Once all the patients were seen to and the evening arrived, the doctor told me I was free to go. I removed my coat, said goodbye for the night, and walked out the door.
I exhaled heavily. My job was fulfilling and enjoyable, but it was also very tiring to spend the entire day dealing with peoples’ problems. I walked through the town, fantasizing about something bold and hearty to eat. I happened to notice a special on salted fish at the fishmonger’s, so I bought some to take home. A smile crossed my face as I imagined how surprised the old man and Bepo would be.
Then I noticed that something felt off…
In the distance, a group of people was running as though fleeing from something. I could also hear angry shouts and screams. This seemed like more than just a fight.
I hurried in the direction of the noise. “Pirates!” someone yelled. Making my way through the press of people, I noticed a group of about thirty unfamiliar men causing a scene in the square.
“Bring out all your food and drink, damn you!” one of them yelled. “Or, if you don’t want to do what we ask, just come out and tell us…if you think you can beat us!”
I noticed that one of them was holding a flag with an insignia of a skull biting on a gold coin. It was definitely a pirate’s Jolly Roger.
Every last one of the men looked extremely unpleasant. They swore and spat, kicking and punching and making demands of the townsfolk. I recognized some of those who were getting hurt, and I very nearly leapt into action. It made me sick to see folks who only ever had good intentions being subjected to violence, and it almost made me lose my cool.
“Law!” said a familiar voice, and Bepo’s tugging on my sleeve brought me back to my senses. Penguin, Bepo, and Shachi were standing behind me.
“Those are pirates,” Penguin confirmed. “You can tell by the way they’re showing off their flag.”
“What should we do? Can we put a stop to this before it gets any worse?” Shachi said, as though he were ready to pounce at any second.
“Wait, let’s see what happens. There are thirty of them, and most of them look like scrubs… But those two in the back are different. They’re the ones to watch out for,” I said.
The two I had identified as problems were obviously a different sort than the rest. One was dressed like a sumo wrestler and stood well over six feet tall, with a mawashi loincloth wrapped around his tanned skin and his hair in a topknot. A thick layer of muscle was visible through the fat that covered his body, and it was clear at a glance that he was quite powerful. The other one seemed like he might be even more dangerous. He was a skinny man who wore an elliptical pirate hat and had black hair down to his shoulders, but there was a certain madness in his eyes, and the way his crewmates were carrying on around him—while he sat on a wooden chest with a detached air—spoke to his command. I took him for their captain, and when it came to pirates, the captain was always the strongest one.
“There’s a transponder snail at the place where you work, right, Penguin?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
“Go and make a call to the Junker,” I told him.
“Sure thing!” Penguin sped off toward the restaurant where he worked.
What should we do? First things first: we needed to figure out what they were after. If they had just stumbled across this town and would be satisfied with some cash and plenty of food to eat, then it might be better to give them what they wanted.
Just then, Rudd the police officer came rushing into the scrum.
“You vermin!” he roared. “I won’t have you causing a scene in Pleasure Town on my watch!”
“Uh-oh, boys, looks like we got ourselves a hero,” taunted the man in charge. “Wait, is that Rudd? Ha ha! Fancy seeing you again!”
“Artur Bacca. What are you doing back in this town?”
“Hey, hey, don’t act so feisty, Rudd. I’m just coming back to indulge in the familiar sights and sounds of my hometown. It’s just a shame my cohorts here are acting in such an uncouth manner.”
“I don’t believe a word you say,” Rudd responded. “Do you really think I’m stupid enough to trust the very man who burned this town to the ground twenty years ago?”
I didn’t know what had happened between Rudd and the pirate captain Artur Bacca in the past, but it was obvious this wasn’t the first time he’d attacked the town. The situation was devolving; Rudd was a very stubborn man, and at this rate, he really was going to try to take on all thirty of them by himself. Already the pirate crew was beginning to encircle him.
I owe him a debt. I can’t just abandon him to his fate, I thought, and took a step forward myself. But as I did, Bacca rose to his feet and spoke to his crew.
“Hold on, boys. If you kill him, we might lose a very valuable source of information. Let’s just calm down and talk things out, why don’t we? Ga ha ha!”
“Y-yes, sir, Captain!” said one of the men, cowering before the man who was clearly his leader. Standing up, Bacca seemed much more menacing than before.
“Law,” whispered Penguin, who’d come back from the restaurant, “I got in touch with Wolf. He said he’s on his way.”
“Looks like there’s a big fight brewing. It would definitely help us to have the Junker here,” I murmured.
Wolf was indeed an excellent fighter. Only in the last year had I managed to rise to his level, while Bepo and Penguin and Shachi were still no match for the old man. Having him there would be to our advantage. We watched and waited as the scene unfolded.
“I’ll ask you again, Bacca. What are you after?” Rudd said boldly, not budging an inch.