A Pirate's Tale: The Only Solution Is Retribution (29 page)

• • •

Victoria and Desiree sat at a table in a tavern on Lucia and sipped their drinks.  Jimmy and Steve sat with them and Jim said, “This place is pretty quiet.”

Victoria took another sip and sighed, “I know.  I’m just not in the mood to go dancing tonight.”

Desiree nodded, “You’re worried about Leonidas.”

“Does it show?”

“We all are.  We’re just going to have to learn patience and be ready to respond if he needs us.”

“That’s just it, Desiree.  Even being this close, it will take us three hours to get there if something happens.  I just don’t like it.”

Desiree sighed, “Well, there’s nothing we can do about that.  If we go into the Tortugan system, we’ll be challenged and probably attacked.  Revealing our armaments will only insure we won’t be allowed near the planet.”  Desiree looked across the room and said, “It looks like Nosey has made another appearance.”

Victoria looked up and saw a large man step inside the entrance, look around, and then go back outside, “He’s been following us for about six hours.”

“He’s not Romanov.”

“How can you tell?” Victoria asked.

“He’d be harder to spot.  Nosey’s training leaves a lot to be desired.”

“Should we leave?”

Desiree shook her head, “No, I’m wondering who he’s working for.  He knows who you are.”

“I’ve seen that.”

Desiree looked at Steve, “Go and round up the ground crew and have them wait outside.  Tell them to avoid being seen.”

“Yes, Captain.”

“Jimmy, move over to the bar and take a chair.”

“Captain, if there’s going to be trouble, I should remain here with you.”

Desiree smiled, “Jimmy, you’d only get in the way if we run into trouble.”

Victoria took another sip before saying, “You think something’s going to happen?”

“Nosey stuck his head in here to confirm our presence.  I suspect he left to tell someone else.”  Victoria looked around the tavern and saw there were numerous patrons scattered around the room.  Desiree smiled, “I suspect having others present won’t prevent anything.”  Jimmy stood up and went to the bar.

“I guess you’ve seen something like this before?”

“I have.  And Nosey waited until we were away from the street without many beings near us before leaving to make his report.”

Three large men walked into the tavern and sat down at a table near the door.  A few seconds later, six more heavily muscled men walked in and occupied two more tables.  Desiree looked at Victoria as she poured another glass from the clear liquid in the bottle sitting on the table, “I know, the party is about to start,” Victoria said quietly.

“Not yet.”

“Oh?”

“This is the advanced scouts.  Notice that they’re whispering to the patrons sitting around them and they’re getting up to leave.  At least they have the courtesy to warn innocent bystanders that something is going down.”

Over the next twenty minutes, twenty more men entered the tavern and Victoria looked at Desiree, “I think that’s the last of them.”

Desiree smiled and nodded, “You’re pretty good.  What told you?”

“They’ve stopped looking at each other and all of them are glancing at the entrance surreptitiously.  I suspect the next one through the door will clarify what’s going on.”  Desiree nodded as she sat back in her chair.  “Have you noticed that all of them look like they’ve been working out?” Victoria pointed out.

Desiree nodded and quietly whispered, “The last four that arrived are carrying hand blasters under their coats.”  Victoria nodded and took another sip of the water she had started pouring in her glass thirty minutes earlier.  A man walked through the entrance and both women were impressed by his size.  He stood about six and a half feet tall and wore his shirt opened to the middle of his chest showing off his powerful physique.  His arms were huge and he walked with a swagger.  Desiree whispered, “Remember; pretty, dumb blonde is what’s called for here.”

Victoria nodded and smiled as the tall man walked up to their table, “Why hello, honey!  Aren’t you a pretty sight for my eyes to feast on?”

The man snickered as he lifted his communicator and began reading, “I have been hired by the De La Pascal Family to apprehend Victoria Lenora De La Pascal and take her to the Superior Court on Bella Grande to attend a hearing on the estate of Roberto De La Pascal scheduled two days from now.”

“Uhhh…excuse me Mr.…Uhhh…”

The man looked at Victoria and smiled, “Mr. Deloam.”

“Well, Mr. Deloam, Bella Grande has no jurisdiction here.  So why don’t you take your pretty muscles and go back where you came from, Dahlin.”

