"I mean, a little bit," he said, smiling up at her. His hair flopped over his eyes as he lifted his head slightly, and he pushed it back. "But I'm not complaining."
She cocked her head, then put her head back with a sigh. She closed her eyes for a moment, opening them only to watch the ceiling.
Jared gave a small wave to Ellia as she left. He looked at Natalia as he stood up. "What do you mean by a 'proposition'?" He asked, sternly.
"Captain wanted to speak to me on some private matters. Natalia has agreed to let me reveal more as time goes on." "But... between you and me, all of us might be seeing what's my father's basement."
Natalia reached into her cloak and pulled out a sizeable bag, obviously weighed down with its contents. "I have my debt here," she said. "But I've been thinking about your... situation. I do not feel that this debt is one that I should be forced to pay, nor do I feel that you are on particularly good terms with the mob that killed your father. I am suggesting a win-win proposal. You and I team up in order to take down our common enemy." * * * Jade grinned. "Sounds exciting. Although, I would take great amusement if all it was was baby pictures of you and old blankets. Y'know, typical parent stuff."
Cobiah chuckled. "I hope it's only that. Beats magical artifacts, or meeting place of the new world order."
"Well, I'm not sure about that," Jade said comfortably. "Those all sound very exciting. But I bet that you were a very somber looking baby, and pictures of that are just not something I can miss."
"Hah, if you say so. In that case, I'll be going in first. Gotta make sure the vault is, 'safe' and 'clear of hazardous objects' if you get what I mean."
"Of course not! It's just that my bastard of a father might have trapped the photos! Perhaps if I touch it, it triggers a bomb that will cause the vault to cave in!"
"Oh, how devious," she said, narrowing her eyes in amusement. "I would give all the gold we have found here for one, safe glance. I wonder if he'd be open to a deal?"
(Come on, y'all. If you're not going to respond, then at least let me know why or when you'll have time to respond. It's not cool to just leave people hanging like this.)
Cobiah faked thinking for a moment. "Hmmm.... If you're okay with be approached later for hundreds of other potential deals, I think something could be worked out." He paused. "But then of course... I'd have to kill you." He said, jokingly.
"Worth it," she said, leaning back against the railing. "I might even die happily." She paused, thinking back. "So, are we going to help you take down your dad? That seems like a strange decision on her part. What does she get from it?"
"We haven't quite agreed on the terms yet, but once the deal is done, I plan to let the crew help themselves to whatever they can get from the vaults. The wealth my family has accumulated over the generations is likely equal to our recent haul."
"I don't think most of us are willing to give up the pirate's life. Not like I could go into business after this anyway. Besides, I'm kind of liking this." Cobiah idly gazed out to sea for a while, taking in the silence. "However, this job is going to be a lot more difficult than just finding a map and getting to the location. We're going to have to get involved in some political intrigue, learn the floorplan of the building from the inside out, and have to do a LOT of underhanded work."
