Deck of the Cape Rouge, Port of Fandom, Sunday afternoon

[betterthanaplan]

So after yesterday's picnic, Duke had seriously considered raising anchor and just getting the hell back out of Fandom while the going was still good. Unfortunately, he still needed supplies and at least a little more socialization before he was ready to hit the seas again, and an island so small it didn't even show up on any maps was the best damn hiding spot he was going to get from the various and sundry people who either wanted to arrest or kill him.

He was definitely not going to teach a class at the high school though. Certainly not one about piracy. That was just -- people hadn't trusted him around kids when he was a kid. It was clearly nonsense.

Having spent the morning on various repairs and maintenance around his ship, he headed into town for groceries around noon, then set up his small grill on deck to make some lamb shashlik and vegetables. After a couple weeks of living on fish and jerky, kebabs were right up his alley.

[open! Duke's boat's deck is visible and easily accessible from land. Think of it like someone's front patio or driveway, only furnished with crates and random thrifted benches and things.]

Comments

[betterthanaplan]

“I’ve heard of worse reasons to go to Mexico.” Most of them involving illegal activities, natch. “Brazil’s nice.” He frowned. “Not sure I can go back to Rio anytime soon, though.”

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack gave him a raised-eyebrow look. "Leave in a hurry, didja?"

[betterthanaplan]

“If I hadn’t, I definitely wouldn’t have run out of booze by Georgia.”

[biotic_psychotic]

"Guess the question is, did you leave with a shipment or without one?" Jack mused.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke's smile was at least half grimace. "Yes. That is a question that you could ask."

[biotic_psychotic]

"So, I'm asking," Jack smirked, "Did you? Because if you did, you don't know this town but I do. I could maybe tell you the who or the where or whether it's better to try across the causeway."

[betterthanaplan]

"Uh huh. And what kind of cut would you want for such a service?"

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack tilted her head and considered, "A favor. I mentioned my friend Fjord. He used to be a merchant sailor and he misses being on a boat so much it hurts. If you've got ship-type jobs to do, you give him a shot." She gave him a piercing look, "And you keep in mind he don't look like you but he's a fucking person. He's a good guy. He's from a place that don't have tech so all his ships are sails only. He might like to learn about modern ones."

[betterthanaplan]

"If he's any good, I'd do that anyway," Duke said. "He one of your students or something?"

Considering the crash course he'd be trying to give himself on old fashioned tall ships after Wednesday, Duke might well end up offering Fjord a flat out trade anyway.

[biotic_psychotic]

"He's a friend. He's older than me, about as old as my dumbass brother close as we can figure," Jack said, then asked, "You seen any of the non-human-standard residents of the island yet? Because there's a few of 'em. He's one. Hence my 'treat him like a person because he goddamn is one' codicil."

[betterthanaplan]

"He could be a walking tree, if he's good at what he does I'll work with him." There'd probably be a bit of staring first, but he'd try to be polite about it.

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack nodded slowly, "That's a good attitude to have. Can't tell you how good or not he is, you'll have to judge for yourself. Fuck if I know anything about this kind of ship. So - what are you trying to move?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shrugged. "Nothing, currently. Had to dump and run in Brazil." You did not fuck with the Brazilian police. "And, being mostly known for my discretion, I wouldn't tell you even if I did have some packages on board. You know if there's a market for anything, or anyone who needs something moved fast and quiet, I'm all ears." He smiled. "Oh, and if anyone's up for a couple friendly hands of poker."

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack arched a brow and lifted a shoulder, "If it's alcohol, Kitty owns Caritas and I don't know as she gives much of a damn about provenance. Northman owns the Nest and he does care, his is a chain operation and he's at risk of audits and shit. Summer Smith owns - I think still owns - Turtle & Canary and she's got lines into just about everydamnthing. Weapons shop in town sells about everything that goes bang and would probably buy it without questions. Poker, if it's just for shits and giggles and penny-ante, I could give you names. If you're playing for stakes, bring good alcohol, wear gloves and try Seivarden. Works at the flower shop on Saturdays. Masc-presenting, uses female pronouns. Snotty bitch on wheels, likes her booze and is often bored out of her mind. Nobody in town will give much of a fuck if you shark her. The gloves are a cultural thing for her, naked hands are like taboo or some shit. Anyone else.. it's a small island and word gets around damn fast, so for that sort of thing you're not gonna wanna shit where you eat."

[betterthanaplan]

"I always bring good alcohol to poker." He also always claimed it was just a friendly game, whether sharking happened or no. (At some point, this would result in him getting boatjacked alongside an FBI agent. But that was a little ways down the line.) "Turtle & Canary. That's the grocery store, right? Took a quick spin around town earlier, checking out the lay of the land. Nice park. Too many stairs."

[biotic_psychotic]

"That's the store, yeah," Jack nodded, "Summer's the redhead. If she's not there, someone can probably tell you where she is. It's pumpkin spice latte season, she might be haunting the Perk." She chuckled a moment, "Yeah, every day is leg day around here. Those fucking stairs. I wish they'd put in some damn ramps so I could get a bike up here."

[betterthanaplan]

"Streets are a little narrow for that," Duke noted. "Which I'm guessing is why there's no cars."

[biotic_psychotic]

"Heh. I meant a bicycle, not a motorcycle. I like my thrill rides but taking a bike down unexpected stairs is asking for a broken neck and no thank you. The island's too quiet for a motorcycle. There's rickshaws but they're creepy so I never use 'em."

[betterthanaplan]

"Creepy?" Duke had noticed the rickshaws and not really thought much of them. He'd seen plenty in other towns and cities after all.

[biotic_psychotic]

"Yeah, they're pulled by people and they don't go any faster than I could walk myself," Jack explained, "Seems creepy to me. I guess if someone were tired or footsore or had mobility issues or whatever, sure, or if they had to move some shit and didn't want to carry it but just to get from one place to another when I can walk on my own? Nah."

[betterthanaplan]

"Nothing wrong with a preference," Duke said. "Not sure why that ends up feeling creepy to you, though."

[biotic_psychotic]

Jack looked at him and calmly said, "You don't want to know why. It's one of those things that makes most people throw up." She'd spent four years, from age five to nine, in a slave pit. With everything that entailed. She didn't use sentient labor for anything if she could do it herself.

[betterthanaplan]

"Fair enough." Duke shrugged. No skin off his back. "Mental note: no rickshaws for Jack."

[biotic_psychotic]

"No rickshaws for me," Jack quirked half her mouth in a smirk, "Besides, I run faster than those fuckers any day of the week. Helps burn off the calories." She didn't really look like she needed to burn off any calories, whipcord over muscle. Squinted at the sky a second and then stood. Offered him a hand, "Good to meet you, Duke. Welcome to our little slice of insanity. I should head back and check to see if my favorite dumbass is coming home any time this century or if I gotta bounce out there and haul him back by the collar."

Kaidan was notoriously bad at email. Then again, so was she.

[betterthanaplan]

Duke shook her hand with a smirk of his own. "You too, Jack. Thanks for the info. Good luck with the dumbass."