“I am not from Bella Grande.  I am part of an organization that accepts contracts to take individuals to the one paying for the contract.”

Desiree sighed and said, “He’s a bounty hunter, My Lady.”

Victoria looked at Desiree, looked at the man, and then turned back to Desiree, “I didn’t know they made bounty hunters so good looking.  I thought they were more like troglodytes.  You know, all muscles and no brains.”

Desiree shrugged, “Your point?”

Victoria looked at Deloam and said, “I guess you’re right.  He is all muscles.  Let’s see if he’s dumb.”  Deloam’s face was turning red and his anger was clear in his expression as Victoria said, “You have no legal jurisdiction here, honey, and I choose not to go with you.”

Deloam sneered, “Do you think you have an option?!  You will come peacefully or we will take you back by force.  Either way, you are going back to Bella Grande with me.”

Victoria slowly started shaking her head and said over her shoulder to Desiree, “You’re right; no brains at all.”

“If the two of you think we have a problem roughing up a woman, you need to think again.”  He looked over his shoulder, nodded, and the twenty nine other men stood up from their tables, moved the tables and chairs away from Victoria’s table and spread out around it.

Victoria put her hand on her chest, “Why clutch the pearls; do you think you’ve brought enough men to handle two defenseless women?”

“Shut up and get moving!! You have a ship to catch.”

Victoria sighed, “Dahlin, there are always consequences to behaviors and after we demonstrate some of them to you, I’m going to educate you in the stupidity of just stepping into a mine field without scouting it out first.”

Deloam sneered, “Your crew will not stop us.  We’ve been highly trained to handle anyone you might use to defend you.  We’ve determined that my unit outnumbers your crew.”

Desiree stood up and Victoria stood as well.  She looked at Desiree, “These highly trained, well-muscled men, just makes my heart go all a-flutter.”

Desiree smiled, “You know how I hate to see your heart go all a-flutter.”  Deloam stared at them trying to figure out what was going on but couldn’t make sense of it. A moment later, after Victoria hit him in the middle of his forehead with a snap-punch, he wasn’t able to figure out anything.  Victoria and Desiree moved into the men gathered around them and bodies began hitting the floor.

The owner of the tavern stood behind the bar and knew his establishment was going to be wrecked.  Jimmy reached over and pulled his sleeve, “Hey, how about a brew?”  The bartender looked at him with eyes wide open and Jimmy said, “Give me the coldest glass you have.”

Desiree ducked under the arms of a bounty hunter attempting to wrap up her arms and hit him in the sternum with an elbow.  He collapsed to the floor as she spun and kicked another man in the solar plexus dropping him on top of the first man.  “ONLY NUMBER ONE AND PRESSURE POINTS, VICKY!” Desire shouted as she pushed a pressure point on anther bounty hunter under his chin and followed with a leg sweep of another.  He hit the floor and she pressed on his sternum.

Victoria dropped three bounty hunters and saw the four men outside the group start reaching for their blasters.  She leapt over the crowd and landed directly in front of them.  She hit two of them directly in their foreheads and saw that one of them had already pulled a blaster and was pointing it at Desiree.  She had the sword out in an instant and the man’s body hit the floor before his head.  She spun and hit the fourth man holding a blaster on the side of his head with the sword’s handle, dropping him like a bag of cement.  She returned the sword to its scabbard in an instant and reverse kicked a bounty hunter rushing up behind her.

The tavern owner watched the two women move through the thirty men and could only shake his head in astonishment.  Jimmy took a drink of his brew and said, “This sort of brings tears to your eyes, doesn’t it?”  The owner was speechless and Jimmy walked over to the entrance.  He opened the door and ten crewmen from the Play Toy rushed into the tavern.  “Just wait here and don’t allow any of them to run.”  The crew spread out at the door and watched their two commanders beating the large men senseless.

The last four bounty hunters standing rushed toward the door but stopped in their tracks when the crewmen moved in on them.  Desiree shouted, “Take them to a table and order them a drink!”  The four remaining bounty hunters were escorted to a table and shoved in a chair.  They looked around the room and saw all of their comrades laying on the floor unconscious or moaning loudly.  Desiree and Victoria went back to their table and sat down.  Desiree pointed at Deloam and shouted, “Steve, bring him over here and deposit him in a chair.  You might have to hold him up until he regains his senses.”  Two crewmen lifted him and one said, “This one weights more than a block of lead!”  Another crewman came over and assisted the other two in putting him in a chair at Victoria’s table.  Steve stood behind Deloam and prevented his falling out of the chair to the floor.

