an answer to that question even be necessary? Would it really be a treasure if everyone knew what it was or where to locate it? The people at sea shouldn't be asking questions regarding its location or nature. Pirates like us have no incentive to remain on the water if it can't be discovered." Tim spoke while the woman who was leaning her head against her hand listened intently to him. She drank the alcohol from the glass while grinning.
After a period of silence, the obese pirate, who was communicating with Tim, began to guffaw aloud. "Right here we have a true pirate! Steven, charge the drinks he requested to my tab!" Except for the woman, everyone else raised their glasses once the pirate did, leaving Tim perplexed, who heard everyone laugh.
After getting that out of the way, they began to party nonstop for many minutes. Tim made the decision to secretly pour the alcohol down the sink as the others ordered more drinks. By the time it was all over, more than seven bottles of booze were wasted, and others started becoming intoxicated.
Tim became worried as soon as he realized he had forgotten about Dinny entirely. "Crap. Dinny — where the hell is he? I left him. By now, he could have gotten all the tickets." Tim quickly rose from the stool and was ready to depart as the others carried on their celebration. However, the same pirate who had earlier prevented him from entering crossed his path before he could go. He was slurping down so much alcohol that it was obvious how inebriated he was.
"Oi. Where you goin'?" The man questioned while consuming the entire bottle of alcohol in front of Tim. "I'm going out. Is something wrong?" Tim posed a serious question while maintaining composure. "We... haven't... finished our discussion!" In front of him, the pirate hiccuped, wiping the flowing alcohol from his broad lips.
"I thought we did. I remember you sitting back down. Either way, I'm in a rush, so if you could please move out of the way. I'm not looking for trouble?" The bottle smashed, scattering glass shards in the liquid as the pirate grinned and accidentally dropped it to the ground. He wasn't sober enough to even stand up.
"You want trouble?" he hiccuped again, "I can give that!" The man struggled to stand upright. Without anyone attempting to stop him, his body was swaying to the left and the right. Tim, one of the few sober pirates, attempted to flee without getting into a fight as the majority of the others, who were also intoxicated, began to snicker. But given the state of affairs, it was unlikely that he would go without incident.
Tim grabbed the top of his hood and pulled it down in front of his eyes. "Of course. Why did I expect that avoiding trouble would be doable?" Tim snuck a glimpse under his hood, and the pirate saw his eyes flashing blue, the rest of his face shrouded in darkness.
"What'd you say? I'm fat?" The man couldn't think straight and Tim tried to explain one last time. "I didn't say anything related to that. I'm not looking for trouble and I'm telling you to move out of my way."
However, the pirate grinned obscenely and made it clear that he had no plans to leave anytime soon. "Trouble is in my name," He hiccuped before removing the cutlass from his belt and was ready to sever Tim's head. "My name's Graham 'Trouble' Yardley!"
But from the side, another arm swung in and grabbed his arm firmly. Tim's neck was just a few hairs away when the cutlass' blade came to a standstill in the middle of the air.
Tim's eyes sprung wide in shock as he saw the woman that earlier sat next to him grabbing the man's arm hard enough to keep him from hurting Tim.
Tim could clearly see the woman at this point. She was a young woman with medium-length hair, orange eyes, and a white shirt. Her black tight-fitting leather pants were fastened by a belt, rocking leather brown boots. Finally, she had a necklace around her neck.
She was looking at the man with a smile on her face. "I'm very certain that he claimed he's not looking for trouble if my ears didn't deceive me. I believe your sober mind wouldn't be capable of understanding a simple phrase. In addition to the fact that you thrust a blade into the hands of a non-wielder. Now that certainly wouldn't be a fair fight, would it?"
There was no choice but to be irritated by her because the pirate was agitated that she stepped in. "Who're you? That chick from the counter, aye? Wow, look at who finally spoke, but mind your own... damn... business!" the pirate tried to free his arm, but the woman's grasp was hard. "Damn... your grip's tighter than those pants you're wearing!" he couldn't break free.
"I'll take that as a compliment, but for now, get out of the way, would ya?" She bent her right leg, elevated it, and pointed the sole at the pirate's stomach. She then rammed it into the man's gut with such force and speed that the pirate was propelled through the bar's walls and right into the heart of the pirates who were having a party outside.
Tim began blinking as a result of his inability to process what happened in front of him. "There you go. The path's free for you to leave." The woman asserted while smiling and pointing her hand in the door's general direction. "Uh... um... thanks, but who're you?"
The woman raised her arms and crossed them behind her head with a smile. "Oh, you're a curious one in that too? Well, you're in for a treat. My name's Phoebe." The majority of the pirates in the tavern were shocked, and their expressions started to seem comical. The wanted poster on the tables was examined. They yelled, "Phoebe 'Femme Fatale' Huckabee with a bounty of $750,000! She's only been at sea for 91 days!"
Phoebe persisted in maintaining her cheerful demeanor although she was the center of attention and some pirates had even been seduced by her beauty. Additionally, due to her huge bounty, she was able to reach into everyone's hearts and minds with ease.
"You don't seem like a bad person right now. But how could I trust you?" Tim was bewildered, but Phoebe laughed. "What trust? There's nobody to trust on the sea. All I wanted to do was smack that man. Moreover, you must have more pressing matters to attend to than dealing with some lousy pirates." Tim's response was limited to a nod and an agreement. "And I'm expected to go back to my captain Walsh from the Sea Wolves Pirates. I just stopped by to say hello."
Tim was astonished and even perplexed when he recalled that Dinny had mentioned the pirate group known as that. "The Sea Wolves Pirates?"
To be continued...