Victoria looked around the room and ordered, “Take those that are capable of sitting to a table and order them a drink.”

Desiree poured two glasses and handed one to Victoria, “Did you have to kill that one?”

“He had a blaster pointed at you and wasn’t calling for you to surrender!”

Desiree looked at Jimmy, “Did you record this?”

“I did.”

“Did you get that man pointing a blaster at us?”

“I did.”

“Excellent!”

It took about thirty minutes before all of the bounty hunters were able to sit in a chair and Deloam was told to sit still until all of his men were conscious.  He said nothing and was still wobbling from the punch he took.  Finally, everyone was sitting at a table with a drink in front of them and Victoria looked at Jimmy, “Bring your recording over here.”  Jimmy walked over and Victoria said, “Show Mr.…Uhhh…”

“Deloam,” the man said groggily.

“Show Mr. Deloam why one of his men was killed.”  Jimmy held his communicator in front of Deloam’s eyes and he saw the man raise a blaster and point it at Desiree.  “He would still be alive but for your stupidity in bringing armed agents in here.  His death is on your hands,” Victoria sneered at him.

Desiree looked at Billy standing at the door, “Billy, find me the name of a bounty hunter business that is regarded as the most dangerous.”

Billy began pressing buttons on his communicator and said, “The Devon Devils are reputed to be the most blood thirsty.  They are carnivores that usually eat the ones they are contracted to capture.”

Desiree walked over in front of Deloam and knelt down in front of him, “Now pay close attention!  Tell the owner of your firm that if he bothers us again, we will be taking a contract out with the, what’s their name, Billy?”

“Devon Devils.”

“With the Devon Devils to bring him directly to us to discuss his apparent stupidity at interrupting our party,” Desiree said one inch from Deloam’s face.  “Do you understand?”  Deloam looked around the room and nodded.

Victoria lowered her eyes, “You should be ashamed of yourselves for attacking two defenseless women!  None of you are gentlemen!”

Deloam could only shake his head at her and the tavern owner started laughing.  Soon the crew of the Play Toy joined him.  Desiree looked at Deloam, “We’ve ordered all of you a drink and if you’re hungry, we’ll also pay for a dinner.”

Deloam wobbled slightly as he tried to stand up and Desiree gripped his shoulder and prevented him from falling out of the chair.  Deloam’s head went back slightly as he said, “I’m not going anywhere for a while.”

Desiree looked at the owner, “Take their orders and serve my crew while you’re at it.  We’ll pay for any damages.”

“The only thing you damaged was them,” the owner shouted from the bar.

Desiree looked around and saw the tables and chairs had been pushed away from the heavy fighting.  “I guess you’re right.  Boys, straighten the room up and get that body out of sight.”

Deloam looked at Desiree and knew he and his men were fortunate to be alive.  He would have a discussion with his boss about sending him into this mess.  After an hour, Deloam looked at Victoria and Desiree, “We aren’t as bad as you made us appear.”

“I believe that.  However, you didn’t know what you were stepping into.  Everyone on my ship has served in the military and are highly trained as well.”

“I’ve fought many others that served in the military and none of them were close to being able to do what you did tonight.  Do you mind telling me how you managed to beat all of us?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Deloam.  But that is something we’ll keep to ourselves.”

When Deloam was finally able to stand, his walk had lost its swagger.  He left with his men and Victoria shook her head, “I hate we had to crush his ego.”

“Don’t let it bother you, it’ll probably save his life in the future.”  Victoria looked at Desiree with a raised eyebrow.  “He’ll check things out before he rushes into an unknown situation again.  The best lessons come hard and are not forgotten.”

“I guess you’re right,” Victoria said with a sigh.  “But you have to admit, he was nice to look at.”

Desiree smiled and said, “Many troglodytes are.”

Victoria laughed and lifted her glass.  Desiree toasted it, “Here’s to Gem’s training.”

“Amen to that!”

• • •

They arrived back on the Play Toy and Desiree saw Victoria head toward the stern of the ship, “Going to Gem’s lab?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been spending a lot of time in there lately.”